7 E-Mail Questions for Business English Writing

1. Agree and disagree: On the one hand, emails and letters are both written forms of communication, so you need some of the same basic language skills to write them well. e.g. good organization. clear and concise language, correct grammar and appropriate vocabulary. On the other hand, emails are different from letters in terms of style, register. and language used. so you need some different skills as well.

2. Agree and disagree: It is true that emails (especially informal ones) share some of the same vocabulary and style as spoken messages. But this type of informal language is not usually suitable when writing emails in a professional context.  (You need to study Formal & informal emails.)

3 Agree: Not only is the subject line useful for telling the recipient what the email is about before it is read, but it is also helpful for finding the email later when it is filed away in the inbox.

4 Agree: You might find native speakers do not always correct mistakes in their emails. This can be acceptable – especially in internal emails – as long as the mistakes do not interfere with communication. On the other hand, even if the message is clear, too many mistakes can give a bad impression.

5. Agree and disagree: Copying others in to your email exchange does help keep everybody informed about what is happening or what decisions have been made (and might even reduce the time spent in meetings!). But the option is often overused and can waste people’s time when they have to read a lot or emails every day.

6. Agree: As an email is received within minutes or even seconds, the writer usually expects an immediate response, even if it is just to say that the email has arrived and will be answered later.

7. Agree and disagree: It is more direct to reach for the phone, but with email you have the information in writing. Furthermore, you may pick an inconvenient time when you phone somebody, whereas an email can be read and answered when the other person has time.