Contents
Do you ever put a line break in the body of an email because you want to write an easy-to-read email? Did you know that this effort, which is appreciated by emails between Japanese people, is rather difficult to read when communicating in English? There is a grammatical rule when breaking an English text, and if you repeat breaking lines and inserting blank lines without knowing it, it will be difficult to read as an English mail.
Here, we will explain the rules and formats for writing the body of English emails. Learn how to write English emails that are easy to read, understand, and get replies.
Differences in how to use the email and messaging apps
E-mail in English is an alternative to the old business letter. It still needs to be formal and correct. For this reason, emails require a formal first call (Mr ...., etc.) and a clichéd final greeting (Best Regards, etc.). If you want to send a decent request or long text, it is common to use email.
Business chat tools allow you to skip the first and last greetings of an email and stay in touch casually, just like spoken language. Typical business chat tools include Slack and Chatwork. In these message apps, you can just add "To" to the call and omit it in the text.
What is the "rule of line breaks in English text" that you do not know unexpectedly?
The basic rule for line breaks in English text is to do it paragraph by paragraph. If a paragraph written about one topic is broken just because it is easy to read, native English speakers will unknowingly feel that the theme written has changed, resulting in confusion. I will.
However, for those of us who are not native English speakers, it can be difficult to read if there are few line breaks in the body of a long English email. Even among native English speakers, articles and emails on the Internet have more line breaks than articles on paper.
Techniques for clearing difficult-to-read English emails
Here are some techniques to make it easier to read while observing the rules of English.
Use numbering
Numbering is useful when you have to write about multiple topics, or when the text describes a procedure or order.
For example, if you want to write "minutes of the previous meeting, announcement of the schedule of the next meeting, new suggestions about it, etc." in one email, it is easy to read and smart if you number it as follows.
example)
- 1. Minutes of the last meeting
- two.Date of the next meeting
- 3. Proposals
Use symbols well
By skillfully using English symbols, you can create easy-to-understand English emails with well-organized content.
"·(point)"
As the name suggests, "・ (point)", which is often used in Japanese emails, is used to make short sentences that are points stand out or to write them side by side.
Example
3 Top Priorities
- Reducing Operational Costs
- Improving Quality
- Managing Risks
":(colon)"
": (Colon)", which is not very familiar to Japanese people, is difficult to use at first, but it is an effective symbol once you get used to it. When explaining or introducing something, "This is this, this is what it is", it has the effect of once separating sentences to attract the other person's consciousness.
example
- Packing list: (Bringing list)
- Hiking Boots
- Water
- Sunglasses
"*(asterisk)"
"* (Asterisk)" means a footnote. When explaining unfamiliar technical terms by e-mail, inserting the explanation in parentheses in the sentence makes the sentence longer and makes it look messy. In such a case, "* (asterisk)" is convenient. You can also use it when you want to add a word of your own comment. To write, add "*" where you want to put the footnote, and add an explanation with "*" at the beginning of the sentence.
example
How to use an asterisk * Add
a footnote at the end of the sentence as shown below.
* a star-shaped symbol pointing to an annotation or footnote (* a star-shaped symbol pointing to an annotation or footnote)
Tips for getting quick replies to complicated emails
Finally, here are some tips for getting a quick reply to a complicated email.
First declare "what to write"
If you add "what you wrote in the email" instead of the table of contents at the beginning of the email, you can prevent it from becoming unpleasant to read even if the text is long.
I am writing to you today concerning… (I am writing to confirm ...) (I am writing to confirm ...)
At the end, specify "Please reply by when"
If you need a reply, ask for a reply deadline at the end of the email and specify it so that you can prevent the email from coming from the other party forever.
I look forward to your reply by…. (I would appreciate your feedback on this matter by…. (I would appreciate your feedback on this matter by.)
Write an easy-to-read email from the reader's point of view
The most important thing when writing an email in English is clarity. For Japanese business people who are not native English speakers, rather than writing an email using elaborate expressions or expressions that are a little difficult to understand, reading by summarizing the points you want to convey at the beginning of the email in concise English. You can prevent it from being postponed or misunderstood.
