How to Write a Good Email
2020-11-08
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1Email is one of the most important ways through which we communicate.
2It has become part of most everyone's day-to-day life.
3Writing a good email can mean the difference between someone reading it and writing back, and someone ignoring it all together.
4Do you have questions on how to make your message more effective?
5Today on Education Tips, we will answer the question, "How can I make my emails better?"
6Emails are made up of four different parts:
7the subject line,
8the opening,
9the body, and
10the closing.
11Let us explore how to make each of these parts better.
12Subject line
13The subject line is what the other person, or receiver, will read first.
14The subject line is usually the most important part of an email.
15It should be short but contain enough details that the receiver recognizes the subject of the email.
16A good subject line sets the expectations for the email.
17A bad subject line can mean the receiver will not read the email.
18Some people will add the word "important" to the subject line, but this does not provide enough information.
19Instead of writing "important," two better choices for subject lines are:
20Meeting Tomorrow at 10am to Discuss New Changes
21Question About Future Classes
22As in any form of writing, you should know your audience.
23The opening of an email depends on things like how formal the relationship is.
24If you are sending an email to a friend or someone you work with, two good openings or greetings are:
25Good Morning/Afternoon,
26Hello, or Hello [name],
27If you are sending the email to someone you do not know and it is a formal situation, some possible openings are:
28Dear [name of department],
29To Whom it May Concern,
30In a formal situation, when you know the name of the person, a good opening is simply:
31Dear [title] [family name],
32As in, Dear Mister Brown,
33The body of the email is where you ask for what you need or make clear your reason for writing the email.
34This could be asking them a question or keeping them informed.
35The body of the email should prioritize the most important information.
36It should be direct, and it is wise to keep it short.
37If the person you are emailing does not know you, you should introduce yourself in the first few lines. You might write:
38My name is Patricia Jones.
39I am sending this email to get some more information about the job you advertised.
40After you have introduced yourself and given your reason for writing, you can follow this with the body of your email.
41The most important information should come first.
42This makes your email clear to your receiver and saves them time.
43Here is an example.
44I wanted to know if you are currently accepting applications.
45If so, where can I send my information? Additionally, will you be meeting people in-person or online?
46It is important to clearly explain yourself in as few words as possible.
47Try to keep your email short, but polite.
48This is important because you want to make yourself clear to your receiver.
49The last part to a good email is the closing.
50It is usually one or two words that let the receiver know that this is the end of the email.
51The ending should include your name and tell the receiver where you work and what you do.
52A few different closings are:
53Kind regards,
54Best,
55Thank you,
56Some applications create an automatic signature for the sender.
57This is useful because it saves time when you are writing.
58So, what does a completed email look like?
59Here is an example email:
60If you follow these suggestions, you will find that you receive more responses to your emails.
61Effective email writing is important especially now when so much of what we do is online.
62I'm Gregory Stachel.
63And I'm Jill Robbins.
1Email is one of the most important ways through which we communicate. It has become part of most everyone's day-to-day life. 2Writing a good email can mean the difference between someone reading it and writing back, and someone ignoring it all together. Do you have questions on how to make your message more effective? 3Today on Education Tips, we will answer the question, "How can I make my emails better?" 4Emails are made up of four different parts: 5the subject line, 6the opening, 7the body, and 8the closing. 9Let us explore how to make each of these parts better. 10Subject line 11The subject line is what the other person, or receiver, will read first. The subject line is usually the most important part of an email. It should be short but contain enough details that the receiver recognizes the subject of the email. A good subject line sets the expectations for the email. A bad subject line can mean the receiver will not read the email. 12Some people will add the word "important" to the subject line, but this does not provide enough information. Instead of writing "important," two better choices for subject lines are: 13Meeting Tomorrow at 10am to Discuss New Changes 14Question About Future Classes 15Opening an email 16As in any form of writing, you should know your audience. The opening of an email depends on things like how formal the relationship is. 17If you are sending an email to a friend or someone you work with, two good openings or greetings are: 18Good Morning/Afternoon, 19Hello, or Hello [name], 20If you are sending the email to someone you do not know and it is a formal situation, some possible openings are: 21Dear [name of department], 22To Whom it May Concern, 23In a formal situation, when you know the name of the person, a good opening is simply: 24Dear [title] [family name], 25As in, Dear Mister Brown, 26Body 27The body of the email is where you ask for what you need or make clear your reason for writing the email. This could be asking them a question or keeping them informed. The body of the email should prioritize the most important information. It should be direct, and it is wise to keep it short. 28If the person you are emailing does not know you, you should introduce yourself in the first few lines. You might write: 29My name is Patricia Jones. I am sending this email to get some more information about the job you advertised. 30After you have introduced yourself and given your reason for writing, you can follow this with the body of your email. The most important information should come first. This makes your email clear to your receiver and saves them time. Here is an example. 31I wanted to know if you are currently accepting applications. If so, where can I send my information? Additionally, will you be meeting people in-person or online? 32It is important to clearly explain yourself in as few words as possible. Try to keep your email short, but polite. This is important because you want to make yourself clear to your receiver. 33Closings 34The last part to a good email is the closing. It is usually one or two words that let the receiver know that this is the end of the email. The ending should include your name and tell the receiver where you work and what you do. A few different closings are: 35Kind regards, 36Best, 37Thank you, 38Some applications create an automatic signature for the sender. This is useful because it saves time when you are writing. 39Example email 40So, what does a completed email look like? Here is an example email: 41If you follow these suggestions, you will find that you receive more responses to your emails. Effective email writing is important especially now when so much of what we do is online. 42I'm Gregory Stachel. 43And I'm Jill Robbins. 44Gregory Stachel wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 45_______________________________________________________________ 46Words in This Story 47audience - n. the people who watch, read, or listen to something 48formal - adj. of language: suitable for serious or official speech and writing 49prioritize - v. to make (something) the most important thing in a group 50introduce - v. to make (someone) known to someone else by name 51application - n. formal and usually written request for something (such as a job, admission to a school, a loan, or such 52polite - adj. having or showing good manners or respect for other people 53automatic - adj. of a machine or device: having controls that allow something to work or happen without being directly controlled by a person 54signature - n. a person's name written in that person's handwriting or, on an electronic message, the person's name and other contact information 55response - n. something that is said or written as a reply to something 56What do you think was the best advice in this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.