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5.2 Writing Academic and Professional E-mails

Before and after sending:

• Always reread the subject line and your message before sending it to make sure the
tone of your message is professional and correct.
• Double-check the names and e-mail addresses in the “To. . .” and “cc. . .” lines to make
sure your message will be sent to the correct persons.
• Always use the spell-check tool in your e-mail program to make sure your message
is correct. Note that in Microsoft Outlook you can have the spelling and grammar
checked automatically every time you send or reply to an e-mail. Click the Help icon
(?) in Outlook, and search for “spell-check e-mail” to learn how to set your version of
Outlook to perform these automatic checks.
• Insert a signature block that shows your name, contact information, and address (if
necessary), so the recipient of your message can get back to you. Note that in Micro-
soft Outlook, you can click the Help icon (?) and search for “signature” to learn how
to create and automatically insert a signature block in your e-mail messages.
• Allow 48 hours for your recipient to respond before you follow up.

When receiving messages:

• Always check your e-mail regularly for urgent or time-sensitive messages, and
attempt to respond to all e-mail messages within 24 hours. Instead of composing a
new e-mail to reply, you can simply click Reply, and the original message will be
included for clarity. See A Closer Look: E-mail No-No’s for some things to avoid while
writing an e-mail.

A Closer Look: E-mail No-No’s

Now that you know what to do when writing a school or work e-mail, here are the top six things
not to do:
• Don’t send personal e-mail messages or forward jokes, recipes, or chain letters.
• Don’t send offensive, obscene, or embarrassing e-mail.
• Don’t send confidential information such as Social Security numbers or other personal
data.
• Don’t use e-mail to replace formal communications such as academic assignments or
written papers. Always format these documents according to the guidelines provided
by your instructor and submit them as separate documents to the appropriate place in
your online classroom.
• Don’t send formal communications such as policies and procedures or employee
performance reviews by e-mail. Use formal business correspondence and forms for
these purposes.
• Don’t click “Reply All” unless every recipient needs to see your response.
Reflection Question

1. You have likely received e-mail messages or other types of messages from your friends
and acquaintances that you would rather not have gotten. What about them bothered
you? Based on your experiences, add your own bullet points to this list of e-mail no-no’s.

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