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Emails, faxes and memos
Chapter II
Emails, faxes and memos This chapter covers the transmission of formal, professional material by: 9 Email.
9 Fax. 9 Memo (Note: Memos have now been mostly superseded by the email and fax systems, but are included here for those people who may still be required to write them.)
Emails, faxes and memos, together with letters (see chapter 10), form an important part of the essential paper-trail that accompanies work in scientific and technological fields. If this paper-trail is incomplete, the consequences can be far-reaching. This chapter gives guidelines for these types of communication.
Emails to communicate matters of work The email system as a means of communication has novel features, in particular the immediacy of both receiving and sending; this has caused some organizations to have policies of etiquette for its use. When using email to communicate matters of work, you need to take into account the following:
EMAILS, FAXESAND MEMOS
135
Style of writing
1 Take as much care writing an email as you would in writing a letter. Be careful what you say and how you say it. 2 Don't use the pop conventions of the email culture. Lower case letters at the start of sentences, i instead of I, u instead of you, will make a poor impression. 3 For people you know, it may be appropriate to start the message with their name followed by a colon. 4 For someone you don't know or are on formal terms with, start with the conventional Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms/Dr/Prof. (see Chapter 10: A Formal Letter). Close with the corresponding closing. 5 Structure the content of your message in the same way as you would a letter. Don't do a brain dump.
Confidentiality
Assume that mail travelling via the Intemet is not confidential. Never put in a mail message something that you wouldn't want other people to read.
Permanence
Don't regard your files - sent or received - as in safe keeping. Networks are not fail-safe. Print out hard copies of anything important.
Commercial sensitivity
No commercially sensitive material should be sent by email.
Contractual material
Avoid using email for contractual material unless it is followed by hard copies.
Attachments
1 When sending or receiving attachments, scan them for viruses. 2 Check the size of file attachments before you send them. If they are large, zip the file first; this avoids transmission decoding problems. 3 Any files sent via email must have the permission of the author.
Unnecessary messages
Don't send unnecessary messages, particularly when forwarding material to large groups. The minor effort involved in doing it is far outweighed by the irritation it can cause.
Content of autosignature
Make sure your auto-signature contains your name, address of your institution, and telephone and fax numbers. You may also want to include such things as the URL of a personal website. If your system doesn't carry an auto-signature function, then make up a template and use that for each message.
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WRITING FOR SCIENCE gND ENGINEERING: P/qPERS,PRESENTATION AND REPORTS
Faxes As with emails, take as much care as you would when writing a letter. 1 If possible, use a fax template for the cover document. This will lay out all the necessary material such as recipient's name, institution, fax number etc. 2 If you are faxing to someone you don't know or are on formal terms with: 9 If possible, do not hand write it. 9 Use the conventions for starting and finishing letters (see Chapter 10: Formal Letters page 123). 9 Structure the content of the fax as you would a letter. Don't do a brain dump.
Memos
Purpose 9 A memo (short for memorandum) is a very short document, usually up to a page long. In effect, it's an adaptation of a business letter, now being rapidly superseded by email for short messages that are less formal than a letter. 9 In the context of graduate work, the types of memos that you are most likely to write are: - information memos - recommendation memos
How to w r i t e it The memo heading 9 The distinctive element of a memo is the formatting of the preliminaries. They are quite different from those of a letter. 9 A memo is headed by the word M E M O R A N D U M and followed by the sideheadings: To: c: From: Date: Then either the side-heading Subject: or (in a longer memo) a centred title. The use of these headings is shown in the following sample structures
EMAILS, FAXES AND MEMOS
137
A very short memo (about half a page) MEMORANDUM To: c"
From: Date: Subject:
(Name and title of the person to whom you are writing) (Names and titles of other people to be sent copies of your memo (if required)) (Your name) (In the style 8 October 2001, not 8/10/01) A clear, informative title, containing the main message of your memo.
In separate paragraphs: Purpose of the memo Your conclusion(s) or main point Facts/data to support the conclusion(s)
All headings justified to the left-hand margin.
See Title, page 16 Chapter 2: The Core Chapter.
Note that the supporting data are placed after the conclusion(s) or main point. Don't lead up to them and place them at the end. See 'Structure of the information' page 128, Chapter 10: A Formal Letter.
Recommendation (if necessary) Note. NO salutation or closing, i.e don't use Yours sincerely/faithfully.
Compare 'The Parts of a formal letter' page 123, Chapter 10: A Formal Letter.
Your signature
Figure 11.1
A very short memo (layout)
A longer memo (about one page long) 9 Begin with a short summary. Even though it is a very short document, your readers will appreciate having a very brief summary. This will orient them so that they can better assess the information in the main part of the memo. See 'The importance of overview information', page 8, Chapter 1: The General Structuring of a Document. 9 Organize the topics of the main body of the memo in order of importance: key statement first, details afterwards. 9 Side headings and white space. Don't give your readers a page of unbroken text. It will look boring and daunting. Even in a one-page memo, use appropriate side-headings and format it for white space. As an example of the structure for a longer memo, we will use a recommendation memo (see Fig. 11.3).
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WRITING FOR SCIENCE ,qND ENGINEERING: PgPERS, PRESENTATION AND REPORTS
MEMORANDUM To:
Dr Peter Brown, Department of Mechanical Engineering Prof. Jennifer Green, Head of Department, Mechanical Engineering
From:
Pat Black
Date:
8 October 2001
Subject:
My visit to Composites Construction Ltd
This is to let you know that from 14 to 17 November I shall be visiting the research labs at Composites Construction Ltd in Middletown. As we previously discussed, my main activity will be to discuss the progress of our joint research programme, our proposals for future development and the next round of funding. I look forward to discussing the visit with you on my return.
Figure 11.2
A very short memo (example)
Purpose To come to a conclusion, and make recommendations concerning an issue that you have investigated.
Checklist for formal emails V] Have you used the conventions for the salutation and the closing of a letter? V1 Is the content of the email structured as you would a letter? V1 Have you avoided sending commercially sensitive or contractual material by email? g-1 Have you made hard copies of important emails, both sent and received? V1 Do you scan attachments for viruses? V1 Do you zip large files if they are to be sent as attachments? 1-1 Do you avoid forwarding unnecessary messages? I-1 Does the auto-signature contain your name, address, telephone and fax numbers?
EMAILS,FAXESAND MEMOS
139
MEMORANDUM (Name and title of the person to whom you are writing)
To:
(Names and titles of other people to be sent copies of your memo (if required))
From:
(Your name)
Date:
(In the style 8 October 2001, not 8/10/01)
Title An informative title, centred, bold-faced
All headings justified to the left-hand margin.
See 'Title' page 16 and 'Title Page', page 19. Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Summary Very briefly state: 1. The purpose of the memo. 2. Your main conclusion. 3. Your main recommendation.
See 'Abstract/ Summary/Executive Summary', Chapter 3: Abstract/ Summary/Executive summary.
Purpose A brief statement of why you are sending the memo.
See 'Purpose', page 33, Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Background A brief description of the background to your work.
See 'Background', page 32, Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Further appropriate heading(s) Conclusions and Recommendations
See 'Conclusions', page 48 and 'Recommendations', page 50, Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Note: NO salutation or closing (i.e. don't use Yours sincerely/faithfully etc.)
Compare Chapter 10: A Formal Letter, page 123.
Your signature
Figure 11.3
A longer memo (suggested headings and structure)
140
WRITING FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING: PAPERS, PRESENTATION AND REPORTS
Checklist for formal faxes V1 Have you, if possible, used a fax template for the cover document? I-1 Does the fax use the conventions for starting and finishing letters? 1-1 Is it structured like a letter?
Checklist for formal memos I-1 Have you used the conventions for the preliminaries of a memo? I-1 Is the memo structured so that the key statement (your main point) is at the beginning of the memo, and not at the end? [El For a longer memo: is it structured under suitable headings, with use of white space? I-1 To close the memo, have you avoided using Yours sincerely or similar wording?
Emails, faxes and memos This chapter covers the transmission of formal, professional material by: 9 Email.
9 Fax. 9 Memo (Note: Memos have now been mostly superseded by the email and fax systems, but are included here for those people who may still be required to write them.)
Emails, faxes and memos, together with letters (see chapter 10), form an important part of the essential paper-trail that accompanies work in scientific and technological fields. If this paper-trail is incomplete, the consequences can be far-reaching. This chapter gives guidelines for these types of communication.
Emails to communicate matters of work The email system as a means of communication has novel features, in particular the immediacy of both receiving and sending; this has caused some organizations to have policies of etiquette for its use. When using email to communicate matters of work, you need to take into account the following:
EMAILS, FAXESAND MEMOS
135
Style of writing
1 Take as much care writing an email as you would in writing a letter. Be careful what you say and how you say it. 2 Don't use the pop conventions of the email culture. Lower case letters at the start of sentences, i instead of I, u instead of you, will make a poor impression. 3 For people you know, it may be appropriate to start the message with their name followed by a colon. 4 For someone you don't know or are on formal terms with, start with the conventional Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms/Dr/Prof. (see Chapter 10: A Formal Letter). Close with the corresponding closing. 5 Structure the content of your message in the same way as you would a letter. Don't do a brain dump.
Confidentiality
Assume that mail travelling via the Intemet is not confidential. Never put in a mail message something that you wouldn't want other people to read.
Permanence
Don't regard your files - sent or received - as in safe keeping. Networks are not fail-safe. Print out hard copies of anything important.
Commercial sensitivity
No commercially sensitive material should be sent by email.
Contractual material
Avoid using email for contractual material unless it is followed by hard copies.
Attachments
1 When sending or receiving attachments, scan them for viruses. 2 Check the size of file attachments before you send them. If they are large, zip the file first; this avoids transmission decoding problems. 3 Any files sent via email must have the permission of the author.
Unnecessary messages
Don't send unnecessary messages, particularly when forwarding material to large groups. The minor effort involved in doing it is far outweighed by the irritation it can cause.
Content of autosignature
Make sure your auto-signature contains your name, address of your institution, and telephone and fax numbers. You may also want to include such things as the URL of a personal website. If your system doesn't carry an auto-signature function, then make up a template and use that for each message.
136
WRITING FOR SCIENCE gND ENGINEERING: P/qPERS,PRESENTATION AND REPORTS
Faxes As with emails, take as much care as you would when writing a letter. 1 If possible, use a fax template for the cover document. This will lay out all the necessary material such as recipient's name, institution, fax number etc. 2 If you are faxing to someone you don't know or are on formal terms with: 9 If possible, do not hand write it. 9 Use the conventions for starting and finishing letters (see Chapter 10: Formal Letters page 123). 9 Structure the content of the fax as you would a letter. Don't do a brain dump.
Memos
Purpose 9 A memo (short for memorandum) is a very short document, usually up to a page long. In effect, it's an adaptation of a business letter, now being rapidly superseded by email for short messages that are less formal than a letter. 9 In the context of graduate work, the types of memos that you are most likely to write are: - information memos - recommendation memos
How to w r i t e it The memo heading 9 The distinctive element of a memo is the formatting of the preliminaries. They are quite different from those of a letter. 9 A memo is headed by the word M E M O R A N D U M and followed by the sideheadings: To: c: From: Date: Then either the side-heading Subject: or (in a longer memo) a centred title. The use of these headings is shown in the following sample structures
EMAILS, FAXES AND MEMOS
137
A very short memo (about half a page) MEMORANDUM To: c"
From: Date: Subject:
(Name and title of the person to whom you are writing) (Names and titles of other people to be sent copies of your memo (if required)) (Your name) (In the style 8 October 2001, not 8/10/01) A clear, informative title, containing the main message of your memo.
In separate paragraphs: Purpose of the memo Your conclusion(s) or main point Facts/data to support the conclusion(s)
All headings justified to the left-hand margin.
See Title, page 16 Chapter 2: The Core Chapter.
Note that the supporting data are placed after the conclusion(s) or main point. Don't lead up to them and place them at the end. See 'Structure of the information' page 128, Chapter 10: A Formal Letter.
Recommendation (if necessary) Note. NO salutation or closing, i.e don't use Yours sincerely/faithfully.
Compare 'The Parts of a formal letter' page 123, Chapter 10: A Formal Letter.
Your signature
Figure 11.1
A very short memo (layout)
A longer memo (about one page long) 9 Begin with a short summary. Even though it is a very short document, your readers will appreciate having a very brief summary. This will orient them so that they can better assess the information in the main part of the memo. See 'The importance of overview information', page 8, Chapter 1: The General Structuring of a Document. 9 Organize the topics of the main body of the memo in order of importance: key statement first, details afterwards. 9 Side headings and white space. Don't give your readers a page of unbroken text. It will look boring and daunting. Even in a one-page memo, use appropriate side-headings and format it for white space. As an example of the structure for a longer memo, we will use a recommendation memo (see Fig. 11.3).
138
WRITING FOR SCIENCE ,qND ENGINEERING: PgPERS, PRESENTATION AND REPORTS
MEMORANDUM To:
Dr Peter Brown, Department of Mechanical Engineering Prof. Jennifer Green, Head of Department, Mechanical Engineering
From:
Pat Black
Date:
8 October 2001
Subject:
My visit to Composites Construction Ltd
This is to let you know that from 14 to 17 November I shall be visiting the research labs at Composites Construction Ltd in Middletown. As we previously discussed, my main activity will be to discuss the progress of our joint research programme, our proposals for future development and the next round of funding. I look forward to discussing the visit with you on my return.
Figure 11.2
A very short memo (example)
Purpose To come to a conclusion, and make recommendations concerning an issue that you have investigated.
Checklist for formal emails V] Have you used the conventions for the salutation and the closing of a letter? V1 Is the content of the email structured as you would a letter? V1 Have you avoided sending commercially sensitive or contractual material by email? g-1 Have you made hard copies of important emails, both sent and received? V1 Do you scan attachments for viruses? V1 Do you zip large files if they are to be sent as attachments? 1-1 Do you avoid forwarding unnecessary messages? I-1 Does the auto-signature contain your name, address, telephone and fax numbers?
EMAILS,FAXESAND MEMOS
139
MEMORANDUM (Name and title of the person to whom you are writing)
To:
(Names and titles of other people to be sent copies of your memo (if required))
From:
(Your name)
Date:
(In the style 8 October 2001, not 8/10/01)
Title An informative title, centred, bold-faced
All headings justified to the left-hand margin.
See 'Title' page 16 and 'Title Page', page 19. Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Summary Very briefly state: 1. The purpose of the memo. 2. Your main conclusion. 3. Your main recommendation.
See 'Abstract/ Summary/Executive Summary', Chapter 3: Abstract/ Summary/Executive summary.
Purpose A brief statement of why you are sending the memo.
See 'Purpose', page 33, Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Background A brief description of the background to your work.
See 'Background', page 32, Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Further appropriate heading(s) Conclusions and Recommendations
See 'Conclusions', page 48 and 'Recommendations', page 50, Chapter 2: Core Chapter.
Note: NO salutation or closing (i.e. don't use Yours sincerely/faithfully etc.)
Compare Chapter 10: A Formal Letter, page 123.
Your signature
Figure 11.3
A longer memo (suggested headings and structure)
140
WRITING FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING: PAPERS, PRESENTATION AND REPORTS
Checklist for formal faxes V1 Have you, if possible, used a fax template for the cover document? I-1 Does the fax use the conventions for starting and finishing letters? 1-1 Is it structured like a letter?
Checklist for formal memos I-1 Have you used the conventions for the preliminaries of a memo? I-1 Is the memo structured so that the key statement (your main point) is at the beginning of the memo, and not at the end? [El For a longer memo: is it structured under suitable headings, with use of white space? I-1 To close the memo, have you avoided using Yours sincerely or similar wording?