1) Keep it professional: Avoid first names. Greet all staff politely in the email, e.g. Dear Ms Gillick,…Hello Ms Conlon…. (Try and avoid “hi”!)
2) Make an effort to include a subject line: Add a brief, accurate subject line to your email. It’s a good idea to state which class and assignment your email is about. (Chances are your teacher has many students and several classes.) e.g. Subject: 5D Hamlet essay
3) Keep it short and to-the-point: Rambling on and on in an email about the reasons, excuses and the circumstances surrounding your assignment being late will not help you. State the problem or request right away, e.g. Dear Mr Smith,
Would it be ok to hand in my “Romeo and Juliet” essay on Monday as I will be not be present on Friday due to debating ….
4) Capital letters and punctuation: Avoid CAPS! When you use ALL CAPS it conveys the feeling of anger or shouting to most people. Also, do not use too many exclamation points! Commas and full-stops should also be used in emails, e.g.
Dear Mr Smith,
Would it be ok to hand in my “Romeo and Juliet” essay on Monday? I will be not be present on Friday due to debating. I appreciate that you set the deadline in advance but I feel that I will rush the essay and not produce my best work if I try to get it written any earlier.
Kind regards,
Ellen O’Connor, 5D
5) Keep it formal and polite: Do not use abbreviations or slang. An email is not the same as texting. Do not use informal language when writing an email to a teacher, official or someone older than you, e.g. hey mrs. smith: i just cant get it 2gether 2 get all my stuf dun this week. Could u cut me sum slack on the due date 4 tht essay?
6) Structure: Your email should include a greeting, a main body and end with a polite sign off.
7) Sign off with your full name: You should sign off with your full name when writing to a teacher or other official person, e.g. Kind regards, Emily O’Connor/ Thanking you, Sarah Smith/ Yours sincerely, Fiona Hayden
8) Self-check: Read over your email before you click send. Make sure you have no spelling errors or grammatical mistakes.
9) Carefully decide who will see your email:Be careful not to click on Reply All when you do not want everyone to see your reply. When you click CC, the person you reply to will be able to see who you are sending a copy to. When you click BCC, the person you reply to will not see who you are sending a copy to.
10) Email is not always confidential: Do not discuss delicate issues in an email. Do not put anything in an email that you would not want many other people to see.
11) To reply or not to reply? Always reply to teachers to show your gratitude. Remember that a teacher has taken the time to email you notes or information for your own benefit.
12) Talk face-to-face: Remember that you can also approach a member of staff before or after class if you have a query or request. They will happily discuss any queries or answer any questions face to face!