Academic Writing WorkshopJuly 31, 2012

Agenda

0 Introductions0T-square Set-up0Syllabus0How to write an Email0Practice email writing/feedback

Introductions

0Name0What is your major?0What is something interesting you have done?

Syllabus

Practice

0You are not feeling well today and you have a fever. You do not think you will be able to make it to dinner with your friend tonight. Write an email to him or her to cancel.

Practice

0 I am going to give you some situations, I want you to try to write an email following the situation.

Practice

0You are very confused about the registration process for your classes at GA Tech. Send an email to the secretary Kathy Williams to ask to meet with her and talk about the problems you are having.

Practice

0You are not feeling well today and you have a fever. You do not think you will be able to make it to your 10am class. You are worried about not being able to turn in an assignment in class. Write an email to you’re instructor and tell him/her that you can’t make it.

Introduction to Email

0You just wrote three different emails, did you change the way you wrote each of them? If so what differences were there?

CC/BCC

0 What do these mean?0 CC (stands for Carbon Copy)

0 This means that you are just copying someone in that email. The person will be able to see the entire email and who else it was sent to.

0 BCC (Blind Carbon Copy)0 If you use the BCC line, again, all the recipients will receive a

copy of the e-mail. However, names and addresses in the BCC line are not visible on the e-mail message.

0 Use this if you are sending an e-mail to a large group of people (just so not everyone has to see the whole list).

0 In addition, privacy matters may call for BCC mailing.

Subject Line

0The subject line of the email is typically what tells the reader if the email is important or not

0Write something here that clearly states your purpose

Formality and Greeting

0E-mail can be formal or informal, and your greeting will vary according to the tone.

0 if you are writing to someone you haven’t met, if you are making a cold contact, or sending a mass e-mail asking people to do something, then you are writing to people you don’t know and should send a formal e-mail.

0 if you send a formal e-mail, you should use a greeting like you would in a business letter. You would say “Dear So-and- So,” and the greeting should be followed by a colon.

Greetings

0Formal0 Dear Dr. Smith0 Dr. Smith

0 Informal but sometimes ok0 Hi Dr. Polio

0Avoid0 Hey0 Hey Teacher

Identify Yourself

0 Identify yourself and get to your point early in the e-mail message,

0 readers don’t read e-mail messages carefully0Therefore you need to get the readers attention and

get to your point while they are paying attention 0 if you’re writing to someone you don’t know, you

should include your name, occupation, and any other important identification information in the first couple of sentences.

Format/tone

0 maintain an appropriate, professional tone. 0 This is especially important when you are making a cold contact,

corresponding with a superior or writing to someone you don’t know well

0 However, it is also important to be professional when interacting with other employees whose respect you want.

0 You should also follow standards like skipping lines between paragraphs.

0 Avoid special typeface features like boldface, italics, and color because a lot of e-mail programs only display the message in simple text format.

0 Of course, avoid using all caps – this reads as SHOUTING.

Friends

0For a friend or a close colleague, it is OK to use smiley codes or abbreviations like LOL for “laughing out loud."

0you can also use nonstandard punctuation and spelling like you find in instant messaging or chat rooms.

0ONLY use these with colleagues you know very well.0 For business purposes, keep to appropriate,

professional standards.

Links

0 If you use a link in an email make sure it works0 Don’t add extra punctuation0 Include the whole thing

0The recipient should be able to click on the link and go to the webpage.

Signature

0make a professional signature. 0 Most e-mail programs now automatically attach a

signature to an outgoing e-mail. 0 Format your signature file to include your name and job

title0 Avoid snappy quotes or slogan unless they are

appropriate for your work.

Extra Tips

0Limit the length of your email 0Try to keep it to one screen, if possible0make your e-mail a series of small paragraphs rather

than one or two long ones. 0 You will see examples of this later

0 If you have a series of points or questions it helps to number them

Attachments

0Try to limit you’re use of attachments0 They take up memory0 Get lost0 Fail to open0 Take extra time

0 If you are only sending a small part of something paste it into the e-mail

0 If you do attach a large item name it appropriately and reference it early in the email

Proofread

0After you write your message, stop and reread it. Check spelling, grammar and flow carefully.

0Your e-mail message will represent you to its recipients, so be sure it is competent and accurate.

Privacy

0Remember that emails are easy to forward or copy0They are almost always saved0Never put anything in an e-mail that you wouldn’t be

willing to say publicly.

Practice

0You are confused about something I talked about today and you would like to meet me to talk about it. Send me an email about your problem.

0You are not feeling well and you cannot make it to class today. Send an email to me.

Practice

0You need to ask a group of strangers to help you with a project for your class. Write an email to them.

Practice

0You need to email your thesis advisor to find out what the deadline to turn in your proposal is. You also want to meet with her before you turn it in.

Thursday

0We will be talking about audience, style, and organization

Homework

0Read the article and think about the questions I gave you we will discuss these and practice using what you learned next time.

0 I will post this powerpoint on t-square and I will bring a printed out handout on Thursday.