Take your time writing messages, and think through what you are saying, asking yourself how others might interpret your words. You can think of this attention to interpretation as your first thinking exercise, one that will continue throughout the course. After having crafted an eloquently worded message, you also need to craft a short phrase that captures the meaning in your message. Your message is much more likely to be read if the subject line is meaningful. If you are not familiar with Emoticons, this is a good time to learn about them.
Emoticons are text characters assembled in such a way as to represent some emotion.
If you find yourself chuckling or smiling while composing a message, stick one of these Emoticons into your message at that point so others will know something is humourous. Laurie Harrison has created a page that describes Emoticons, and other email strategies. If you have 3 things to say, write three short messages rather than one long one. If you can t think of a subject line that summarizes the meaning of your message sufficiently, then your message is probably too long.