The 11 parts of an email (explained and with examples)

Email has become a fundamental tool in our days thanks to allowing us to send messages quickly and instantly.

Electronic messaging platforms allow not only to send a written text to whoever we are addressing, but also they also offer the option of attaching other documents and multimedia elements such as music, videos and presentations.

There are several the parts of an email, which we will review below.

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The characteristics of email

E-mail, also called e-mail (electronic mail), is an Internet service that allows you to send and receive text messages and multimedia files between users from all parts of the world. The files that can be sent are of all kinds, such as music tracks, images, videos, documents... and it is thanks to this, together with their speed and ease of being consulted at any time, that emails have become the main means of communication in the present.

In order to send and receive e-mails, it is necessary to have an account on one of the pages that offer this type of service, in addition to having access to the Internet.

The vast majority of these pages allow accounts to be made for free and the technology behind them are based on a protocol called SMTD, which is also used for other systems. The most used email pages today are Gmail, Yahoo! mail and Outlook.com.

While in real life users have physical email addresses, which can be our address or our office, in the virtual world we have to use a written email address and digital. This address cannot be repeated within the network, and usually consists of a set of words (username) accompanied by an @ symbol (at) and then the name that establishes the net.

The person to whom the message is being sent does not have to be logged in at the moment to be able to receive it, nor do we need to be connected all the time if we want to receive the messages they send us others. As long as the message is sent to the correct email address, the person we want it to reach will reach you, unless your own account identifies the message as SPAM (junk mail) and files it in your mail folder unwanted.

Like the mail of a lifetime, the electronic one requires that a series of data have to be filled in so that it can be sent. In the same way that in a traditional letter we put the return address, the sender, an envelope with written text or photos, the emails Electronic data requires that we put it to whom we send it, what we want to say and whether or not we attach other elements. The length and formality of the body of the message will depend on the user and the context.

Main parts of emails

The main parts of email are as follows:

Header

The header is a set of lines in which the main information for sending the message appears. It is in this part where you can read the email addresses of both the sender of the message (sender) and the recipient (recipient), as well as the date and time it was sent. The header is at the top of the window of the email that we are writing and consists of the following parts.

1. Sender

Usually in the header the sender part It comes in the form of a blank space presented with the word "From:". This is the area where the email address of the person sending the message is located.

2. Addressee

The recipient part is a blank space in the header that begins many times with the word "To:" and in it you put the email address to whom the message is addressed. This element is essential in an email since, as in any letter, it is necessary to know to whom it is sent.

In case the email address that has been written is invalid, misspelled or does not exist, most instant messaging services have a feature that warns us that the message could not be sent due to a problem with the recipient. In other cases, the message is sent but does not go anywhere.

3. CC or BCC

In the same section of "Recipient", at the end, are the initials "CC" and "CCO". These two options are optional and serve to write down the other email addresses to whom you want to make them receive the copy of the email that is going to be sent.

The CC option means "with a copy", showing all addresses to all recipients, that is, all the people who receive the message will have access to the emails of the rest of the people who have received the same text.

The BCC option, which means "with blind copy", implies sending the same message to several people as in the case of CC, but with the particularity that The email address of the people who have received the same email is not displayed.

4. Date

Most electronic messaging services have a feature enabled that shows what time and on what day the message was sent.

5. Received confirmation

Some services have a functionality that lets you know if the sent message has been received by the person to whom it was addressed.

6. Reply and forward buttons

In the header there may be a button that says "Reply", which saves us from having to write again the email address of the person who sends us a message to send the reply, while the button "Resend" sends the same message again to the same address or to others in case we have added new addresses of mail.

7. Affair

In "Subject" is where the editor of the email has to put a title or topic that is related to the body of the message, or briefly explain the reason for sending it. This phrase will allow the person who receives it to know what the mail is about before opening it.

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Message editing window

After the header we have the part in which we will write the body of the message in addition to attaching files or signing in case we want to.

8. Message body

The body is the redacted part of the message and it can be as long as we want. It is where we will write all the reasons why we write and what we want to say to the recipient of the message.

9. Editing toolbar

Most electronic messaging services have an editing toolbar enabled, which makes the section to write the body of the message have functionalities similar to that of a conventional word processor. Thanks to this bar we can change the size of the letter, the color, the font, underline, make bold, organize the text in bullets ...

10. Attached files

Optionally, the message can be accompanied by attachments, that is, multimedia elements or other documents in different formats, such as PDF or Word. These files will have to be downloaded by the recipient in order to open them and they can be of all kinds: photos, videos, documents, folders, presentations, music tracks, spreadsheets ...

Although you can send more than one in the same email, you will have to take into account how much space occupy and, in case of exceeding the capacity allowed by the mail, they will have to be shared in other messages.

There is a button to attach the documents at the end of the message editing window, in which if we click, a small window will appear where we can search for the desired file on our PC. Another option is to drag what we want to attach and put it in the body of the message, where it will automatically be uploaded.

11. Firm

Finally, at the bottom of the email we have the signature, an optional feature that can be pre-programmed. This signature can include our name, email address, the name of the organization for which we work, in addition to putting a personalized signature with phrases and emoticons.

It is recommended to use this space to put the same information that a business card would carry, especially putting the name, contact telephone, position and company for which you work in case of being an email professional.

Essential aspects in the body of the message

The part of our e-mail that transmits the most information is, without a doubt, the body of the message. It is necessary to take into account a series of aspects to take care of when writing an email, especially if the message that we are going to send is for someone important and requires a more formal registration.

1. Greetings

The greeting is the first part of the message and it is essential that it is present if it is a formal, since it is the first thing our recipient is going to read. The expression that we use to start the text of the message will depend a lot on who we are talking to.

Some formal expressions that we can use are:

• Distinguished Sirs
• Dear President
• Dear Mr./Mrs.
• Dear sir,

Less formal expressions are:

• Hello everyone!
• Hello, NAME
• Greetings,
• Good morning / afternoon / evening

2. Message content

After having greeted we began to explain the idea or extensive reason why we are addressing our recipient. Here you indicate everything you want to convey to the person to whom you send the message. As we have commented, its extension is very variable and depends on the context and what you want to communicate.

In the case of a work email, it is recommended that this message be brief and concise, reaching the point as quickly as possible but maintaining a formal and cordial record, especially if we are talking to our boss.

Regardless of the registry we use, it is essential to take care of grammar, punctuation marks, spelling and other aspects of adequacy. We may be addressing a friend or someone with whom we have a lot of trust, but to make sure that we understand each other correctly it is very important to take care of these aspects.

3. Fired

Finally, in the final part of the body of the message we can say goodbye, especially if it is a formal message or that is directed to someone important. It's very important that the message ends with a good closing, appropriate for the specific record and context. This farewell should be given after having talked about all the points that were wanted.

Some parting expressions are:

• First of all, Thanks.
• Best regards
• Cordially,
• Sincerely,
• Thanks for your time.
• Bye.
• See you soon.
• My best wishes.

It is recommended that the sender's name be given in goodbyes, although this may not be necessary depending on the situation. For example, if it is a constant exchange of emails, in which you reply to the previous message and a conversation has been established in the form of a thread, it will not be necessary to put the name in all messages.

Bibliographic references:

• Your Dictionary (s. f.) Basic Parts of an Email Message and Address. Your Dictionary. Taken from: https://reference.yourdictionary.com/resources/basic-parts-of-an-email-message-and-address.html
• Syntax. (s.f.) Anatomy of an email message. At Syntaxis.com. Taken from https://www.syntaxis.com/anatomy-of-an-email-message