Email Etiquette at WorkEmail is an essential pillar of communication in todays workplace but not everyone knows how to use it well.Since emails are not as formal as letters, experts say that many employees dont pay attention to the tone and composition of work-related email. But that can hurt professional credibility. Your emails make an impression on your managers, colleagues, clients, and on possible recruiters. Sloppy emails may show that you are not disciplined and risk causing misunderstanding among colleagues. A poorly-written email along with a job application can damage your chances of landing the job. So, next time you write an email, here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind: 1. Writing style: Most youngsters tend to bring the informality of SMS into emails, says Venkataramana B., chief people officer of the India unit of retail firm Landmark Group. Thats a no-no for work emails. Follow the rules of grammar and punctuation when composing your email. Avoid slang, acronyms and short forms like u instead of you. Dont send emails without a spell check. Avoid exclamation marks, as that may seem immature. Avoid writing in capital letters, since in writing this can be interpreted as the equivalent of shouting. Ideally keep emoticons like :) out of official emails. There are other avenues like Facebook and Twitter for these things, says PrashantDeo Singh, head of human resources at Panasonic India Pvt. You can always use your personal email for casual messages, says RunaMaitra, director of human resources at OSC Export Services Pvt., a provider of information technology and management services.2. Composition: Given the flood of email we get daily, its best to keep your emails short and to-the-point. Dont write sentences that tend to be never-ending says Mr. Venkataramana. If you have to make a number of points, use bullets to cover all your points briefly. If you are replying to a thread of email, consider deleting the older text in the body of your email, or summarizing it in a few lines. Its a good idea to add a signature at the end of your email, which includes your phone number and other contact details. This would be particularly useful for emails sent to clients or recruiters, or other people outside your organization. 3. Subject line: The lack of a subject line or a vague subject like Hello or I have a question can be annoying to busy people. They also make it harder for the receiver to search for your email in their inbox.Be specific in your subject line and mention if the matter is urgent. Instead of saying I have a question, say My holiday plans; not urgent.At the same time, dont make the subject line too long or detailed.Also, dont start discussing a new topic under the same subject line. This also makes it difficult to identify mails about specific queries. Its best to send separate emails for separate topics. 4. Get the name right: Email recipients can get angry if the body of your email has the wrong spelling of their name or, even worse, if you address the person as Mr. when it should really be Ms. Always double-check spellings and titles before sending your email. If you are not sure whether the recipient is male or female, either use the persons first name or the full name. 5. Caution on Reply All: This is a tricky button on our email box because if used without care, it can be a source of much embarrassment.One of the most common problems you may not realize that your message has gone to people who should not be reading it. Imagine hitting Reply to All in a group message when you wanted to joke around with someone in particular or complain about your boss to a colleague. It happens even to people whove been using email for years.Also, sometimes employees use the Reply to All option because they want to show to others that they are doing some work, says Mr. Singh. People mark copies to humanity, he says, but that simply overloads the inbox of recipients and can be annoying. Use Reply to All infrequently and after careful thought. 6. Before hitting Send: Emails can be easily forwarded and thus be read by more people than you think. So re-read your emails carefully before sending it, to make sure that it is not offensive and that it doesnt say anything that could get you into trouble. Emails are not a place for emotional outburst. Dont be in a rush to send angry emails, as they might come back to haunt you later. If you need to respond to an offensive email, carefully draft the mail, read through it, and press the send button only after (you have) calmed down, suggests Mr. Venkataramana. In general, its best to avoid this kind of emails.7. Time frame: How quickly you need to reply to an email typically depends on the nature of the email. In general, you should reply immediately. If you know you dont have an immediate answer to a particular query, reply to acknowledge the email and giv