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Contrast this message with the following sample, in which Stefan is e-mailing the principal investigator in his laboratory about the same problem.

From: Stefan Kovič

Subject: Problems with the gel box leads

Date: March 29, 2010 2:44:19 PM CDT

To: Kitty Jones

Dear Kitty,

When I was setting up the gel box yesterday, I noticed that the leads no longer fit properly. Should I try to fix them, or should we look into other options?

Thank you for your time,

Stefan

This time, the subject line is detailed and specific. Kitty can tell right away — without reading the e-mail — that something is wrong with the gel box leads. She can now decide whether she needs to read the full e-mail to understand the problem.

Because Stefan is addressing his supervisor, he uses a formal salutation ("Dear Kitty"), and his language is more formal than the language he used when writing to another student. It is clear from this letter that Stefan is writing to someone with authority.

A note about salutations: In this example, Stefan addresses Kitty Jones by her first name. This may be appropriate for someone you know well, such as your Ph.D. advisor, a professor you have been working with for quite some time, or a supervisor in your organization. However, if you do not know your recipient personally, or if you are new to a laboratory or organization, use a formal title (such as "Professor", "Dr.", or "Ms.") until the recipient grants you permission to use his or her first name. In most cases, your recipient will grant you that permission by responding with language like "Please call me Kitty" or by signing an e-mail with his or her first name.

E-mailing a scientist you do not know

As with e-mailing a professor, be sure to use a formal tone when writing to someone you do not know. In the following example, a student who is finishing his Ph.D. is e-mailing an established scientist to ask about postdoctoral opportunities in the scientist's lab. As you read, look for problems in tone that suggest that this writer has misjudged his audience.

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From: Jackson Lunk

Subject: Postdoc?

Date: April 26, 2010, 10:05:32 AM CDT

To: Donald Smith

Hey Prof. Smith,

I’m finishing my Ph.D. this spring and am looking for a postdoc. I found your lab page and thought I’d ask if you have any positions open. If you could get back to me soon, that’d be great.

Hope to hear from you,

Jackson Lunk

In this sample, Jackson has written an e-mail that is so casual that it can — and most likely will — cause offense. Jackson's tone does not properly convey respect for Professor Smith or acknowledge their difference in status. The salutation — "Hey Prof. Smith" — is too friendly, especially since Jackson is writing to ask for a job. Upon reading this e-mail, Professor Smith might assume that Jackson will be equally disrespectful in person.

In addition, the last sentence of the e-mail — "If you could get back to me soon, that'd be great" — is both too demanding and too casual. It comes too close to ordering Professor Smith to respond, and it does so in a tone that suggests that Jackson and Professor Smith are closer than they really are.

The closing of Jackson's message is likewise problematic. "Hope to hear from you" may be optimistic, but again, it is not appropriately respectful. It is customary to thank the reader for his or her time and consideration, especially when asking for something. Overall, Jackson's e-mail probably will not leave Professor Smith with a good impression. As a result, Professor Smith may be hesitant to consider Jackson for a position in his laboratory.

In contrast, consider this example:

From: Kevin Li

Subject: Positions for postdoctoral researchers?

Date: April 29, 2010, 4:32:02 PM CDT

To: Donald Smith

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Dear Professor Smith,

My name is Kevin Li, and I am finishing my Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Brown University in May. I heard your presentation at the BMES Annual Meeting, and my experience in kinesiology and mechanical design overlaps well with your current work on gait analysis and prosthetic development. I’d like to continue working in this area, and I wondered whether you might have any postdoctoral positions available in your laboratory. Are you currently hiring additional researchers?

Thank you for your time,

Kevin Li

This e-mail has all the signs of a balanced, respectful request: an appropriate salutation ("Dear Professor Smith"), enough information to show the purpose of the e-mail, a clear request using formal language, and a closing that thanks Professor Smith for his time. This is a message that will capture the recipient's attention and, most likely, receive an equally respectful response.

Establishing the context of an e-mail

When you are writing an e-mail, establish the context early in your message. If your recipients are particularly busy, they may not remember that you first e-mailed them the week before or that you met them at a conference. Consider reminders such as "As we discussed last week . . . " or "I wanted to follow up on yesterday's conversation about . . . " These phrases will help your reader remember previous discussions about the topic at hand.

If you do not know your reader personally, establish the context by introducing yourself and explaining how you know of the recipient. For instance, in the previous example, Kevin Li introduces himself to Donald Smith by explaining that he is a Ph.D. student, and he sets the context for his e-mail by noting that he heard Professor Smith present a paper at a recent conference. The reference to the conference will explain how Kevin knows about Professor Smith's research, and Professor Smith will not be surprised by Kevin's interest in working for his lab.

You might also set the context for an e-mail by referring to someone you and the recipient both know or (if you are a student) by mentioning your supervisor's name. In the following example, a graduate student is writing to a professor to ask whether the professor would be willing to meet with him at an upcoming conference. As you read the example e-mail, note how the student refers to his Ph.D. supervisor.

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From: Ian McDean

Subject: Possible meeting at AAAS conference?

Date: August 2, 2010, 12:27:55 PM EDT

To: Kate Hernandez

Dear Dr. Hernandez,

I am a graduate student in Dr. Emily Lender’s lab, where I am conducting research on artificial photosynthesis. I will be attending the upcoming AAAS conference, and Emily suggested that I contact you about possibly making an appointment to meet. While at the conference, would you be willing to meet with me to discuss my research?

Thank you for your time,

Ian McDean

Here, Ian provides context for his request both by identifying his area of research and by noting that he works for someone Dr. Hernandez already knows. Upon reading the e-mail, Dr. Hernandez will understand that Ian is contacting her because Dr. Lender suggested he do so.

Managing e-mail

Scientists and other professionals often receive a great deal of e-mail, and managing large numbers of messages can be difficult. However, effective e-mail management can help you avoid problems with tone and structure, so it should be an important goal.

Problems with tone often arise when people write e-mail too quickly or without careful thought. To help prevent these problems, check your e-mail when you know you will have enough time to read your messages carefully and write polite, thorough responses. When hurried, you might read incoming messages too fast, and you might fail to realize that your responses sound impolite or leave important questions unanswered. Your recipient could interpret an incomplete or abrupt answer as deliberate insult, even if you simply wanted to respond as soon as possible. It is better to take some extra time to write a good e-mail than to send a poorly written e-mail immediately.

If you are unable to answer an e-mail thoroughly in a timely fashion, send the recipient a polite note acknowledging his or her message and asking for some extra

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time to respond. You need not explain why — simply state that you would like to take some time to think about the message, but you will respond as soon as you can. Likewise, if you have sent an e-mail and not received a response from your correspondent, be patient. He or she might also have decided to take the time to send you a thorough response. In addition, be aware of any time differences between your state or country and the state or country in which your recipient lives, as these differences can sometimes delay a message.

If you are e-mailing a colleague who works at the same institution or corporation that you do, consider calling the person instead. You might be able to handle some questions or problems more effectively in a ten-minute phone call than in multiple e- mails. Similarly, do not use e-mail to handle matters that can be addressed more readily or tactfully in person than in writing. Some complicated issues are best reserved for in-person communication.

1.Answer the questions.

1.How should the e-mail be organized?

2.What should be the tone of an e-mail?

3.How should the appropriate tone be determined?

4.What helps establish the context on e-mail?

5.How important is it to manage effectively e-mail?

2.Practice e-mail correspondence.

1. You have just graduated from college or university with your bachelor's degree. You would like to continue studying toward a Ph.D., but you are not sure whether the professor you would like to study with is currently taking new students. Work with the partner. Write a series of e-mails in which you initially contact the professor, explain your interest in the lab, and list your qualifications, and then follow up on his or her response to you.

2. You are a postdoctoral researcher in a university laboratory. Upon checking your e- mail, you find the following message from a professor at a different university asking whether you would share some of your work. Write a response to this professor in which you thank her for her interest and send her the paper she has requested.

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To: Friedrich Elter

From: Jeanne-Marie Beauchamp

Dear Dr. Elter,

We met last week at the European Nuclear Conference in Barcelona, where I attended your talk on reverse field pinch plasmas. In your talk, you referred to a research paper that you recently submitted to the Journal of Fusion Energy. Would you be willing to send me a pre-print of this paper at your earliest convenience?

Thank you for your time,

Marie

LETTERS.

In this age of e-mail we still write paper letters. For this there may be different reasons: when we want a document to be filed or archived, when we want to present and address complex topics, when the material is so confidential, that we don’t want someone to see it, and many other reasons.

What you have read about writing e-mail applies for letter writing. But you should know about some peculiarities of this form of correspondence.

Letter format

The main formats for business letters are called full block format and modified block format.

Full block format means that all the elements of the letter are left-justified so that the start of each line is at the left-hand margin. This is the more formal style, so use it if you are unsure which to go for.

Modified block format means that some elements of the letter are shifted over to the right. Nowadays, this style is appropriate in most contexts.