For less relaxed situations, though, good grammar in emails is just as necessary as it was in your university papers.  For instance, any emails that pertain to work or school, you need good grammar.  Otherwise, you’re painting yourself as a sloppy uneducated person who can barely put a proper sentence together.

Emailing a local business to ask them to sponsor your basketball league?  Mess up on the grammar and they might be wary about getting onboard.  Sending an email letter to inquire about job openings in a company?  Bad grammar is one way to ensure you don’t get a response.

The simplest way to ensure that your emails exhibit good grammar is to run a proofreading software before sending it out.   Instead of rereading every line with a keen eye, you can simply rely on your grammar checker to do the same thing and choose the appropriate suggested corrections.   Yep, it’s that simple.  So why haven’t you been using a grammar software again?

Business emails.  Keep business emails concise and to the point.  There are only eight hours in a normal workday — the less of that is spent having to wade through your messages, the better.   Use professional tone and language throughout, avoiding colloquial items, such as emoticons and cuss words.

Customer emails.  By this, we’re referring to emails you write as a customer.  Say, you’re requesting a quote for a weekend vacation at a resort or inquiring about flights to London in January.  Unlike standard business emails, there’s no need to be “professional” on your end here.  Just be courteous, clear and reasonable.

Personal correspondences.  Just the write the way you talk, but keep the text easy to read by using short paragraphs and regular language.  The tone will depend on what you’re talking about.  Obviously, an email expressing condolences for a loved one’s loss can’t sound the same as an email thanking someone for attending your party last night.

Group emails.  Only use group emails when you will address everyone copied. If you have messages intended for individual people, put that in a separate email to avoid confusion.

Here are four things you can do to bring those emails closer to that ideal:

1. Write short.  The great thing about email is, it’s not like many of the writing you used to do.  You’re not trying to wow an audience or get a good grade from the professor, so there’s no need to infuse it with style or flourish.   So just write with short words, short sentences and short paragraphs to maximize simplicity.
2. Use the active voice.  Nothing improves the clarity of a sentence as quickly as when you find a descriptive verb and rewrite the sentence around it.  Passive sentences are good if you’re trying to hide something; if you want things to be easily understood, avoid it.
3. State things in the positive.  We don’t mean being a wishy-washy positive thinking dork.  Instead, use positive forms instead of negative ones, as they require less mental processing to comprehend.  For example, don’t say “You should not do the report until tests are completed.”  Instead, you write it as “Only do the report once tests are completed.”
4. Use simple language.  By that, we mean keeping language at as low a reading level as is sensible.  Doing so ensures everyone can read it quickly without requiring much focused concentration.

After that, the following tips should serve you well, together with the help of a quality writing assistant software:

Choose a good subject line.  Effective business emails have nothing to do with how much you can surprise the recipient or how well you can make them laugh when they check their inbox.  As such, keep your subject lines simple and straightforward.  Also, stay away from words commonly associated with spam, especially those that have to do with pharmaceuticals, adults-only material and suspicious investments.  If you don’t, there’s a good chance your mails will end up in your recipient’s Trash box automatically.

Address it to one main person.  It’s usually a good idea to address your email to one main person, using the “cc” field to copy others who might find the information useful.  Avoid bundling messages in a single email addressed to multiple people – that’s just confusing.

If you want to create the air of formality, repeat the subject line in the email body, under the salutation.  Yep, just like a printed-on-paper business letter.  This actually serves a second purpose: when the recipient likes to print out email, they’ll have the title on there too.

Don’t be afraid to request a receipt.  For important emails, it’s not too much to ask for a return receipt, that way you’ll know if the pertinent people have actually read through your communication.

Sign it with your full name.  You can’t put your signature after your email’s body (not yet, anyway), so you can create the same formal “air” by typing your full name in its place.  It’s enough.  Throw in your email underneath, as well, for good measure.

Here are a few common scenarios, along with guidelines you may want to follow:

• When a problem is their fault, avoid rubbing it in their face.  Don’t rudely exclaim that they “messed up.”  Instead, empathize with your customer and show them the right way.  A response that begins with, “I’m sorry you encountered these problems.  I’ll list down the right way of doing this so you can avoid the same issue in the future…” can do wonders.
• When a problem is on your end, then apologize for the inconvenience, point out how it’s your fault and update them on what’s being done to remedy the situation.  Give them alternatives they can do in the meantime.  Regardless of the extent of the problem on your end, never respond defensively.  If it’s something that can be taken care of on your end, then it’s your fault – just man up and face it.

Always close your correspondence with an invitation to get in touch in case they encounter any more problems, reassuring the customer that you’ll be there to assist them.  Remember, these people are the lifeblood of your business so give them the respect they deserve.

A lot of people looking for work are apprehensive about sending follow-up letters.   Afraid they’ll come across as being too eager or pushy, they’d rather spend the time waiting, all while wracking their nerves about what the real status might be.

The thing is, follow-up letters don’t need to be pushy.  A subtle one can get you all the answers you need, without pushing the wrong buttons with your employer.  If you do it respectfully and sincerely, chances are good that they’ll take kindly to it.

Use an appropriate tone. Before sitting down to write, make sure you use an appropriate tone.  This means formal and businesslike, apart from being respectful (imagine yourself in the position of an employee).  You can use a writing software and a grammar checker to help you if you need assistance shaping your letter in this way.

Restate your application. Inform them of the position you applied for, when you sent your resume and the details of your past interviews with them (dates, interviewer).

Mention the deadline. If you were given a date to wait to hear from the company, state it in your letter.  If no date was given, just inform them of how long you have been waiting for a response.

State other applications. If you need to know your status because you have pending applications with other companies, let them know.  Give them details (even if you do not mention the actual names) – any offers already on the table, when you expect to hear from them and such.

Request for action. Respectfully ask that you be informed of your pending application’s status.  State your reasons for asking clearly (e.g. “I’m planning to take an offer with another company”).

Email is a highly-preferred form of making pitches, nowadays, as it puts no pressure on the recepient to respond immediately.  This gives them the benefit of being able to review proposals at their own pace, allowing them to scrutinize each one conveniently.

Because of the level of attention they can give to every pitch made, it’s crucial that you write your proposals in a clear and professional manner.  More than that, you’ll have to write it so that it successfully makes the sale.

The simple truth: most people responding to freelancing jobs do it poorly.  From copy-pasting canned replies to vague pitches that don’t even make a serious attempt at landing the job, everyone I’ve talked to who has advertised for freelancing work has seen similar problems.

If you’re serious about landing a freelancing gig, then treat your pitch seriously.  That means, demonstrating that you understand the project, then selling yourself as the best choice for it.  How do you do it?

• Summarize what you understand about the project to demonstrate your familiarity with it.
• Detail your relevant skills and experience in bulleted form to ensure every item is easily read.
• Give them a reason why you’re the best fit for the job.
• Make sure your pitch looks professional – use fitting words and run it through a grammar software to correct writing mistakes.