E-mail, due to the large number of advantages over paper letters, has long become one of the main types of communication. However, like many other technological innovations, this type of communication has its own rules. Despite the fact that communication via Internet mail has become an integral part of many areas of life, most users will not be able to answer the question of what are the components of an email.
Email structure from the user's point of view
E-mail messages are both similar and very different from paper letters familiar to the older generation. But regardless of the email service, the email structure is always the same. Let's list the components of an email, briefly describing each of them:
- Field "To". This field contains the recipient's address. If there are multiple recipients, separate them with a semicolon.
- The "Subject" field. In many mail services, it is considered mandatory. And it will be easier for users to find the letter if the subject is correctly indicated in it.
- The body of the letter. The body of the email contains the main text.
Hidden email components
We have looked at the visible structure of the letter. But in addition to elements visible to the naked eye, the following fields can also be attributed to the components of an email:
- from whom (this field is filled in automatically);
- copy (in addition to the main addressee, a copy of the letter is sent to someone else);
- blind copy (used if a copy of the letter needs to be sent without informing the main addressee);
- attachments.
Email components from a technical point of view
From a technical point of view, any email also includes the following components:
- Headers, or, as they are also called, envelopes of the SMTP protocol. These headers may or may not be included in the body of the email. That is, a situation is possible when the mail server has more information than is indicated in the message body. The header contains the addresses of the sender, recipients and the address of the sending host.
- The message itself, which is in the language of SMTP protocolscalled Data. It, in turn, is subdivided into:
- header of the letter - by analogy with paper mail, it contains data about the mail servers that the letter went through, and some other information;
- the body of the letter - the text of the letter itself.
E-mail structure for business correspondence
If so far we have been talking about the structure of an email from a technical point of view, now let's look at the elements of a well-written email for business correspondence, because every self-respecting company tries to comply with generally accepted standards of communication.
Although there are a large number of different classifications of electronic messages, they are divided into two groups according to the design structure. The first group is communication letters, they are used in the course of work. The second is letters of agreement: messages that summarize the meeting, indicate the deadlines for the completion of work and other important aspects to clarify the actions required from each of the parties.
Let's list the components of each type of email separately.
Letter-communication
Its structure must include:
- The subject of the email. In this field, it is best to indicate what exactly you expect from the host, such as agreeing on a meeting time, a list of issues to consider, and so on.
- Greetings. Even if the letter is planned to be sent to several people,the ethics of business communication implies the obligatory greeting of addressees.
- Message content. The actual text of the email, which describes the request as specifically as possible.
- Corporate signature. A point that many people forget. A correctly composed signature template includes the full name and position of the author, his contact information (phone number, links to the company's website, email, etc.). The signature may vary depending on the rules and regulations adopted by the organization.
- Fields "To" and "Cc". They are listed last for a reason - by filling them in last, you will exclude the possibility of sending an unfinished or unverified message.
Letter of agreement
As mentioned above, this type of electronic message is used to sum up the results of the meeting, indicate the action plan for each side and fix deadlines. Such letters are a kind of "protocol" of meetings and allow you to conveniently structure information. A letter of this type is built according to the plan:
- Greetings. If the number of participants in the meeting summed up in the letter was small, you can list everyone by name or use a generalized type of greeting.
- Repeat the purpose of the meeting, the results of which are summarized in the letter.
- List of issues that were discussed during the meeting. For each issue, the agreements, decisions and deadlines for implementation are indicated.
- List of issues that do not require urgent resolution, but should not be overlooked.
- Clarifying the opinion of the meeting participants - is everything taken into account?
- Template signature.
