Laboratory Manual
LAB 01
Introduction to Information and
Communication Technologies
Semester-I
(For All BS-Programs)
Table of Contents
How to avoid from making mistakes while writing the email and how to write an email .............. 3
1. Writing a poor subject line ................................................................................................... 3
2. Not personalizing your greeting........................................................................................... 3
3. Announcing too much in one message................................................................................. 3
4. Ambiguous language ............................................................................................................. 3
5. Copy and pasting................................................................................................................... 4
6. Forgetting to explain attachments ....................................................................................... 4
7. Using jargon words ............................................................................................................... 4
8. Failing to use a signature ...................................................................................................... 4
9. Having a poor email format ................................................................................................. 5
10. Neglecting proofreading ....................................................................................................... 5
Your Task is to write an email to your teacher ............................................................................... 6
How to avoid from making mistakes while writing the email and
how to write an email
1. Writing a poor subject line
Your email subject line should be relevant to the content contained in the email.
When a discussion begins, the subject line should never say, “Hey.” This is just too
vague, and non-urgent. So, always state the topic of your message in the subject line.
For example, say, you want to send an email to someone with whom you spoke
through a LinkedIn message, a subject line that says; ‘Continuing our conversation
on LinkedIn’ will serve you better than a ‘Hey’ or ‘Hello’.
2. Not personalizing your greeting
An email is effective when it looks purposeful. It looks purposeful when you know
whom you are contacting. An email without a personalized greeting could have been
meant for just about anyone and this is never impressive.
For instance, let us say you are cold emailing a company for a business opportunity.
Do not say, ‘Hi folks’, instead, do your research and find out who the head is, verify
their email ID, and address them directly by mentioning their name in the greeting.
3. Announcing too much in one message
Email is meant to be read quickly. Leaving your inbox, open all day is detrimental
for productivity. So, do not send out a week’s worth of assignments or discussions in
one email. This will only make it so the recipient has to keep referring back to this
one message. They will have to more tabs open than necessary and spend too much
time moving back and forth between the email and what they are doing.
4. Ambiguous language
Ambiguous language is the murderer of all written communication. It creates the
scope for misunderstanding. If you write something that can have more than one
meaning, no matter how well the email recipient knows you and the subject of your
content, you run the risk of wasting time and energy to do some extra explaining, or
worse.
5. Copy and pasting
Of course, there is a time and place for copy and paste, even in email. However, you
might be one of those people who like to copy and paste entire documents instead of
attaching the files. If so, just stop. Emails should be brief.
6. Forgetting to explain attachments
Not only will the word “attach” trigger your email host to remind you to upload
attachments in case you forget, it will also give the reader an understanding of what
it is they’re about to open.
In the future, if the recipient needs to find this email, for any reason, they should be
able to use the search feature to do so. If you haven’t explained what it is you’re
sending beyond “here’s the file I said I would send,” it will make the search process
that much more difficult. So, explain any attachments clearly, and use relevant
keywords.
7. Using jargon words
Only 21% of communicators keep their language jargon-free. This means that more
than ¾ of people are still using industry slang in their emails. Therefore, though it
may seem like the norm, you need to take a closer look and pay more attention to
your word use. Sure, Dave in the cubicle next to you probably knows what plug-and-
play means. However, when someone has to send your email thread to a client, they
will have no clue. You will put yourself in the awkward position of having to explain
terms and wasting everyone’s time in the process.
8. Failing to use a signature
Your email signature is a place to sign off with your name and relevant contact
information. Sometimes it can take days to receive a response to an email, and the
recipient will have urgent business with you. You need to have an alternate means of
communication listed under your email signature. In your email signature, include as
much of the following information as you’re comfortable with:
➢ First and last name
➢ Professional website URL
➢ Phone number
➢ LinkedIn and/ or other social media profile link(s)
9. Having a poor email format
I know that having to format your email body is extra work, but trust me it definitely
is worth it. First, see if you can condense the email content. If that is not an option,
then be a considerate writer and make it easy for the person on the other end to read,
by putting in the extra effort to format. Here are some good practices:
➢ Give sample amount of white space so they don’t have to squint their eyes.
➢ If there are a list of things to do, present it in a list format.
➢ No long paragraphs.
➢ Legible font size and color.
➢ Use bold text for key points.
10.Neglecting proofreading
The final, yet most important element of effective emails is proofreading. You need
to check your spelling and grammar before you hit send. This is true of emails send
from a laptop or PC, but especially true of emails sent from a mobile device. Some
phones have auto-correct features that can mess up your professional emails as much
as the drunk texts you receive from your friends.
Your Task is to write an email to your teacher
On your computer, go to Gmail. At the top left, click Compose.
An email has three important parts. To, Subject and body.
To:
In the "To" field, add recipients. You can also add recipients: In the "Cc" and "Bcc" fields.
Subject:
Write the subject/purpose of email
Body:
Write your detailed email in formal language.
At the bottom of the page, click Send.
