MEMORANDUM
To: Evan Crisp, UBC Student
From: Danae Echeverria, ENGL 301 Student
Date: July 14, 2022
Subject: Best Practices in Writing Professional E-mail Messages to University Professors
Introduction
Thank you for seeking out ENGL 301 students for advice on writing this e-mail. As requested, here is a memorandum on best practices when writing messages to your university professors. The following is a list of tips that are helpful when composing a professional e-mail:
Writing Tips
To write an effective e-mail, some guidelines include:
- Indicating a short subject line that clearly describes the purpose of the e-mail.
- Addressing the reader appropriately; an e-mail to a university instructor is a professional inquiry so using “hi” or “hello” allows for a formal and friendly greeting.
- Personalizing the e-mail by stating the recipient’s title and name—in this case, it would be “Professor Lambert.”
- Maintaining a kind and friendly tone throughout the message; professors are typically very busy and taking time out of their day to answer a student’s e-mail is a favor.
- Being concise and straight to the point by excluding information irrelevant to the topic of discussion.
- Providing a valid reason for the inquiry of the e-mail and a reasonable request for a timely response.
- Using both a closer and a signature to end the message— two appropriate closers are ‘Best regards’ and ‘Thank you’, and including a signature block consisting of name, title, extension number, and URL is helpful for the reader.
Conclusion
E-mail is the most common form of business communication so it is important to familiarize oneself with its principles. Following these tips can help write an effective e-mail to your instructor about making space for you in their course—if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at danaee6720@gmail.com.
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