Yours Truly

Ogunnaike, Lola. “’Yours Truly,’ the E-Variations.” New York Times November 26, 2006

This article deals with salutations in e-mail communications. With the age of internet communications Ms. Ogunnaike makes several good points. Email needs an appropriate opening and an appropriate sign-off. We need to keep in mind the purpose of our message and who it is being sent to. Does it need to be formal or convey respect? Do we need to be friendly and intimate or friendly but at a distance. All of this is influenced by our own personality but we need to remember that the person who receives this receives only this message not the sender personally.
Ms. Ogunaike writes that “the final few words above your name are where relationships and hierarchies are established”, that salutations and sign-offs can be “a land mine”. We are cautioned that “it is important that the closing is in keeping with the spirit of the message”.
Dealing with emails today can sometimes challenge one’s imagination. Greetings should reflect the status of the person we are contacting and the importance of our message. Sign-offs need to be somewhere between friendly and courteous but never rude or abrupt.


Hargittai, Eszter. “A Primer on Electronic Communication.” News, Views and Careers for All of Higher Education November 28

Ms. Hargittai discusses the importance of writing emails in a way that improves the chances they will be read and not relegated ‘trash’. This is especially important if a response is needed. We imagine that everyone gives the same importance to our emails that we do but in today’s world people and especially professionals and businesses are often swamped with correspondence. We need to find a way to ensure our message gets priority on that end.
The author gives an outline form of suggestions to follow to “optimize the chances of receiving a response to emails to unknown people. The following is that list taken directly from her article:
-Descriptive subject line
-Polite point-of-contact
-Succinct statement of the message’s purpose
-Brief introduction of yourself
-Acknowledging other attempts at finding an answer or solution
-Restatement of question
-Gratitude for assistance
We are reminded by the author that “all of these sections should be very brief and to read the letter ourselves before sending it off. First impressions are still the most lasting.
There is also a caution to “make sure that whatever you send off is something that would not be a cause for embarrassment if people other than the recipient were to see it”. This is certainly a good reminder because of the ease with which the sender click and send your message off to others.


Elmer-Dewitt, Philip. “Bards Of the Internet.” TIME, July 04, 1994. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,981013,00.html

Mr. Elmer-Dewitt has presented a view of internet communication that I had never considered. He applauds it as “the greatest boom in letter writing since the 18th century”. While many of us have been appalled by what we see as bad writing, especially with ‘instant messaging’, he reminds us that popular sites have become “so crowded with writers crying for attention that a Darwinian survival principle has started to prevail.”
Writers need to be better to make an impact. I hadn’t thought about the fact that it is very difficult to be published even today. The internet offers an opportunity for anyone to express their thoughts and ideas but actually encourages better writing through competition to be read. He feels that those who are netwriters because they can and do “write, write and write". Isn’t this what I learned in my first writing class?