1. E-mail is a quick, easy, and economical way for us to communicate with each other.
2.Writing e-mails will teach you to write short, simple sentences that communicate effectively.
3. E-mail skills are necessary to get a good job.
Here is the form that I want you to use when you send e-mail to me and to your classmates.
However, you should make it a habit to always use strong subject lines in your e-mail to everyone you write to.
1st: Write a Strong Subject Line
Basically the Subject Line = Goal of the E-Mail.
The Subject Line is very important because it tells the reader what your e-mail is about. The Subject Line should be a clear message that says what your e-mail is about.Your subject line should tell me why the e-mail is important to me.
Many people, myself included, receive 50 or more e-mails each day. Usually I am too busy to read all my mail, so I have to decide which mail is important and should be read immediately, and which mail I can read sometime later. How do I make that decision?
I read the subject line, and then I decide if the message is important and must be read immediately, or if I can read it sometime later. So, the subject line is the only hint that I have to help me decide if a message is important and should be read immediately. Let me emphasis again that the Subject Line is the statement of the Goal of the E-Mail.
What are strong subject lines?
Strong subject lines are short, clear and to the point. They reflect the heart of message. Again,
Examples of strong subject lines; "Homework Assignment", or "Question about today's lecture", or "I will be absent from class tomorrow".
Weak subject lines are very general, and they don't tell the reader anything about the content of the message. Examples of weak subject lines; "Hi", or "Hello", or "How are things going?".
Imagine that it's midnight Monday night and I open my computer and see this list of subject lines:
Hi!
Homework for Sophia's Management class
Nice to meet you
Sale at Tsutaya
A Funny Story
Photos from our vacation
Questions - homework for Video A class
Homework for Meiji's Video B class
How are you?
I will be absent from class tomorrow
Teacher's Meeting Schedule
Which e-mails do you think I will read first?
If you guessed these subject lines you are right:
Homework for Sophia's Management class
Questions- homework for Meiji's Video A class
Homework for Meiji's Video B class
I will be absent from class tomorrow
Teacher's Meeting Schedule
These e-mails had strong subject lines and got my interest and my attention, so I read them immediately.
The other e-mails had weak subject lines, or subject lines that stated that they messages were social. Therefore I read those e-mails when I had free time - perhaps 1 or 2 days later.
Therefore, if you want to be sure that I read your e-mail immediately, then be sure to have a clear subject line - a subject line that tells me what the e-mail is about, and why it's important to me.
Pattern for E-Mail to complete homework assignment:
1.Greeting
Example: Hi Prof. Miles.
2.Who are you?
Example: This is Kenji Yoshida
3.What class are you in- and what university are you attending? Please remember I have several conversation classes and several video-listening classes, so please be specific in telling me which class you are in.
Example: I'm in your Video B class at Meiji University.
4.What are you writing about?
Example:This is my homework assignment, (identify the assignment) example:"Why am I studying English?"
5. Write the homework assignment.
Example A: I am studying English because it's my dream to get a good job that allows me to work overseas. I need to learn English to realize my dream.That's why I'm studying English.
Example B: I am studying English because it's required for graduation at this university.
6.Closing.
Example: See you in class,
or
Example: Take care,
or
Example: Best regards,
7 Signature
Example: Junichiro Kitazawa
or
Example: Rie Tanaka
Pattern for E-Mail to Ask Questions:
1st: Write Strong Subject Line:
Example: Question about homework for class
Example: Question about homework length
1. Greeting
Example: Hi Prof. Miles.
2. Who are you?
Example: This is Kenji Yoshida
3. What class are you in, and what university are you attending?
Example: I'm in your Video B class at Meiji University
4.What's your question?
Example:How long does our the answer to our homework have to be?
or
Example: What do you mean by "invisible trade barriers"?
or
Example: I'm writing because I don't understand exactly what we are supposed to write about.
or
Example: I'm writing because I was sick and couldn't attend the last class. Would you please tell me what we studied and tell me our homework assignment?
6.Closing.
Example: See you in class,
or
Example: Take care,
or
Example: Best regards,
7 Signature
Example: Kenji Nishi
or
Example: Satoko Higashi
Note :Please use the same pattern when you write to your classmates.