Email Etiquette for students

   

COVID-19 pandemic had made many new changes in our lives among them writing an email has become an inevitable part of every student. While back in time, you could communicate with your professors face-to-face, but now you have to compose an email to address your concern or submit assignments/ papers (in case your professors allow you to submit via email). In these cases, there are still many students who approach emailing similar to texting where the crucial convention is informality while most college teachers consider emails closer to formal letters than to text messages which further leads to mistakes in spelling, punctuation, capitalization and syntax. 

So, to avoid misunderstanding, unwanted mistakes and to ensure a professional relationship with professors and college personnel, you have to follow email etiquette. Here are few tips in this article that will help you compose specific, professional and polite emails fit for the college setting.

1. Use a professional Email address

To send an email to your professors you should use your college email address(if any) or should make sure to use appropriate and professional email addresses. In most cases where your email address consists of your full name will help the recipient to identify you even before getting into the mail. Whereas if your email address consists of initials only then you can also include your name, class and division separately.

2. Include a clear subject matter

Sending email without the subject line looks unprofessional and this may also help you to receive a quicker response. Therefore, when composing an email, you should always ensure there’s a subject line describing what the email is about. So write a brief, concise and accurate subject line that reflects the body of the email.

Don’t capitalize all your letters, no matter how urgent your email is, as it is considered to be rude, and can be interpreted as shouting at someone in terms of email etiquette. Even Avoid subject lines with general words like, “Hi” or “FYI”.

3. Use proper salutation

Salutations mainly depend on the recipient. If you are writing to a close colleague, an informal “Hi” will be sufficient. Otherwise can begin with phrases such as “Good morning”, “Good afternoon”, “Good evening”, “Hello” or “Greetings”.

4. Start with a proper introduction

It is the best practice for the sender to introduce themselves by first and last name with some information in the first few lines.

For example,

“Hello,

I am XYZ from second-year Computer Engineering department BE.”

This is especially important if you’re a part of a large class and want to make sure that the professor knows who sends the email.

5. Use diplomatic language

Think before writing an email and carefully choose your words. Regardless of the reason stay calm and be polite at all times. Always remember to write please and thank you when composing an email. Try to keep the mail short, specific and to the point. Even make use of positive statements.

6. Avoid Humour or sarcasm

Emails can easily be misinterpreted through text without context. So, avoid both humour and sarcasm in emails as the recipient may get confused or offended.

7. Don’t use Emoji

Emojis are for text messages, they are inappropriate and unprofessional in official emails. It even reflects the immaturity of the sender.

8. End with proper closure

By letting the recipient know that a response is needed or not use a proper phrase such as “Thank you” or “Please let me know as soon as possible”. And end your email with a closing such as “Best”, “Regards,” “Sincerely”.

9. Always spell check

Sending emails with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors can imply that you’re too lazy to use the spell checker. So, take the time to re-read your emails, make sure they make sense and have the right tone before you send them.

10. Check attachments

When you attach a file take enough time to check the attachment once before sending an email. You should also mention the attached files in the email which give a clear idea to the recipient and saves their time. 

11. Proofread

Before sending your email, be sure you read it from top to bottom one more time to proofread and edit grammar errors and typos. Make sure it contains full sentences, real spelling without abbreviations, and proper grammar. Then, you can click on the Send button.