To: Evan Crisp, UBC Student
From: Aleem Tariq, ENGL301 Student
Date: November 20, 2020
Subject: RE: Best practices for writing emails to professors
MEMORANDUM
Thank you for reaching out for advice. I reviewed your email, and have several tips listed below that you may wish to consider. These tips will center around the “You Attitude” concept, which seeks to put the reader first.
Advice:
- Include a subject in the email – Professors may receive hundreds of emails each day. Having a subject line is extremely important, as your email may be read sooner given the urgency.
- Address your reader by their full title – Greeting your instructor by their full title shows respect to the reader and starts the email off on a pleasant note.
- Avoid the use of the pronoun “you” within the body of email, and imperatives – These come across as both insulting and commanding, thus making it less likely you will receive a favourable response.
- Provide motivation for wanting to take the course beyond needing credits – Offer some justification to further ensure a favourable response; a student that seems motivated will be accommodated, as the assumption is that they are more willing to do work and make accommodations in turn.
- Avoid issuing ultimatums – Be courteous and make accommodations for the instructor, as you expect the same in turn; create a list of possible class sections that you can take, and offer to be available to both keep up with the class and reply regularly by email even when away.
Following the advice above should help immensely when drafting emails to both your professor in future, as well as other working professionals. If there are any further questions regarding email writing, please contact me at aleemtariq19@gmail.com. Best of luck with getting into your desired class.
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