1: Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. Part of my daily routine

7: seven days a week includes time for responding to public comments and email.

12: If you write email even half as much as I do, you'll want to be sure you're writing the best

18: messages possible to be effective and efficient. Email requires clear communication. If you aren't

26: clear, you can create a misunderstanding. An appropriate tone is also important because

32: sounding too formal or informal isn't good for any kind of relationship. So, let's talk about

39: 12 common mistakes people make when they write email, and I'll teach you how to avoid them.

52: In an earlier lesson on writing email, I shared five basic don'ts. Let's quickly review those.

59: One. Don't forget to write a subject line. Be concise.

94: Two. Don't write your whole message in CAPS (capital letters).

139: Three. Don't write in all lowercase letters.

170: Four. Don't start each sentence on a new line.

194: Five. Don't write your whole message as one paragraph. Use line breaks.

231: Don't overuse CAPS or other formatting, like underlining, for emphasis. If something is urgent,

239: you can sparingly use boldfacing or italics, or you can simply express the urgency or the

246: importance in words. Check out these examples. In the subject line, you can simply use title case:

258: we capitalize the first word, the last word, and all important words like nouns, verbs,

264: adjectives, adverbs, and, of course, proper nouns. Some people choose to

269: use sentence case. That means you only capitalize the first word and proper nouns.

276: And don't feel the need to use exclamation points in the subject line, especially in business email.

285: In this sentence, boldfacing is used to highlight the date. That's okay. In this sentence,

293: italics are used to emphasize "not." Do not share these internal links. That's all right.

303: In this example, we're using words to express the urgency, and that's sufficient.

312: Here again, we rely on words to express the urgency and importance.

321: Don't write email like you talk in conversation.

324: Be more direct and concise. Take a look at these models. Let's see how they can be improved.

342: Here are my suggestions. Hi Kyle. When you have a minute, you can check out the attached PDF of

348: my services. Please reach out if you'd like to talk more or if you have any questions.

362: We can definitely make this more direct and concise.

366: Hi. Yes, tomorrow is fine. What time is good for you? I can meet in the AM or PM. Let me know.

375: Don't write business email like you text a friend.

378: Business email is often friendly, but you can still maintain a professional tone.

383: How would you change these statements? Make them more appropriate for business email.

401: Hi Gwen. I got the document. Thanks. I'll read it and return a signed copy as soon as possible.

407: Best, Teresa

420: Hi Gwen. I read the document, and I have a question about item 5.

423: It asks for an employee code. I don't know where to find that. Please advise. Thanks, Teresa

433: Don't write every email like a formal business letter, especially in a long thread.

440: Email needs to be efficient. Don't waste time on long greetings and closings

445: when the back-and-forth within a thread is very fast.

452: Let's look at this thread. It's fairly typical. An early message uses the standard structure.

458: There's a greeting, the body, followed by the closing and signature.

466: The reply uses the same format: greeting, body, closing signature. The next reply,

474: which came soon after, omits the greeting and closing. The signature is there by default.

488: Don't overuse or misuse punctuation marks.

492: Let me quickly quiz you. How should we end every sentence?

499: With a period. And how should a question end? With a question mark. What's this called?

512: An exclamation point. It usually expresses strong emotion.

519: Okay. Let's look at a message and see if the punctuation marks are used well or not.

528: So, the first thing I see here is the lack of any line breaks. Let's separate the greeting

534: and the signature. The most common way to punctuate a greeting is with a comma.

540: Sentences need to start with capital letters, and we're not going to join sentences with commas.

547: A sentence needs to end with a period. Be sure you know how to identify a sentence. If it's a

554: question, end with a question mark. In business email, don't try to combine a question mark with

560: an exclamation point. And if it's not a real question, it should end with a period.

572: To review standard use of punctuation in American English,

576: check out my writing skills playlist. I'll put the link in the video description.

584: Don't repeat what isn't necessary. Even formal business email can be concise. Polite requests,

592: for example, might use longer structures, but that doesn't mean a lot of repetition is needed.

599: Watch my lesson on ellipsis to gain a better understanding of when words can be omitted.

609: Here we have a message from Max. He's writing to an admissions office.

613: Let's read his email. Hello. I am applying for the MBA program, and I plan to complete some

619: of my coursework remotely. The website does not clearly state which courses are offered online.

625: There are a number of electives I am specifically interested in taking,

629: so I would like to confirm in advance if they are only offered on campus. As I am applying for

634: the MBA program and the deadline is next week, I wish to clarify my options as soon as possible. It

640: is my hope that you will be able to provide this clarification so that I will be able to meet the

645: deadline and submit my application on time. Would you please tell me if the courses listed below

651: are offered online or if they are at least offered online for some semesters if not for others?

658: I would greatly appreciate the clarification. I look forward to your response regarding the

663: clarification of these courses in which I have expressed interest. Thank you. Best regards, Max.

671: That was quite wordy. I think it's fair to say it's rather verbose.

676: All right. Let's help Max and reduce repetition. I think we can start

680: right around here. We don't need to say we're applying again. Take it out, Max.

688: All right. Yes, you want to clarify, so don't ask for clarification. Let's take that out.

699: Now, if you're concerned about the deadline, it's obvious. Right? So, do we need to explain

708: why you're concerned about the deadline? No.

713: You don't need to talk about the deadline twice.

718: Let's just take that all out. It's all understood. It is clear.

726: We can certainly reduce this. Let's make it shorter, more concise. How about "at any time"?

735: Okay. This is all polite, but this final part is way too long. You just want to look forward to the

741: response. Perhaps we can combine this appreciation with the "thank you." Here's my suggestion.

753: How about, "Thank you in advance"? That's what we need to say. Thank you in advance

760: for your time and assistance.

764: Then we'll delete this one, and it looks good.

769: Of course, Max needs to make his list. Let's

773: make space for that, so max does not forget to list the courses.

783: Now let's read the message aloud to see how well it flows. Hello. I am applying for the

788: MBA program, and I plan to complete some of my coursework remotely. The website does not

793: clearly state which courses are offered online. There are a number of electives I am specifically

799: interested in taking, so I would like to confirm in advance if they are only offered on campus.

804: As the deadline is next week, I wish to clarify my options as soon as possible.

809: Would you please tell me if the courses listed below are offered online at any time? I look

814: forward to your response. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. Best regards, Max

825: Don't forget the need for some pleasantries and context.

829: You can't always assume that your reader knows exactly what you're referring to.

835: Check out other lessons I have on including pleasantries and email.

840: I also teach formal and informal greetings and closings.

846: Let's jump into this message and see how it sounds. Hello Mia. Re: 33 Cherry Street. These

853: are the days I am available to view the property: Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Best, Adam Rush.

859: Well, Adam, you might be rushing. First of all, I'm not sure if he knows Mia or if Mia knows him.

868: I'm going to suggest that Adam add a bit more context. He can start in the subject line. What

875: is the request? Let's be more specific. It's a request to view a property, specifically 33 Cherry

885: Street. Mia must be a listing agent, a real estate agent. If this is the first message to Mia, he

893: can show a little more respect. Let's write full sentences. Make it sound nice. He's asking for a

900: favor. He wants to see that house. I noted that you are the listing agent for 33 Cherry Street.

909: He can explain what he wants and why. I missed the open house earlier this week.

917: The request now. Would it be possible to schedule a showing? These are the days I'm available to

926: view the property. I think one nice thing to add here would be "thank you." Thank you in advance.

935: All right. That looks better, Adam. Oh let's add one more thing. Have a good day!

941: Since you're asking for something, be nice. Remember not to rush so much that you forget

946: context and pleasantries.

951: We'll end here. Please like the video if you found it useful.

954: As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

960: Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Why not join me on Patreon?

966: And don't forget to subscribe on YouTube.