MEMORANDUM

To: Evan Crisp, UBC Undergraduate Student

From: Brendan Chan, ENGL 301 Student

Date: July 2, 2021

Subject: Best practices for sending effective e-mails to professors

Introduction

Thank you for requesting advice from the ENGL 301 students to improve your email. The following list is a compilation of suggestions that could be implemented to improve the persuasiveness of future messages and emails.

Suggestions

Within a professional environment, emails and inquiries generally follow these steps:

• Try to use a professional email address – Addresses with informal names are unlikely to garner attention, and may be filtered out as spam.
• Writing a concise subject for the email will help the recipient understand what the message topic is, and how urgent the topic may be. Adding a name and a course code may increase the teacher’s priority of the email.
• Removing use of slang or other forms of colloquial language will help show maturity and sincerity in any messages.
• Being concise and stating the issue or request clearly without any extra anecdotes will ensure the email is easily understood.
• Showing investment with the subject matter, and writing methods for contact are a great way to show this subject is important and should be taken seriously.
• Removing personal experiences and avoiding anecdotes in a formal request will ensure a professional and serious tone.
• Try to conclude the email message politely – Reiterating how contact can be established will help ensure a response from the email recipient.
• Proofreading work is an easy way to ensure emails lack any serious spelling or grammatical mistakes.

Conclusion

Writing professional emails is a valuable skill that you are likely to use many times throughout your academic and professional career. Ensuring emails are well written is a great way to make a strong impression on your peers and superiors in your environment. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at bchan98@student.ubc.ca