Email Writing Guidelines

Two notes before I start:

1. This post is essentially for the students who want some tips on clearing the email writing section companies like TCS.  (I am not saying that this post is not helpful for others! :)

2. This is not an English grammar guide and/or email writing guide which can be mugged up. There are some guidelines, which can be followed (if you are willing)

Happy Reading! :)

You are a criminal if you start banging the keyboard immediately after reading the keywords! Save both, the keyboard and yourself, by taking a minute before you start writing the email!

Please spend a minute to read the keywords, visualize the overall scenario and draft a rough email outline in your mind (in your mother tongue). Following questions can help  you do this: Who is the recipient? Who is the sender? What is the purpose of the email? What is expected from the recipient? What is expected from the sender? What is the tone of the email?

Your mind is now ready with the rough email in your mother tongue. Start typing the final email in English. Below are some ‘General Guidelines’ and ‘Frequently Committed Mistakes’ to clear the TCS Email writing section with ease:

General Guidelines

 Opening the  email:

• The opening of the professional mail should start with a greeting to the client. Generally “Dear John” suits and in some cases “Hi John”. Avoid words like’ Respected’ and ‘Sir’ to be avoided.
• Preferably, you have to use their first name to address them and not their full name like “Dear Mr. John Smith”.
• Put a comma after you address the recipient and then you can start the email from the next line

Body/Content of the email:

• All the keywords from the problem statement should appear in your email. Preferably keep the sequence of the key words intact and make sure you don’t change the tense of the keywords
• The minimum or maximum word count is generally specified, needless to mention that it has to be followed. If not, please ensure that your word count reaches an optimum limit (around 80-100, depending upon the subject and number of keywords). 
• Avoid using unwanted information. Professional email should be short and crisp.
• I am mentioning some selected words which have alternate words, better and more professional. (Sorry – apologies, Unable to do – expecting a delay, Bad – improvements are expected/improvements can be made, working time – office hours, effect from – effective from). Using the alternate words can up your chances of getting through the email section.
• Try to mention the words frequently used in the corporate in your email (e.g., when your email is regarding some project, you can use : We, our team, our, offshore, on-site, office hours, downtime, client, apologies, glad, man hours, etc.
• Please ensure that you give a space after a full stop and the next letter is capitalized.
• I should always be capitalized (I), not 'i'
• Don’t forget to use articles like a, an, the,  etc. wherever necessary and appropriate
• Negative words should not be used openly and the same meaning should be covered under positive words.

Closing the email:

• Try to use the following sentences to close the email. (1) Kindly confirm the meeting (2) Please respond as early as possible (3) Looking forward for your participation/response (4) Hope you will follow the above points rigorously/meticulously (5) Please contact me in case of queries/ Feel free to contact me directly in case of doubts
• End your email with ‘Regards’. Put a comma and mention the sender’s name in the next line. Other options to close the email are Best Regards, Best Wishes, Warm Wishes, etc
• If specified, please ensure to use the sender's name as given in the question

Frequently Committed Mistakes:

1. 'Just' and 'Only'
Be selective while using the words ‘just’ and/or ‘only’. ‘Just’ doesn’t add any real meaning to the sentence and is used as a softener, to add flexibility and politeness. 'Only', on the other hand, is a relatively sharp exclusion. 'Just' also has a wider range of meanings, for instance to denote time.

2. 'Your' and 'You're'
It's the difference between owning something and actually being something
Correct Usage:
You made it around the track in under a minute -- you're fast!
How's your fast going? Are you hungry?

3. Its Vs. It's
"Its" is possessive and "it's" is a contraction of "it is."

4. Affect vs. Effect
When you're talking about the change itself -- the noun -- you'll use "effect."
For example: That movie had a great effect on me.
When you're talking about the act of changing -- the verb -- you'll use "affect."
For example: That movie affected me greatly.

5. Me vs. I
Most confusing words ever!
When you get done with that lab report, can you send it to Bill and I?
Nope, that's wrong. Please try taking Bill out of that sentence -- it sounds weird, right? You
would never ask someone to send something to "I" when he or she is done. The reason it sounds weird is because "I" is the object of that sentence -- and "I" should not be used in objects. In that situation, you'd use "me."

6. Do's and Don'ts
Note that the apostrophes aren't put in the same place in both words.

7. i.e. vs. e.g.
"i.e." roughly means "that is" or "in other words" while "e.g." means "example given" or "for
example." See the difference? One's used to clarify something you've said, while the other adds color to a story through an example.

8. peek vs. peak vs. pique
Peek is taking a quick look at something -- like a sneak peek.
Peak is a sharp point -- like the peak of a mountain.
Pique means to provoke or instigate -- you know, like your interest or feelings.

9. Alot vs. A lot vs. Allot 
"alot" is not a word. If you're trying to say that someone has a vast number of things, you'd say they have a lot of things.
Allot is used when you assign/give/dispense something, like allot money  

10. Who vs. That
When you're describing a person, be sure to use "who." When you're describing an object, use "that.
Examples:
“Rakesh is the one who likes to play cricket
"My mobile is something that overheats, all the time."

11. Into vs. In to
"into" indicates movement (Ginny walked into the office) while "in to" is used in lots of situations because the individual words "to" and "in" are frequently used in other parts of a sentence.
For example, "to" is often used with infinitive verbs (ex: to drive). Or "in" can be used as part of a verb (ex: call in to a meeting). So if you're trying to decide which to use, ask yourself whether
a) either "in" or "to" fits in with another part of the sentence, or 
b) the sentence indicates some sort of movement
If the answers are a) no, then b) yes - you should use into 

Email cautiously, get selected happily ( and Invite for a party, kindheartedly) :)

Best Luck!