Memorandum
To: Evan Crisp
From: Cody Gagnon, ENGL 301 98A Student CG
Date: July 20, 2020
Subject: Best Practices for Emailing Professors
Although communicating effectively with superiors in an academic or professional setting can be challenging for the best of us, you can improve the likelihood of a prompt and positive response from your professors by following the best practices listed below.
Effective student writers communicate by:
- Writing a subject that begins with the relevant course code and includes a concise summary of the email message’s content.
- Sending email messages from a professional email address, which might feature the writer’s name and nothing more.
- Addressing people by their title and surname.
- Respecting the reader firstly as a busy person and secondly as a highly accomplished professional within his or her field.
- Writing with a formal tone by using concise language, choosing words carefully, and avoiding contractions.
- Beginning with the purpose of the message and adding supporting information afterwards.
- Including only information that is relevant to the purpose of the email message and its reader.
- Prioritizing academic and professional concerns ahead of extracurricular activities.
- Demonstrating flexibility and cooperation.
- Establishing that requests are motivated by necessity.
- Providing sufficient time for the reader to respond.
- Avoiding informal acronyms.
- Thanking the reader for his or her time and effort.
- Including identifying information, such as the writer’s full name and student number.
By following the above best practices, you may have better luck when making requests of your professors. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
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