Matthew Dohn, Ph.D

| Department of Psychology

 
How To Email a Professor

(Source: Orange Crate Art)

Write from your college or university e-mail account. That immediately lets your professor see that your e-mail is legitimate and not spam. The cryptic or cutesy or salacious personal e-mail address that might be okay when you send an e-mail to a friend is not appropriate when you're writing to a professor.

Include the course number in your subject line. "Question about PSY 101 assignment" is clear and sounds genuine, while "a question" looks like spam. "Question about Psychology assignment" or "question about assignment," without identifying the class you're in, may leave your professor with the chore of figuring that out. For someone teaching large lecture classes, that might mean reading through hundreds of names on rosters. But even for a professor with smaller classes, it's a drag to get an e-mail that merely says "I'm in your Psychology class and need the assignment." All your Psychology professor's classes are Psychology classes; she or he still needs to know which one is yours.

Consider, in light of this advice, the following examples: An e-mail from "qtpie2009@yahoo.com" with the subject line "question."

An e-mail from an university account with the subject line "question about PSY 101 essay." Which one looks legitimate? Which one looks like spam?

Think about what you're saying. Most students are not accustomed to writing to their professors. Here are some ways to do it well: Choose an appropriate greeting. "Hi/Hello Professor [Blank]" is always appropriate. Substitute "Dear" and you've ended up writing a letter; leave out "Hi" and your tone is too brusque.

Avoid rote apologies for missing class. Most professors are tired of hearing those standard apologies and acts of contrition. If you missed class because of some especially serious or sad circumstances, it might be better to mention that in person than in an e-mail.

Ask politely. "Could you e-mail me the page numbers for the next reading? Thanks!" is a lot better than "I need the assignment."

Proofread what you've written. You want your e-mail to show you in the best possible light. Spell-check and read your email over before hitting the send button.

Sign with your full name, course number, and meeting time.

        Maggie Simpson
        PSY 101, MWF 10:00

Signing is an obvious courtesy, and it eliminates the need for stilted self-identification ("I am a student in your such-and-such class"). One don't, and one last do:

Don't send unexpected attachments. It's bad form. Attaching an essay with a request that your professor look it over is very bad form. Arrange to meet your professor during office hours or by appointment instead. It's especially bad form to send an e-mail that says "I won't be in class today," with a paper or some other coursework attached. Think about it: Your professor is supposed to print out your essay because you're not coming to class?

When you get a reply, say thanks. Just hit Reply and say "Thanks," or a little bit more if that's appropriate. The old subject line (which will now have a "Re:" in front) will make the context clear. I don't think that you need to include a greeting with a short reply, at least not if you refer to your professor in your reply. And you don't need to identify yourself by course number and meeting time again.

Many e-mail messages end up never reaching their intended recipients, for reasons of human and technological error, so it's always appropriate to acknowledge that someone's message got through. It's also plain courtesy to say thanks. (Your professor will remember it too.) When you reply, you should delete almost everything of your professor's reply (quoting everything is rarely appropriate in e-mail). Leave just enough to make the original context clear.

So what would a good e-mail to a professor look like?

Hi Dr. Dohn,

I'm working on my essay on Sigmund Freud and I'm not sure what to make of his theories about the preconscious mind. Do you have any suggestion? Thanks!

Maggie Simpson
PSY 202, MWF 10:00

And a subsequent note of thanks:

> Maggie,
> To be honest, no one really knows what to make of Freud's theories. But they sure
> are interesting.

They sure are! Thanks for your help, Professor.

Maggie Simpson

Ms. Simpson didn't contribute to class discussions (her pacifier got in the way), but other than that, she did very well in the class. And she wrote terrific e-mails.