This assignment was originally submitted on July 2 as part of Lesson 3:1. The purpose of this assignment was to write a memo to a fictional student (Evan Crisp), advising them on the best practices for writing an email to a professor. No major revisions were made to this memo as the original submission met all expectations. Two lessons I implemented in this memo was avoiding the use of imperative verbs (which I learned while writing the LinkedIn memo), and avoiding the use of pronouns within the body of the memo.
MEMORANDUM
To: Evan Crisp, UBC undergraduate student
From: Alirod Ameri, ENGL 301 student
Date: July 2, 2021
Subject: Best practices for sending an effective email to a professor
Introduction
Thank you for pursuing the advice of ENGL 301 students for advice on writing an effective email to your professor. Your email to Professor Lambert currently captures your desire to join an English course, however making some revisions will ensure the email is more effective and polished.
List of Suggestions
A concise and formal email which will catch the attention of an academic professional will follow these guidelines:
- Utilizing an institutional address such as a UBC email means the message is more likely to catch the professor’s attention, and less likely to end up flagged as spam.
- Including a ‘subject’ when sending an email lets the recipient know what the message is about. Emails without a subject line are also more likely to go unnoticed in the inbox.
- Introducing yourself and adding your student number and full name to the message will make identification easier for the professor and other staff, especially if course schedule changes are being made.
- Expressing a profound desire to join this specific course will make the message unique and pique the professor’s interest.
- Avoiding colloquial expressions, such as “no luck” and “get back to me asap” establishes a better tone when addressing a professor or other distinguished individual. Such informal phrases should only be used during casual conversations with one’s peers.
- Removing irrelevant personal information such as plans for heading to the beach, helps keep the request short and to-the-point.
- Proofreading the message for proper spelling and grammar will make it appear more professional. Blatant errors are bound to leave a poor impression with an English professor.
- Concluding with a proper ending such as ‘Sincerely’ or ‘Best Regards’ demonstrates respect and ends the message with a positive tone.
Conclusion
During your academic and professional career, it is likely that you will be sending many email messages to individuals such as colleagues, instructors and supervisors. Using a clear, respectful and professional tone will ensure the reader understand your intentions and is left with a positive impression. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at alirod@alumni.ubc.ca. I wish you success in gaining admission to this course!
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