Discuss whether, when you prepare an email message, you as though you arespeaking to the recipient(s), or whether you feel as though you are writing a letter
In many ways, an email message is half way between an oral and awritten message in terms of formalism and way of writing. If we thinkabout formalism, we may acknowledge that oral communication is leastformal. In oral communication, we may have interjections, specificexpressions, colloquial expressions and other elements that would neverfind their place in a written message (unless we are referring to a novelor a literary work. In this case, we may expect to discover certain oral
g, but they are only used as a poetical license and donot make the subject of our discussion). In this sense, an email message seems to be halfway between the twotypes of communication. The dayswhen emails were considered an informal mean of communication are longgone: you can now write an entirely formal response through an email, justas you would in a normal letter. In a way, an email message has borrowed some ofthe elements of oral communication. On the other hand, a written formof communication often has certain norms that we have to respect:introductory formulas (like dear sir), specific ending formulas and acertain formalism of the message. An email message may at times be veryshort, expressing only one or two ideas, similar to an oral message. If you want to avoid mail tardiness, but wantto deliver a formal message, you may do so through the email. On the other hand, you might have email messages very similar to aletter and having all the elements that characterize a letter, includingopening and ending formulas. Youwill never expect a letter to be one line long (you may as well phone therespective person), but you may have an email message this long, because itis just the same whether you phone the person or send an email: the messagewill be delivered just as swiftly in both cases.
Common topics in this essay:
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email message,
oral communication,
communication email message,
communication email,
written message,
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