Module 24: Writing E-Mails — Overview

E-mail, also written as email, is an abbreviation for electronic mail. It is described as data kept on a computer and shared between two people over the internet. E-mail, in its most basic form, is a communication that may contain text, files, photos, or other attachments and is transmitted across a network to a specific individual or group of individuals. Email is something you type on a computer, but a letter is something you write by hand. Email is more efficient and speedier since typing and sending email takes significantly less time than writing and posting. Moreover, while using e-mail, differences in location and time zone do not remain an obstacle. For example, if you send an e-mail from India to a firm in America, they will get it immediately.

Learning outcomes: Recognise different styles of communications through e-mail; compose e-mail based on real-life situations; classify different Dos and Don'ts of effective communication through e-mail; assess the use of technology in communicating ideas effectively.

24.1 What Makes E-Mail Different

Electronic communication is fundamentally different from paper-based communication because of its speed and broadcasting ability. On paper, it is essential to make everything clear because your audience may not have a chance to ask for clarification. With e-mail, the receiver can ask questions immediately. E-mail thus tends to be loosely structured, like conversation. This has its advantages — you save time and effort. Why should you spend hours on correct spellings, perfect grammar and appropriate words when the message is only to tell your colleague that you are ready to go to lunch. Of course, you must know when you can be careless and when you have to be meticulous.

Another difference is that what the sender sees when composing a message might not look like what the reader sees. With e-mail, the software and hardware used for composing, sending, storing, downloading, and reading may be completely different from what your correspondent uses. The visual quality of your message may be quite different by the time it gets to someone else's screen. Since these differences exist, it is necessary to tailor your message to this new medium.

24.2 How to Write an E-Mail

With e-mail, you cannot assume anything about a sender's location, time, state of mind, profession, interest or future value to you. This means you need to be very careful about giving your receiver context. Furthermore, your receiver may get a few hundred messages all at once. Establishing context makes your message meaningful and helps it receive attention.

24.2.1 Message Header

The message header contains information concerning the sender and recipients. Generally, headers contain:

• Subject: Description of the topic, displayed in email systems. Should be brief, a complete sentence, and give a clue to contents. Example: SUBJECT: BOOK ORDER – TEACHER TRAINING. For urgent action: Subject: URGENT: Book Order- Teacher Training. For non-urgent FYI: Subject: FYI: Passes for The Wild Duck. Do not use 'information' for subject line — ask clearly for the specific piece of information you need.
• Sender (From): Sender's Internet email address.
• Date and Time Received (On): When message was received.
• Recipient (To:): First/last name of email recipient.
• Reply-to: If responding to another email, preface subject with Re: or RE: (Regarding). Example: Subject: RE: Book order-Teacher Training.
• Recipient email address: Where the message was actually sent.
• Attachments: Files attached to the message.

24.2.2 Body of the E-Mail

The body contains text you want to share. It may include signatures or automatically generated text.

Quoting References: If referring to a previous e-mail, explicitly quote the document. Example — after receiving "FYI: Passes for The Wild Duck — 21 passes for the 18th 3 p.m. show are at the Reception Desk," reply with subject Re: Show on 18th and query "Are passes for 18th, 3 p.m. show gone?" Referring to previous document is necessary because you may have sent the message on Friday and might not remember it on Monday. However, avoid giving too much context — shorter, action-oriented messages (like Example B comparing BPL, HL, LG quotations) are better than long quoted threads (Example A).

Page Layout: Words on screen look different from paper; boxes may not display correctly on recipient's computer. Good e-mail layout differs from paper document layout.

Shorter Paragraphs: Long paragraphs are hard to read in scroll windows — half may be off-screen.

Line Length: Most mail software does not auto-wrap. If a line exceeds 76 characters, it splits after the 75th with an equal sign. Keep lines under seventy characters to allow room for quote marks in replies.

Clear and Precise Prose: Keep lines, paragraphs, and message short. If sending to many people, include more details to avoid floods of questions — but ask if all recipients really need to be on the list. Fewer recipients = shorter message. Keep everything on one "page" — about twenty-five lines of text in most cases.

Greetings and Signature: Email has no firm customs yet. Often start with "Dear [First name]" and close with "Regards" or "Thanks" and signature. In USA, often "Hi." Many skip salutation because To/From are in header — but greetings and signatures are still good. Default signatures can include name, title, contact. Heavy signature may be inappropriate for one-line casual email. Example signature: R. Swaminarayan, Training Officer, Translation Project, Malgudi Publishing House — contact phone and email.

Identification: Especially when emailing a stranger, answer: How did she/he find out about me? What does she/he want? Who is he/she? Why should I pay attention? Put identification at the top — identity is important context; end of message may get lost in transmission problems; correspondent may delete before reaching bottom.

24.3 Things to Remember

• Subject line should be very clear; never all caps or all small letters (may look like spam).
• Only public matters on email; confidential matters can be misused if hacked.
• Bad news or anger over email is not advisable — face-to-face communication preferable.
• Discourage emoticons, slang, and jargon unknown to receiver in professional email.
• Beware 'Reply all' — sends to everyone on original mailer list.
• Use BCC (blind carbon copy) when you do not want recipients to see other addresses.
• Never reply to an old unrelated email just to save time — message will be irrelevant.
• Include signature (name, title, email, phone) as time-saving trick for frequent senders.

Common E-Mail Short Forms (Textbook)

BBL (be back later), IMO (in my opinion), BFN (bye for now), IOW (in other words), BRB (be right back), LOL (laughing out loud), BTW (by the way), NBD (no big deal), FYI (for your information), RPFL (rolling on floor laughing), <g> (grin), TIA (thanks in advance), <G> (big grin), TIC (tongue in cheek), HSIK (how should I know?), TTFN (ta ta for now), IAE (in any event), TTYL (talk to you later), IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), ASAP (As Soon As Possible), WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), RSVP (Répondez s'il vous plaît — French for "Respond, if it pleases you").

24.4 Sample E-Mail Scenarios

The textbook includes practice replies such as: responding to Manish's message (21/04/2024) about Aqua Cool central cooling system explosion destroying spring stock (minimum Rs. 4 lakhs damage) — Harish should contact Aqua Cool, ascertain cause, check casualties, contact insurance, and use standby system temporarily. Another task: write to Raj Travels to cancel Bangalore air tickets and hotel booking, informing changed dates will follow later.

Dos and Don'ts of E-Mail (Textbook Answers)

Dos: Use clear and concise subject line; address recipient appropriately; provide context and background; use professional tone; proofread before sending; use proper formatting; respond in a timely manner.

Don'ts: Don't use vague or misleading subject lines; don't forget to proofread; don't use unprofessional tone; don't use all caps; don't forget attachments; don't overuse CC and BCC; don't use email for sensitive or confidential information.

Intext answer key confirms: with e-mail the receiver can ask for clarifications (True); since many messages arrive at once we must make our message stand out (True); reference to previous mail is carried below the subject line when quoting (the textbook corrects false statements on context establishment).

What Have You Learnt

• An e-mail is different from older media.
• To write a good e-mail one has to provide adequate context.
• Meaningful subject lines, page layout, greetings and signature, and identification are very important in writing an effective e-mail.

Worked writing example (from Problem Solving)

Exam-style task: You are Ananya Gupta, a Class XII student. Write an email to your class teacher, Mrs Kapoor, requesting two days’ leave (12–13 May 2025) to attend your sister’s wedding in Chandigarh. Invent a school email address.

Study the complete model answer below in NIOS format. Copy the structure (addresses, subject, body, close) when you practise. Use Fullscreen to read comfortably.

Exam tip: Subject must be specific. State who you are, dates, reason, how you will cover work. Short paragraphs.

Find four more full model answers in the Problem Solving tab of this lesson.