Most of us have experienced the frustration of making an oral statement or argument that sounds quite good but ends up not sounding very impressive once reduced to writing. Writing forces reflection and often induces a better understanding of the content of the message. The process of writing, then, often forces the writer to understand his or her own thoughts. And because writers will usually reread what they have written and make necessary revisions, especially when using a computer with a word processing program, the content becomes even more thoughtful. Most law teachers believe that their students' writing skills need refinement.
Email provides practice in writing.
And if the subject matter is legal, the student will benefit from the practice of stating legal concepts in writing. Email actually provides more communicative access among students and between student and teacher. Students do not have to make appointments to see each other or wait until a free time just before or just after class. Also, through software, a student can send a message to all students in a class. Such a message may be impractical if the teacher does not want to give up class time for the message.