Writing academic/ scientific e-mails – TN I. Discussion: * Do you write emails in English? * On what occasions? * How often? * Who’s the recipient? * What kind of language/ register do you usually use in your English emails? II. Look at the two emails. How are they different? What are the reasons why they were written? From: 234567@mail.muni.cz Subject: tomorrow Hi teacher! I cannot come to school tomorrow, ‘cause I’m real sick. I’ll do my presentation on Mammals next week. See ya, Tom Smiley informative From: offthewall@email.com Subject: Steven Bold, 3^rd year student of Media and Communication, Monday seminar group, 9 a.m. Good afternoon Mrs Crow, I am very unhappy about the fact that I received F for my English exam. As a matter of fact, you are the only one who gave me such a bad mark, and now my distinction is in danger. When can I write the re-take? There are no more terms available, but I have to have it this semester, as I am very busy in summer. Best regards, Steven persuasive Steven Bold PR Assistant Offthewall International From: 54321@mail.muni.cz Subject: Hello Dear Mrs teacher, I was not at school last Wednesday. Can you tell me what you did? And do I have to do any homework? Robert Dark enquiring III. Are those emails appropriate? Give arguments for/against IV. Dos and Don’ts of academic/scientific email writing Look at the phrases and categorize them into the things you should remember about and those you’d rather avoid doing · Use a title which is not an academic one · Have no reference to the attachment ( the recipient will see it anyway) · Use your university email account for academic and professional correspondence · Leave out personal details · Start emails with “I want…” or “I need…” · Write a clear subject line · Write a greeting appropriate to the addressee · Omit greeting (the recipient knows that it’s him/her that the message is being addressed to) · Have exclamation marks for something that is considered very important · Include your full name and contact information (if there is a need) · Write a detailed description of events preceding the situation discussed · Emphasize the conversational aspect · Keep messages as concise as possible DOs DON’Ts Keep messages as concise as possible Emphasize the conversational aspect Leave out personal details Have no reference to an attachment Use your university email account Have exclamation points for something that is considered important Write a clear subject line Omit greetings Write a greeting appropriate to the addressee Start emails with “I want/need” Include your full name& contact information Use a title which is not an academic one Write a detailed description of events preceding the situation discussed https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/MXv2iJS1bBtQCR/html V. Discuss what features those email parts should contain: https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/MXv2iJS1bBtQCR/html · Title of the email a short, concise formulation of what you’re writing about · Salutation proper addressing of the recipient; be gender-sensitive (use Ms instead of Miss or Mrs; use Dr Brown instead of Ms Brown, etc.)! punctuation : (in AE) or , Formal emails: Dear…, neutral-informal (for some): Dear +1^st name · The beginning first sentence or first paragraph giving the reason for writing the email · The main body main message, core information, core explanation · The ending putting the things in the recipient’s consideration in an appropriate way · Closing the email and signing Best regards, Regards, Thank you, Yours sincerely (formal), Sincerely (AE), Yours, Best (AE?) + full name underneath VI. Read the text giving tips on how to write an effective email, and complete the text with the right adjective Source: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nmswishe/academic_email.pdf ( visited on February 10th, 2015) VII. Formal vs informal vocabulary: How would you change these words/expressions into more formal ones? (elt.oup.com) INFORMAL FORMAL (possible answers) Thanks Thank you Sorry for… I would like to/let me apologize for… Can you… I would appreciate it if you… Do you know… Would you happen to know…? I can’t… Unfortunately, I will not be able to…/ I am afraid I… I don’t want to… I would rather not… VIII. Put the strips of paper given to you by your teacher in two emails: a formal and a semi-formal one (ready worksheets: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/email-writing ) IX. Choose one of the following email messages sent from students to Prof. Janet Maceda; think about the ways to convey the same information in a more appropriate way Source: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nmswishe/academic_email.pdf ( visited on February 10th, 2015)