Assignment: 3:1 – Memo to Evan Crisp

To:              Evan Crisp
From:         Jenny Bachynski
Date:          March 3, 2019
Subject:     Advice on Emailing a Professor

I am writing to offer some some helpful suggestions on how to write a professional and effective email to a professor. It is important that one remembers that professors appreciate an appropriate level of formality when corresponding with students. Here are some suggestions to elevate communication with professionals:

• Be specific: it is important to know who you are in communication with and what their name is. I would suggest finding out exactly who is teaching the course and greeting the professor by name. Instead of leading with “Hey there”, perhaps ” Hello Professor _______”.
• Be polite: it is important to avoid sounding annoyed or inconvenienced by a problem that the professor has no control over; it’s not their job to register students for the courses. If it is difficult to sign up for a course, then the best way to tackle that issue is asking for help instead of insinuating blame.
• Keep some information private: While it may seem important to let the professor know that it’s difficult to wake up at 8:00am or that you are heading to the beach, it is not always necessary to relay that information  Professionals are very busy and don’t necessarily need all the reasons behind why a request is being made.
• Be appreciative and don’t expect special treatment: Professors’ time should be respected and their willingness to teach their students should be appreciated. Avoid using verbs such as “refuse”, which implies an unwillingness to compromise. There are many students trying to get into specific classes with complex schedules, and professors can only do their best to help all of the students they can.
• Don’t assume our time is not of equal importance: I would highly suggest avoiding terms that implies that someone’s time is more precious than another. If one is expecting a fast reply to an email, it makes the assumption that the professor has nothing else important going on.
• Show excitement: Getting to attend a university course is something that many students are excited about – don’t hesitate to show how eager you are to take the class.
• Sign off in a professional manner: Use a full name when closing your email. This is important to give off a professional tone, but also to allow the professor to know exactly who they should be responding to.

I hope that these suggestions will help you improve your email and get you the response you are hoping for. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best,

Jenny Bachynski