Is email the right way to send this information? • Written form is preferable over a meeting or phone call in this situation. • The message is not too personal or confidential. Before writing, I asked myself: • What do the readers already know? • Why are they receiving the email? • What do they need to do after reading the email? • Is a formal or informal style preferred? Did I keep it simple? • I used clear, simple language. • I aimed for an average of 15-20 words per sentence. • I chose active voice over passive voice. Did I put the main message first? • I kept the inverted pyramid (below) in mind while organizing content. • The message gets the reader’s attention quickly. Is there a great subject line? • The subject is clear and descriptive. • The subject line is not confusing to the reader Do my emotions show in my writing? • The message is neutral and does not show anger, sadness, or disappointment. • The tone of the message does not show the reader what type of day I am having. Did I give the email the same attention I would give a letter? • Punctuation and grammar are correct. • There are few abbreviations and/or acronyms. • I checked my grammar using the 5-column system. Are the dates and times understandable to all? • The date is written with the month spelled out to avoid confusion (i.e. 10 June 2009 or June 10, 2009) • Times are written as follows: 5:00 am or 13:00 (hours) or 2:00 pm. • When using the 12-hour clock, I used the abbreviation AM (also am or a.m.) for the morning, and PM (also pm or p.m.) for times after noon. Is the email professional? • I know that my email could be forwarded to unknown or unintended readers. • The email is not unnecessarily long. • I double checked the spelling of all names. Did I clarify the attachments? • It is clear what action the reader should take. • If the attachment is long or complex, I summarized the main points in my email. • If necessary, I let the recipients know which software and version was used to create the file. • I did attach all necessary files. WRITING EMAILS – EMAILS SCHREIBEN WRITING SUCCESSFUL AND EFFECTIVE EMAILS – ERFOLGREICHE UND EFFEKTIVE EMAILS SCHREIBEN Here is a checklist for writing emails in an effective and professional manner. Tel: 089 / 41 200 660 www.lbt-languages.de When constructing your message keep in mind the inverted pyramid. It is used by journalists as a way of capturing the reader’s attention and also making the entire story easier to read. This is done through putting the most important information first, thus giving the reader a context for the details to come. Most important information Next most important information next most important least