The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Email English Language Essay

Email or electronic mail or e-mail digital messages from an author to one or more recipient Now a days it had become a basic source of communication whether personal, professional or socially. It is a common way by which now everyone communicates.

E-mail is a system of creating, sending and storing textual data in digital form over a network.

Earlier, the e-mail system was based on Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mechanism, a protocol used in sending the e-mails from one server to another.

Today’s e-mail technology uses the store-and-forward model. In this model, the users sends and receives information on their own computer terminal.

However, the computer is used only for connecting to the e-mail architecture. The creation, transmission and storage of e-mail takes place, only when the connection with this e-mail architecture is established.

E-mail is one of the many technological developments that has influenced our lives.

It has changed the medium of communication.

So, it becomes necessary for us to check out the benefits and harmful effects of this popular tool used on the Internet.

Advantages of Email

The benefits of e-mail are huge in number.

Easy to use

Speed

Advertising tool: Many individuals and companies are using e-mails to advertise their products, services, etc.

Disadvantages of Email

The e-mails, though beneficial in our day-to-day life, has got its own drawbacks that are off late coming to the fore.

Viruses

Spam

Hacking

Crowded inbox

It can also know as netiquette i.e network etiquette.

Today, business emails have become a routine in the work schedule. Writing business emails is not difficult but it is highly important to follow the email etiquette rules so that your email conveys the necessary information without any misunderstanding.

Applying the basic etiquette to your emails will make your message professional and sincere. Remember, the business mails are different from your casual mails or forwards.

The business emails should be precise, crisp and to the point, and easily understandable by the recipient.

A badly written email may hamper not only the image of the individual sending it but also of the organization he belongs to. Here are some email etiquette rules to help you write a decent and professional email.

BASIC GUIDELINES TO FOLLOW WHILE

Emailing

Rules of Email Etiquette

Subject: The subject must be meaningful and relevant to the body text. The subject should easily tell the receiver what the email is about. Also, don’t use URGENT/IMPORTANT in the subject line or even in the body text. Use it only if it’s really very urgent or important. Same rule applies to the high priority option. If you use the option repeatedly, after a while people will start ignoring your mails.

Be Precise: Before you start writing the mail, consider the reason for sending it. Jot down the points to be covered in the mail. Now, be concise and to the point while you write the mail and at the same time, make sure you don’t miss any point. Follow the same rule for the subject line, don’t make it too long. Long emails, filled with unnecessary information can be irritating and the reader may leave it in between.

Avoid Long Sentences: A sentence should be not more than 20 words. This will ensure better, easy and quick understanding of what you want to communicate.

Language: Use right spellings, punctuations and grammar. Wrong use of these may not only affect the understanding of the receiver, as to what you want to communicate, but might also give a bad impression about your company. Use the spell check option, if available, and proofread it manually as well. Also, avoid using passive voice.

All Caps: Never write the email text in CAPITALS. Doing so means that you are SHOUTING. This can lead to annoyance and unwanted responses or a flame mail too.

Abbreviations and Emoticons: Use only globally recognized abbreviations. Use of casual abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud) or BTW (by the way) is not appropriate in business emails. Similarly, avoid emoticons like the smiley :-).

Formatting: While formatting the emails, be very careful. Remember, you want to have a simple looking email not an attractive one. Avoid unnecessary use of colored fonts, highlights, various font styles and sizes, bold, italics and underline options. If you use the color or highlight options, make sure that the text is easily visible.

Layout: The layout and structure of the email is very important, especially when you have written a long mail. Make proper paragraphs according to the things to be discussed or communicated. Keep the paragraphs short and keep a blank line between each paragraph. If you write point-wise, number the points. This system will help the receiver while replying about disagreement or changes in a particular point.

Attachments: Take utmost care that any unnecessary file or image has not been attached by you. Also, if you need to attach one, make sure it is the right one and you are not attaching something else in a hurry. Confirm whether the file and image format can be viewed at the receiver’s end. Try to compress attachments and do not send large attachments; that may lead to a problem at the receiver’s system.

Signature: Email signatures can be funny or interesting quotations, your name with your designation, company name, address, contact details, etc., but they must be brief and not more than five lines. Extra long signature lines take up more space than the message itself and seem to be irritating.

Include Disclaimers: Make sure that you include all the business disclaimers recommended by your company. If you don’ t include one, it can land you or your company into legal problems.

Emails are Not For: Remember that your official email account should not be used for any personal communication. Also, don’t use it to communicate confidential information and never include racially and sexually discriminating jokes or comments. Don’t forward emails containing such language or hoax emails, spam emails and chain emails. You and your company might land in unnecessary trouble. Just delete them.

Replying to Emails

If you are replying to an email, you have to follow all the business email etiquette rules mentioned above. Some added points too need to be considered while doing so.

Read Before You Hit ‘Send’: Though you are confident about your language and feel you have followed all the email etiquette rules, minute mistakes can still remain in your email. So, read the email once again before you hit the ‘send’ button. Check whether you have attached the files required and also mentioned about them.

Following the email etiquette rules will help you to send an effective message. It ensures that no misunderstandings and mistakes are created that may result into inappropriate comments for you. A simple mistake might lead to a big problem in email communication. So, always check and recheck, be sure and only then hit the ‘send’ button.

Why do you need email etiquette?

A company needs to implement etiquette rules for the following three reasons:

Professionalism: by using proper email language your company will convey a professional image.

Efficiency: emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded emails.

Protection from liability: employee awareness of email risks will protect your company from costly law suits

The language and presentation of your emails gives the reader a very strong impression of your professionalism and general abilities. There are certain rules which are to be applicable while writing email.

As said first impression is the last impression therefore the subject line which majorly reflects the theme or content should be simple, concise and directly related to the content. Try not to use the cc: field unless the recipient in the cc: field knows why they are receiving a copy of the message.

Focusing on the content of the email the writer must carefully choose their words to avoid giving the wrong impression or offending the reader. The recipient should be addressed by the appropriate titles.

The user should not use slang terms, abbreviations, excessive ellipses, or write in all capitals or lowercase letters. Proper use of grammar and sentence structure is indicative of intelligence and professionalism.

Think before Sending – The proverb ‘look before you leap’ should be remembered over here (‘look’ before your email ‘leaps’ to the recipient’s inbox!). Check the content thoroughly, the attachments and the recipient’s address before sending the email. Anything incorrect could result in problems to both the parties.

Format a standard ‘signature’ for emails which includes: full name, title, department, telephone numbers and e-mail address.

Emails demand a prompt response. Reply to e-mails within 24 hours. An email reply must answer all questions.

Do not attach unnecessary files. large attachments can annoy customers and even bring down their e-mail system

Basically, you must keep in mind that there is a human being at the other end of your email messages. Remember to use the same manners as if you were talking to them in person. For most conversations, you will keep your messages short and to the point too, as it is common for person’s eyes to get tired from looking at a computer screen.