CAL Session 2 ETIQUETTE

Before we start, do the following acronyms mean anything to you? AKA ASAP BTW FYI IMO IMHO LOL WRT

AKA – also known as ASAP – as soon as possible BTW – by the way FYI – for your information IMO – in my opinion IMHO – in my honest opinion LOL – laugh out loud WRT – with respect to

We’re going to look at a few considerations to bear in mind when using . Writing messages is probably the most common writing task for any student and has replaced phone calls, face-to-face interactions, and many forms of written messages. Messages to your friends are your own personal business, but it’s important to get communication right with people you do not know well or to people of higher status, such as advisors or instructors.

1. Respond to all personal messages promptly. It is important to let the sender know you have received an message sent to you. If you have nothing to reply or are not sure how to reply, at least acknowledge the message. Here are two examples: I just read your question about the manuscript. I’ll get back to you ASAP. I’ve read your message about applying for a fellowship. Thanks very much for the suggestion. I am thinking about it and will get back to you later.

2. Be careful about forwarding personal messages. A personal sent to you was only intended for you. Before forwarding a message to somebody else, ask yourself whether the sender would approve. If in doubt, don’t.

3. Check that it is OK to send an attachment. Only send an attachment if you have already pre-arranged this with the receiver.

4. Check outgoing messages before posting them. Once an message is sent, it is gone. You cannot get it back. Therefore, read all the messages you write before sending them. If you think the tone is wrong (too critical, too direct, too apologetic, too weak etc.), cancel the message and start again. You do not want a written record of a message that reflects poorly on you.

4. Check outgoing messages before posting them. Imagine your advisor sends you this message: Please have a look at the Mills et al. Paper in the latest copy of JACL. I suspect it may be relevant to your project. What do you think? What’s wrong with the following responses? I am sorry to bother you. I have read the Mills paper, but I cannot understand it. Could you please help me by letting me know what you had in mind? I spent three hours in the library reading and rereading the Mills paper that you told me to read. Since it deals with wheat and my project concerns corn, I don’t really see how it relates. Thanks for the excellent suggestion to read the paper by Mills et al. I just finished reading it and it was great. You always have such great ideas. I think I need to rethink the direction of my project before I go any farther with it. I know that you are really busy these days, but I would like to see you tomorrow to talk about how you think I can incorporate some parts of the paper into my work.

5. Use the subject line to clearly indicate the topic Especially in sequences of messages, subject lines help receivers to recognise the topic. They also help to make the messages concise and precise.

6. Do not overuse conversational openings and closings language is a hybrid of speech and writing. Because of its speech elements, many international students tend to use conversational openings and closings from (phone) conversations and some recipients may consider this to be over-friendly and inappropriate. Notice from your communication with others how formal or informal they expect you to be when you address them. Generally, however, you don’t need to worry about using more formal letter- writing conventions such as “Dear Mr Holloway” or “Yours sincerely”.

7. Express requests politely Can you see anything wrong with the following messages: Dear Professor Robinson Finally, I have something for you to read. I will leave the draft of my paper in your mailbox soon, so please pick it up when you stop by. Keiko I am currently working on a paper (approx 8/9 pages). I should be done on Mon. Evening. Could you please go through it & give your comments by Wednesday? Kumar

7. Express requests politely Dear Professor Robinson Finally, I have something for you to read. I will leave the draft of my paper in your mailbox soon, so please pick it up when you stop by. Keiko This message is problematic for two reasons. First, “soon” is very vague. How many times will Professor Robinson have to check her mailbox before she finds Keiko’s work? Secondly, the end of the message is completely unnecessary. Compare the original message with this: Finally, I have something for you to read. I will put the draft of my paper in your mailbox by noon tomorrow.

7. Express requests politely I am currently working on a paper (approx 8/9 pages). I should be done on Mon. Evening. Could you please go through it & give your comments by Wednesday? Kumar When making requests Do not impose. 2. Give options. 3. Make the receiver feel good. Kumar breaks all three rules!

7. Express requests politely Here’s an example of a good polite request: I was wondering if you have an article that you want me to review yet. If you have something appropriate, next week would be a good time for me to get started on it. Don’t want to sound anxious to get going on this, but I’ll be around, so let me know. Thanks.

8. Keep your message as brief as possible Don’t trouble your reader with information that is really unnecessary. Context is important. If you missed a class due to illness, you don’t need to go into any detail about the illness. If, however, you need an extension to a homework assignment because of an illness, further explanation may be necessary.

9. Avoid Emoticons With friends you may commonly use cute emoticons like (happy), ^0^ (worried) or ;-) (wink), but it’s not a great idea to use them in messages within an academic context.

My website has a link to an etiquette quiz for you to review anything you need to look at again.