Don’t forget to:

  1. Write from an email account that’s appropriate for academic use. Your university account is the best choice.
  2. Use an email account that shows all or part of your name. Many people will not open an email message if they don’t recognize the name or address. You can monitor this by sending a message to yourself and seeing what it looks like.
  3. Make your email look legitimate by using a helpful or strong subject line. The simplest way is to include the course number or a clear message about the intent of the email (“question about Literature of Modern Taiwan assignment”).

Consider the following examples and think about the guidelines above:

  • an email from 6pack2011@yahoo.com with the subject line “question”
  • an email from a student in the class from their uoregon.edu address with the subject line “Question about World Religions essay”

In the note itself:

  1. Choose a greeting that is appropriate. “Professor Roberts,” is a good greeting and much better than no greeting at all. Ask your professor or GTF how they would like to be addressed if you aren’t sure how to do so.
  2. Identify yourself and your issue or question. “My name is Kenji Harris and I am a student in REL 101. I have a question about the essay due on Friday. The syllabus says to turn it in at discussion group and I have to leave for NCAAs on Thursday (as we discussed). Can I turn in the essay at your office after our class on Wednesday?”
  3. Avoid the spellings, abbreviations, and acronyms you see in instant-messaging or use in email to friends. “IMHO or “lol” is not appropriate shorthand for faculty emails.
  4. Proofread what you’ve written. You want your email to reinforce the impression of your writing skills that you are establishing in class.
  5. Include identifying information in your signature: Jason Edderly, ENG 106.
  6. Reply to your professor’s response. Even a quick “thank you” lets them know that you got their message and that you appreciate their time.
  7. Take your emails to faculty seriously. Learning good email skills is important. It’s always useful to be able to write short, effective notes, and will prove invaluable in future work settings.

Adapted from Michael Leddy, Orange Crate Art (http://bit.ly/qjEBiB) and Wyndham Miles “How to Write Email” (http://bit.ly/qmqfwv).

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