STEP 4: Writing and Revising—Writing the Draft
As you follow the writing process suggested in Step 3, keep in mind that simple,
straightforward e-mails are typically composed quickly, with little attention to the
detailed steps of revising. In many cases, that process works just fine.
Two pitfalls frequently occur, however, when e-mail writers fail to take drafting,
revising, and proofreading seriously. First, even with casual, friendly e-mails, sloppy
editing—misspelled or misused words; inaccurate grammar, usage, and mechanics;
and/or muddy sentence structure—gives the recipient an unfavorable impression of
the writer. Never forget that your sloppy e-mail and its accompanying unfavorable
impression can then be forwarded to an unlimited number of recipients, perhaps
compromising your academic, business, or personal reputation.
Second, more serious or lengthy e-mails—especially those directly or indirectly related
to academic, financial, business, legal, or related matters—warrant careful writing
and even more careful attention to revising and proofreading. Consider, for example,
the common practice of submitting one’s resume as an e-mail attachment. In that sit-
uation, the body of the e-mail itself becomes the resume cover letter, a message of
extreme importance.
For other equally important or especially long, complicated e-mail messages, you’ll
do better composing your first draft off-line. By so doing, you can revise, edit, and
polish off-line. When you are satisfied with the final draft, use your word processor’s
copy and paste functions to place your polished text into the body of the e-mail.
STEP 5: Writing and Revising—Maintaining Netiquette
Netiquette is a recently coined word that refers to network etiquette. Just as you fol-
low good etiquette when writing a business letter, you follow good etiquette on the
Internet when you send or respond to e-mail.
- Don’t^ flame.^ A^ flame is a personal attack. Because e-mail can be made public,
you’ll probably regret any such personal attacks.
-^ Don’t spam. Spam on e-mail is the same as junk mail in your mailbox. If you
send the same message to hundreds of people, you are spamming, and most
recipients will not take kindly to your message.
-^ Don’t shout. To use all capital letters LIKE THIS is considered shouting on
e-mail. Don’t be rude.
-^ Use standard type. Avoid fonts bigger than 12 point; don’t use bold type; skip
colored fonts; omit patterned or colored backgrounds; forget fancy type.
-^ Don’t send unnecessary or overly long messages. People don’t like to waste their
time reading messages that don’t pertain to them or to the business at hand.
-^ Avoid “reply all” unless it is necessary for everyone to read your response to
someone’s message and unless you know everyone on the list.
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