E-mails written in one big block are difficult to read. As a general rule, your blocks should average around five to seven lines apiece, with a blank line between paragraphs. Use small paragraphs of one or two lines freely:

Dividing your writing into blocks makes it look clear and forces you to focus more on the arrangement of your ideas.

Blocks are even more important in longer messages, particularly those that handle diverse subjects. This is an e-mail message with too few paragraph blocks:

This is the same e-mail with paragraph blocks:

This e-mail is very easy to follow since it is broken into blocks. Vary the lengths of paragraphs to make the e-mail clear and inviting. Varied paragraphs help the reader follow shifts in thought and emphasize some ideas over others.

Lists of three or more items should be broken out into lists. Bulleted or numbered lists make the individual items stand out on the screen and in the reader's mind. Make your lists clear by following these simple guidelines:

• Use numbers for the list if the items are in order or have some chronological significance. (For example, a set of steps in a procedure).
• Use bullets if they are in no particular order.
• Begin or end every list with an explanation.
• Skip a blank line before the list.
• If the items in the list are only two or three words long, you do not need to skip a line between the items. If they are longer, and especially if any item wraps to the next line, put a blank line between each item in the list.
• End with a blank line after the list.
  

This exercise will show you how much more readable splitting your ideas into blocks can make your e-mails. In the box below, you will describe your job. First, use separate blocks to explain the background needed for your current position and how an outsider can prepare for a position like yours. Next, use a list to indicate your job's responsibilities.

After you have created the blocks, check to see whether they are presented in a logical order.

Exercise: Organizing Blocks

This e-mail from a manager is difficult to follow because it is not in blocks. In the blank box below it, organize it into blocks. Separate the blocks with blank lines.

Here is the same e-mail in a box that allows you to make changes. Change this e-mail to make the blocks clear by inserting carriage returns and making lists where possible.

Since e-mail is such an informal medium, some people believe that using proper capitalization is unnecessary. While writing in all lower case or all upper case may be acceptable for journal entry and informal e-mails, business e-mails written this way look crude and unprofessional. Example:

The look is no better when the writer continues using all caps:

E-mail page layout differs from paper-document page layout. You can't do some things in e-mail that you might be accustomed to doing on paper. Follow these guidelines:

1. Don't use complicated borders, margins, etc. These may get stripped or skewed by the reader's e-mail program, making the message hard to read.

2. Open up the text with white space, and separate paragraphs with white space. This will make it easier for the reader to differentiate points, sub-points, and ideas.

3. Keep lines of text under 70 characters.

4. Avoid unusual fonts, font sizes, html e-mails, boldface, and italics:

   Please send me the newest report right away. Thanks.

   While it may be tempting to use fonts that have more of an "impact" and text modifiers, such items actually distract from your writing. Using them is a sign that your language isn't working for you. If you express yourself clearly with plain text, your reader will understand you.

5. Don't used colored backgrounds.

6. Avoid the use of emoticons and acronyms, such as :o), WTG and CUL. These are too informal for organizational e-mail, and your reader might not understand them.

E-mails grew out of chat rooms and the informal e-mails used in bulletin boards. Unfortunately, a very loose standard for use of the language resulted. To communicate clearly and give readers the impression you are educated and literate, you must follow the same grammar rules you follow in written communication.

1. Punctuate for accuracy. Make sure that periods, commas, and other punctuation are where they should be to make the message clear. The different punctuation in these sentences could make the message different:

   Please give me the service blueprints for the joint ball and socket for the engine.

   Please give me the service blueprints for the joint, ball and socket for the engine.

   Please give me the service blueprints for the joint, ball, and socket for the engine.

2. Use a comma before "and" when you present a series of items in a sentence: "Send me the report, your comments, and any recommendations you have."

3. Check spelling carefully. Don't rely on your spell checker to catch errors. Always proofread before clicking on "send." Many words that have different meanings have similar spelling and are mistyped:
   from/form
   to/too
   loose/lose
   life/live
   our/out
   an/and

4. Double-check the recipient's name for spelling errors.

5. Check the e-mail address for the reader to make sure your e-mail is going to the right person. If you're sending a message to an individual and have specified other recipients via the "cc:" list, double-check the list to make sure the people being sent the message are the intended recipients. Be careful with people who have similar names if your e-mail program automatically completes names after you type the first few letters. For example, if you have "Jessica" and "Jessica B. Smith" in your address book, your e-mail letter will first pick "Jessica" when you type the first few letters. You will have to type several more letters in order to get "Jessica B. Smith." When you have several people in your address book, make sure you confirm that the mail is going to the right person.

The following e-mail contains several of the problems explained in this lesson. Read it carefully and make corrections where necessary. Feel free to change the formatting.

Here is the same e-mail in a box that allows you to make changes. Consider everything you've learned so far.