Tips for writing an email to your professors
Personally, I have experienced an influx of important information coming to me through email and have found myself sending more and more emails. I think sending a good email is important and can leave a lasting impression on your professors. Here are some tips for writing a great email!
Start with a greeting. I start my emails by saying, “Hi, [insert professor name]!” My go-to is friendly and familiar since I am close to many of my professors, but you can make it however serious or formal you need, like “Good afternoon [insert professor name],” or “Dear [insert professor name],” or simply “[professor name].” If this is your first time contacting this professor, it might behoove you to give them some context about who you are. Are you taking one of their classes? Tell them which section you are in. If you are already on good terms with this professor, you can be more casual and wish them well. If you can, try to avoid the “I hope this email finds you well” cliche. Be personal and original.
After establishing your relationship with the professor, explain your reason for emailing. You can do this as explicitly as saying, “I am emailing you today because [insert reason here].” Take a paragraph to ask your questions, explain your situation, and give whatever other context is necessary. If you want to set up a meeting with them, ask when they are available but also offer up some of your availability to limit the back-and-forth to nail down a time.
Before signing off, I always like to include a sentence to bring the email to a close in a way that encourages a response from the professor. I do this by saying something like “Let me know what you think about this” or “Thanks in advance for your help” or “I can’t wait to hear from you.”
To end my emails, I usually say one last “Thank you” before signing my name, but there are so many different ways of ending an email, so use whatever is best for you!
If you are like me and you happen to send a lot of emails to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons, I recommend using an email signature that is always sent with your message. You can include information like your pronouns, your graduation year, your major(s) and minor(s), any campus jobs you have, and any organizations you have leadership in or are a part of. You can add a signature by clicking on the gear symbol at the top right of your Gmail screen. Click “See all settings” and then scroll down to the text box where you can edit the signature!
Don’t forget to proofread your email before sending! Look for things like professionalism, formalities, and grammar. You want your email to make sense, and you want it to leave a good impression.
Here is an example of a standard email that follows all of the steps above:
Hi, Dr. Professor!
I hope your week has been treating you well and it hasn’t been too overwhelming. This is Morgan from your MWF Intro to Emails class at 9:50 a.m. I have a quick question regarding the assignment for next week’s class. When I look at Schoology, it says to create a blog post about writing an email, but in class, you mentioned that we could do a Google Slides presentation instead. Do you still want it turned in through Schoology, or can I share it with you via Google?
I also have a question that is more in-depth about our other long-term project and was hoping we could meet sometime this week to talk about it. I am available anytime this week between 12:30 and 4 p.m. and anytime after 6 p.m. on Thursday. Do any of these times work for you?
Please let me know what I should do for next week’s assignment, and I look forward to meeting with you sometime this week to discuss the project!
Thank you!
Morgan Taylor (she/her/hers)
Carthage College 2021
Music Education and Vocal Performance Major
French Minor
Writing Fellow and Peer Tutor
Carthage Arts Academy Instructor
Choral Librarian
Sketch Comedy Club Founder
Carthage Choir President
Neil-Futurist
I hope you find this helpful. Good luck sending your emails in the future!
Sponsoring Department, Office, or Organization:
Brainard Writing Center, Peer Tutoring