Memorandum
To: Evan Crisp, UBC student
From: Taras Shyp, ENGL 301 student
Date: November 22, 2019
Subject: Best Practices for Writing Emails to Professors
Hello Evan,
Thank you for reaching the class for providing the best email practices which would help to communicate in the work/study place. Below, is a defined list of suggestions and advice that contains etiquette rules for professional communication, and will help you in future connections with professors, colleagues.
Best practices in writing e-mails to professors
- Using a professional/university-affiliated email address that shows for the reader who and from which institution correspondence is sending. If it is impossible, another option is using personal email that convey your name and decrease chances to get into the reader`s spam folder
- Including a direct subject line that contains a student number and reason for reaching a professor. It helps the reader to get right to the point of a letter and prioritize the answer.
- Professional and polite tone and style:
- precise and direct information, it makes your letter free of factoid and easy to read for the recipient
- professional language without abbreviations, slang words that provides friendly, but courtesy tone of the letter
- avoiding usage of imperatives and personal pronouns. It will bring to e-mails reader-centered writing and emphasize the reader role in solving the request
- Following a general structure of e-mails:
- Formal salutation, for instance, Dear Professor or Dear Doctor
- Brief introduction which tell the reader about the person who is sending the letter, and in general describes the matter of the e-mail
- Body section which explains details, namely actions that the reader should provide to solve the problem
- Laconic conclusion that summarizes the request and invite further actions (in your case, including in a course).
- Signature block which includes name, position and contact information
- Proofread before sending. Read and re-read the letter to avoid unnoticed mistakes or misspellings
Professional communication through an electronic correspondence is an essential means of a modern student-professor connection. Incorporating and utilization of these best practices in your daily email correspondence will facilitate interpersonal skills and better shows your purpose of communication. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach me at tshyp@alumni.ubc.ca.
Sincerely,
Taras Shyp
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