You've Got Mail: ICT Assignment

Question 1: What are the uses of cc and bcc?

Cc or "Carbon Copy"

This function simultaneously sends copies of electronic message to secondary recipients. This is for people you want to know about the message, but are usually not directly involved. It is mainly for people that do not need to act or reply to the message but are kept informed.

Benefits/Uses:

- Keeps other people in the loop on certain issues (e.g. keeping managers up to date on issues)
- Lets people you know if they are expected to take action or if they are just being informed
- Allows you to make the receiver aware that other people know what is going on (in case you want them to take the content more seriously, or treat it as more important or urgent)


Bcc or "Blind Carbon Copy"

This is the practice of sending a message to multiple recipients in a way that conceals the fact that there may be additional addresses from the complete list of recipients.

Benefits/Uses
- Used to prevent an accidental "reply all" from sending a reply intended for only the originator of the message to the entire recipient list.
- Send a copy of one's correspondence to a third party when one does not want to let the recipient to know the third party;s email address
- To send a message to multiple parties with none of them knowing the other recipients
- Useful for protecting people's privacy and preventing their email address from being forwarded around the internet and misused.



Question 2: What are the parts of an email?

Headers
Headers contain information concerning the sender and recipients

Elements of the Header Field --

Body
The Body is the main part that the recipient is interested in. It contains the actual message content and can be any number of things or a combination of graphics, videos, texts, etc.

Signature
The Signature appears at the end of the message, containing information about the sender. This is usually automatically configured and included in every outgoing message.

Attachments
These are optional and includes separate files or documents that may be part of the message.


Question 3: Give at least 5 rules to give a good email.

Rule 1: Keep emails short (without cutting your messages).
- Emails/sentences filled with extra words that add little meaning may just confuse the receiver and may give conflicting interpretations.
- Try to be witty, concise and precise.
- You can break your message into bullet points if necessary.

Rule 2: Observe proper capitalization. Avoid writing in all caps.
- Writing in All Caps is like shouting and has a strong effect. Use it sparingly.
- Text in upper case is significantly more difficult to read than lower and mixed cased text.

Rule 3: Write perfect subject lines.
- In the subject line, avoid being wordy and vague.
- A good subject contains the message's bottom line.
- Summarize the message but leave out unnecessary words.
- If there is action required in the email and there is a corresponding deadline, include it in the email subject.

Rule 4: Take another look at your email before you send a message.
- To avoid misinterpretation, allow every message at least some minutes of rest after you have finished it. Read it again before you press send.

Rule 5: When in doubt, end emails with "Thanks".
- When you can't decide how to end your email or does not know what is appropriate ("bye", "regards" or "best wishes"), end your message with a simple "Thanks".