English Email - The Subject Line

Use an effective Subject Line in your email.

1. Don't leave it blank.

• A blank subject line might get deleted by antivirus software.
• A blank subject line wastes your recipient's time.
  

2. Do add important information in the subject line.

• A good subject line help the recipient identify and determine how important your email is.
• Capitalize all important words in the subject line (See examples).
• Follow the same capitalization and punctuation rules that you would follow in any other document.
  

For example:

• Request Catalog for Fall Purchase
• Hotel Reservations on Sept. 23
• Just Returned to Japan. Call Me.
• Hanako's Homework from Oct. 3 Class
• Resend Your Last Email Dated Oct. 23
  

3. Due to different email clients around the world, avoid using any symbols in the subject line. Use only alphanumeric characters.

• Do not use any em-size characters (2-bit/全角) in your subject line.
• Use en-size characters (1-bit/半角)
• Avoid symbols like: #, %, ~, |, \, {, }, etc.
  

4. Use clear and concise language in your Subject Line. For example:

• Catalog Request
• Request for Additional Copier Maintenance Information
• Request for Concert Ticket Information for September 2005
• Symposium Schedule Confirmation for Tokyo and Seoul
• Questions Regarding Organization History and Future Goals
  

5. Return emails in the same day you receive them if possible.

• In the 21st Century, treat emails as you would a phone call.
  

6. Encourage others to communicate with you by email.

• Provide your correct email address on your business cards and official correspondence.
• Include your email address in your email signature. This is especially useful if your recipient is using Outlook. (Firefox users are OK).

7. Do not reproduce a message in full when responding to it, especially if you are posting to a newsgroup.

• This is hard on the readers and wasteful of resources.
• Select only the parts that you are responding to.
  

Sources:

• Bull's Eye Business Writing: 10 Easy Guides for Getting to Your Writing Target, by Gloria Pincu, M.A. , President of Basic Learning Systems, Inc.
• Chip Sorensen, www.anmi-eikaiwa.com
  

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アンミ英会話教室
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