Is Grammar the Most Important Factor for Writing Effective Emails?

Is grammar the most important thing that should be correct for writing emails?

Other than vocabulary, it is also very important to write concisely.

Dear Ankit, your question is akin to asking whether spices and salt are necessary in an Indian recipe. It is not just a question of having spices and salt, but their right quantity is also important.

Imagine for a while if someone serves you a poorly prepared dish. Imagine if the salt is less or more, if the spices are less or more. What opinion would you form of a person who has prepared this dish? When you transmit an email with grammatical mistakes, the recipient will have the same opinion about you.

Learning a language is a skill. Command over language shows a person's quality orientation or even their values. Now, by transmitting a poorly worded email, you are choosing whether to make a poor impression or create a good impression with an impeccable email. The choice is yours!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Stick to the subject. Write without spelling, grammatical mistakes, jargon, or short forms that your recipient may not understand. Courtesy is a hallmark of any good communication form, whether verbal or written. Accuracy and brevity are also hallmarks of good writing.

Ensure there is a single line break between paragraphs.

I have a feeling that an email not only conveys a message but also speaks volumes about the sender and reflects the "frame of mind" regarding the topic of the email. This ensures perfect communication to recipients. A wrongly constructed sentence can distort or deviate from the intended message and surely runs the risk of misunderstanding on the part of the recipient, which could be "catastrophic" at times.

Therefore, it is essential for an email user to ensure that the message drafted is correct, to the point, and communicates effectively to the recipients.

Wishes...

Dear Ankit,

You need to understand why you write an email or letter. Any communication is either verbal or written, and you will agree with this. While you are writing something on X but when reading, if it gives an impression of Y, it means something is wrong. Grammar gives structure to a sentence, which is your expression for the receiver. In the absence of grammar, your expression would not take place, whether it is in an email or anything else.

Dear Ankit, Grammar is the way in which words are put together to form proper sentences to convey the intended meaning in communication. Certainly, it cannot be an exception to mail-writing in view of the specific features of e-mails like multitude, speed, brevity, frequency of purpose, etc.

Types of Grammar

Grammar can again be classified into (1) Descriptive Grammar and (2) Prescriptive Grammar. Descriptive Grammar is the scrutiny of words and sentences based on the practical usage adopted by the people who speak the language. Prescriptive Grammar, on the other hand, is very much oriented towards the strict compliance of the rules of Grammar as followed in authoritative sources and academic institutions.

Importance of Grammar in Communication

What is crucial is the acceptance of the fact that grammar is imperative to communicating accurately and ensuring that we are understood. Therefore, the option is inevitably dependent on the purpose of communication and the persons who are addressed. In a business or official context, grammatical mistakes should not distort the purpose of communication.

Example of Grammar Impact

Long back, I read somewhere that the wrong placement of a simple preposition "To" can disastrously change the meaning in an employment advertisement for sailors and officers in the Merchant Navy as follows:

What was actually mentioned in the ad was:

"Note: The facility to carry wives on board to Officers only is available"

Instead of:

"The facility to carry wives on board is available to officers only"

See, how grammar matters in communication.

Dear Ankit,

When writing an email, grammar, spelling, and the way of presentation should always be correct because they represent your quality and knowledge.

Akrity Srivastava

Ankit Dear:

Even if it's just one single sentence - you simply cannot afford to ignore grammar (there are definite rules to be followed), style, diction, and the choice of words - it has got to be picture-perfect.

Have a pleasant day.

Arif ur Rehman

It's obvious that grammar is important, but it isn't restricted to emails. It applies to other forms of communication as well. Emails and letters are 'recorded' forms of communication, making it possible to re-read them. Therefore, unlike oral communication, any mistake that comes to the reader's notice will be noticed repeatedly.

I think there has been little thought on the logic behind the question. Imagine someone speaking in their mother tongue and making many grammatical mistakes. Would it be well received by people who barely know the person? The answer is obvious.

Dinesh Divekar has made good points. Please consider them as well.

While grammar is important, what is more important is comprehension and the ability to express what is meant and how well the idea is made clear. However, this somewhat requires a good understanding of language and words and how they are used together.

An interesting video on the English language:

Importance of Email Writing Etiquette

Few companies are providing training to their employees about email writing etiquette. HR represents the face of the organization; therefore, while writing an email, we should be not only conscious but also assertive at the same time.

Always re-check what you have written and modify if necessary. Fortunately, we are in a generation where ready-made software is built-in, which not only corrects spelling automatically but also grammar.

Don't restrict yourself... practice makes a man/woman perfect.

Happy writing!!

Regards,
Gajendra Verma

Dear Aankit,

So many good views have been expressed. In my view, the importance of grammar cannot be understated at any time, in any context. Remember that our habits are characterized by what we repeatedly do. Once we do not stick to the rules of grammar, over a period of time, there will be slackness resulting in poor communication performances.

V. Raghunathan

Of course, if you are writing to someone, he or she could only understand what you want to communicate if you have correctly written that.

https://indianaccounting.blogspot.com

This quote will sum up the importance of Grammar. Your grammar is a reflection of your image. Good or bad, you have made an impression. And like all impressions, you are in total control. - Jeffrey Gitomer

So take care of the commas, spellings, and punctuation while writing official correspondence.

Grammar in any language is akin to mathematics in many ways. If you are correct, you can score full marks in both. When talking or writing about grammar, one has to be very attentive, even while spelling the word "grammar." Failure to do so will result in a glaring mistake. This thread is no exception.

V. Raghunathan

Would always recommend not using slang in official correspondence.

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I have corrected the spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors in your text. I have also ensured proper paragraph formatting with a single line break between paragraphs.

On the lighter side to highlight the importance of grammar, this sentence will show how even a misplaced comma makes a difference between life and death:

"Hang him not, let him free"
and
"Hang him, not let him free."

While not everything we do has this dangerous connotation, good grammar and spelling make written communication pleasant, readable, and understandable.

Without a doubt, the coining of words and mail, especially from HR to employees/workers, makes a lot of difference and has a different meaning when put in the wrong context. Commonly used words, for example, if the below words are used wrongly, they give altogether a different meaning:

Effect from:

Affect from:

Personal:

Personnel

Fare,

Fair

Talking of slang, my view would be to avoid it all the time. It is for the simple reason that we will take it easy in our stride and repeated actions will create an undesirable bad habit when grammatical rules are not followed.

V. Raghunathan