Building Blocks - Vol. 1, No. 4
Dear Professor…
Do you ever wonder about how to start an email to a faculty member?
Although speaking directly to a person is still preferable and more personal, Emails have become a normal and necessary form of communication. As the generation of students having grown up with IM and emails enter the university, the tone of emails and their contents can become increasingly casual and at times unwittingly carry a negative tone.
On Advising@psu.edu there is a page entitled Email Advising. Please refer to it for some tips on email etiquette.
To highlight a few points:
- Whether students address faculty by first or last name depends on the relationship developed. When in doubt, address the faculty by Prof. or Dr. the first time. (At least one student has tried Prof. Moses.)
- “Hey” is definitely not a good salutation to begin a written correspondence to anyone other than your friends. Develop your own greeting that is comfortable to you at the same time projects a level of professionalism.
- Write in proper English. IM lingo is not appropriate.
- Remember that email can be passed on easily and kept indefinitely. Some people don’t think twice about re-broadcasting your email.
- When addressing a difficult situation, it is best to do it in person. If you must email, do not accuse or use inflammatory language. Simply state the facts politely. Read it over before you send it. Saving it overnight before you send it is a good idea.
- Expressing that you appreciate their efforts on your behalf makes a good ending to any correspondence and hopefully it reflects your honest feelings.
- Use proper capitalization and punctuation.
Thank you for reading this article.