E-mail components: from the user's point of view, technically, in business correspondence

E-mail, thanks to a large number ofadvantages in comparison with 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 through Internet mail has become an integral part of many spheres of life, most users will not be able to answer the question about what the components of the e-mail are.

Structure of the e-mail from the perspective of the user

Electronic messages are both similar andare very different from the old letters of the older generation. But regardless of the mail service, the email structure is always the same. Let's list the components of the e-mail, briefly describing each of them:

1. The "To" field. This field specifies the address of the recipient. If there are several recipients, separate them with a semicolon.
2. The "Subject of the letter" field. In many mail services, it is considered mandatory. And it will be easier for users to find a letter if the topic is correctly indicated in it.
3. The body of the letter. The body of the letter is the main text.

Hidden email components

We looked at the visible structure of the letter. But in addition to the elements visible to the naked eye, the following fields can also be attributed to the components of the e-mail:

• 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);
• a hidden copy (used in case a copy of the letter should be sent without informing the main addressee about it);
• attachments.

Email components from a technical point of view

From a technical point of view, any e-mail includes also the following components:

1. Headings, or, as they are also called, envelopesSMTP protocol. These headers can be part of the body of the letter, and may not be included in it. That is, it is possible that the mail server has more information than indicated in the body of the message. The header contains the addresses of the sender, recipients and the address of the sending node.
2. The message itself, which in the language of SMTP-protocols is called Data. It, in turn, is divided into:

• the title of the letter - by analogy with the paper mail it contains information about the mail servers that passed the letter, and some other information;
• the body of the letter is the text of the letter itself.

Structure of E-mail for business correspondence

If so far it has been a question of the structure of an email withtechnical point of view, now we will consider the elements of a well-formed electronic message for business correspondence, because every self-respecting company tries to comply with generally accepted norms of communication.

Although there are a large number of diverseclassifications of electronic messages, they are divided into two groups according to the structure of registration. The first group - letters-communications, they are used in the course of work. The second is letters of agreement: messages summarizing the meeting indicate the deadlines for carrying out work and other important aspects to explain the actions required of each of the parties.

Let's list the components of each type of email separately.

Writing-communication

Its structure must include:

1. Letter subject. In this field, it is best to indicate what exactly you expect from the host party, for example, agreeing on the time of the meeting, the list of questions to be considered, and so on.
2. Greeting. Even if the letter is scheduled to be sent to several people, the ethics of business communication presupposes an obligatory greeting of the addressees.
3. The content of the message. The actual email text, in which the request is as specific as possible.
4. Corporate signature. An item that many people forget. Correctly composed signature template includes the name and author's title, contact information (phone number, links to the company's website, e-mail, etc.). The signature may vary depending on the rules and regulations adopted by the organization.
5. Fields "To" and "Copy". They are listed last not by accident - filling them in the last place, you exclude the possibility of sending an unfinished or unconfirmed message.

Letter of Agreement

As already mentioned above, this type of electronicmessages is used to summarize the meeting, designate an action plan on each side, and fix deadlines for execution. Such letters are a kind of "protocol" of meetings and allow you to conveniently structure the information. A letter of this type is built according to the plan:

1. Greeting. If the number of participants in the meeting, the results of which are summarized in the letter, was small, you can list all by name or use a generalized type of greeting.
2. Repeat the purpose of the meeting, the results of which are summarized in the letter.
3. List of issues that were discussed during the meeting. For each question, the agreed agreements, decisions and terms of execution are indicated.
4. A list of questions that do not require an urgent solution, but you can not overlook them.
5. Clarifying the opinion of the meeting participants - is everything taken into account?
6. Signed by template.