[ti:How to Write a Good Email]
[al:Education Report]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2025-02-05]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Email is one of the most important ways through which we communicate. 
[00:08.47]It has become part of most everyone's day-to-day life.
[00:14.99]Writing a good email can mean the difference between someone reading it and writing back, and someone ignoring it all together. 
[00:27.11]Do you have questions on how to make your message more effective?
[00:33.20]Today on Education Tips, we will answer the question, "How can I make my emails better?"
[00:43.87]Emails are made up of four different parts:
[00:47.71]the subject line,
[00:50.46]the opening,
[00:51.59]the body, and
[00:54.42]the closing.
[00:55.77]Let us explore how to make each of these parts better.
[01:01.30]The subject line is what the other person, or receiver, will read first. 
[01:08.63]The subject line is usually the most important part of an email. 
[01:14.29]It should be short but contain enough details that the receiver recognizes the subject of the email. 
[01:22.03]A good subject line sets the expectations for the email. 
[01:28.64]A bad subject line can mean the receiver will not read the email.
[01:35.45]Some people will add the word "important" to the subject line, but this does not provide enough information.
[01:45.14]Instead of writing "important," two better choices for subject lines are:
[01:51.57]Meeting Tomorrow at 10am to Discuss New Changes
[01:57.42]Question About Future Classes
[02:01.65]As in any form of writing, you should know your audience. 
[02:08.21]The opening of an email depends on things like how formal the relationship is.
[02:16.41]If you are sending an email to a friend or someone you work with, two good openings or greetings are:
[02:28.10]Good Morning/Afternoon,
[02:29.81]Hello, or Hello [name],
[02:36.26]If you are sending the email to someone you do not know and it is a formal situation, some possible openings are:
[02:47.66]Dear [name of department],
[02:51.19]To Whom it May Concern,
[02:54.62]In a formal situation, when you know the name of the person, a good opening is simply:
[03:03.59]Dear [title] [family name],
[03:07.93]As in, Dear Mister Brown,
[03:11.21]The body of the email is where you ask for what you need or make clear your reason for writing the email. 
[03:21.26]This could be asking them a question or keeping them informed. 
[03:27.55]The body of the email should prioritize the most important information. 
[03:34.03]It should be direct, and it is wise to keep it short.
[03:38.87]If the person you are emailing does not know you, you should introduce yourself in the first few lines. You might write:
[03:48.86]My name is Patricia Jones. I am sending this email to get some more information about the job you advertised.
[03:59.63]After you have introduced yourself and given your reason for writing, you can follow this with the body of your email. 
[04:09.82]The most important information should come first. 
[04:15.64]This makes your email clear to your receiver and saves them time. Here is an example.
[04:25.07]I wanted to know if you are currently accepting applications. 
[04:30.30]If so, where can I send my information? Additionally, will you be meeting people in-person or online?
[04:40.70]It is important to clearly explain yourself in as few words as possible. Try to keep your email short, but polite.
[04:54.14]This is important because you want to make yourself clear to your receiver.
[05:01.33]The last part to a good email is the closing. 
[05:06.83]It is usually one or two words that let the receiver know that this is the end of the email. 
[05:13.90]The ending should include your name and tell the receiver where you work and what you do. 
[05:20.89]A few different closings are:
[05:24.42]Kind regards,
[05:27.40]Best,
[05:29.04]Thank you,
[05:31.22]Some applications create an automatic signature for the sender. 
[05:36.72]This is useful because it saves time when you are writing.
[05:41.43]So, what does a completed email look like? Here is an example email:
[05:48.63]If you follow these suggestions, you will find that you receive more responses to your emails. 
[05:57.31]Effective email writing is important especially now when so much of what we do is online.
[06:07.69]I'm Gregory Stachel.
[06:09.84]And I'm Jill Robbins.