6 Formal Email Writing Tips For Engineering Students

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Education system that produces thousands of engineers every year is seriously flawed. It never prepares students for the real corporate world. I've had my own moments in corporate world that made me think "Had I been taught this in college, I'd not have made this mistake". Professional communication is one such thing. No, forget what they taught you in college. The people who taught you, themselves never had any exposure to the industry and its no brainer that they don't know what's needed in professional world. Of course, there are exceptions, but this article is for the majority.

Almost every day, I receive emails from engineering students inquiring about various things, job applications, requests etc. Lot of students try to be as professional (formal) as they can in their emails, but since they don't know how to write an email, they simply make a good start and then turn casual in later part of the mail. Following are simple tips to help you write formal, professional email writing. Do keep these in mind and I promise you will find yourself a step ahead of other graduates. Yet another reason for you to be a CEan.

#-Link-Snipped-#Tip #1: Learn to use an email client: I personally do not like email clients (a desktop software that handles all your email), but most of the organizations give their employees a computer with an email client installed. Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular email clients used by many corporates. If you have access to it (its costly, mind you!), it would be nice to spend some time on it and learning the basic operations (sending/receiving mail, creating folders, tagging emails, Calendar etc.) Alternatively, I'd strongly recommend you to download #-Link-Snipped-#From Mozilla. It's free and it does almost everything Outlook does, plus you can learn it easily.

Tip #2: Know the purpose of mail: You aren't forwarding a mail that someone else forwarded to you. Before you write any mail, you must first have a clear idea about the purpose of mail. For example, you might be writing an email to your client answering technical doubts he raised. While responding to such mail, you must have a clear information in your mind and it should reflect in your mail. In formal emails, always stick to the point.

Tip #3: Correct subject is a must: When writing formal email, pay attention to the subject of your email. Often, it's better to make the subject give an idea about the content of mail. Lot of students do not pay any attention to the subject of email and most of their emails have subjects like 'Hi' or 'Hello' or no subject at all. In corporate world, people handle lot of emails on daily basis. I used to handle about 20-30 emails every day and can surely tell you that a mail that has a better subject gets more attention than equally important email without a proper subject. Following are few examples of good subjects: -

a. Mail to manager:  "Applying for leave between <date> to <date>"

b. Mail to system administration department:  "Requesting replacement of my faulty keyboard"

c. Mail to client: "Minutes of Meeting Held on <date> at <location, if applicable>"

d. Status of tasks done in previous week: "Summary of tasks done during <period>"

Above examples should give you an idea about how to write subject of your emails. Never have subjects like "Hiiiiii" or "heyyy" for your formal emails.

Tip #4: Salutation & beginning your email: You could simply use "Hi <name>" to being your mails. "Dear <name>" is also acceptable, but I'd advise you to stick to more formal salutation. Remember, if you don't know the gender of the person you're writing an email to; don't make assumptions. So avoid Mr./Mrs./Ms. unless you are absolutely sure.

You've had telephonic/email conversation with the person you're writing to and wish to mention it, you can simply say "With reference to our communication over the phone on <date>, today, last week, ....". Also, I've noticed that many students start formally and then turn casual. You must maintain the formal tone throughout your email.

Tip #5: Do not decorate your email: While HTML formatted email lets you add colors to your text and also bold, underline, italicize it; I'd recommend you to avoid it. Use plain text mail. Also its a big NO NO to use ALL CAPS text. Using ALL CAPS is considered as 'shouting' in email communication.

It is also very important that you add paragraphs at proper places in your text. Always spell check your email before you send it and that essentially means u cn nt n shd nt use sms txt in ur mail.

Tip #6: Concluding your email & email signatures: Conclude your email with "Sincerely"  or "Regards" followed by your name and signature. Signature, in email, is simply the text that describes your designation, company name, desk phone number, fax number and email ID.

These are the basic tips that should give you an idea about how emails are written in professional world. If you have questions, suggestions do let me know through comments.