A Response to the Extended Analysis—Email Etiquette

For this week’s blog post, I read through Iracema’s Prezi presentation on email etiquette, specifically email etiquette as it relates to emailing your professors. She gave the presentation to one of the freshman seminar courses, which I think was a fantastic idea. I know that when I was a freshman I found my professors a little frightening, and the idea of emailing them was intimidating to me. If anything I probably leaned more towards the side of formality than I needed to, though I can easily see how a freshman used it informal means of communication might be too casual in their emails. I wish that someone had gone over this with me when I was eighteen, if for no other reason than that I would have been more confident in communicating with professors, knowing that I was addressing them correctly.

Ira started her presentation off with an example of a bad email to send to a professor—offensively informal and clearly written while the student was drunk. I think that this was a good way to begin, as a bit of humor can often help capture audience interest. I also appreciated her advice on subject lines, which came soon after. I personally am often not sure exactly what the subject of an email ought to be. I think that the advice to be brief and precise is good, though I would add that if you are making some sort of request it might be better to write a slightly vaguer subject line. For example, if I were to write an email asking for an extension on a particular assignment, I would probably not make the subject “paper extension”. Instead I would likely make the title simply the name of the assignment, for the reason that I want the professor to read through the email and see my reasoning before making a decision about whether or not they will answer the request. However, I acknowledge that this may simply be a personal preference.

Ira went on to discuss the appropriate greetings and sign-offs that one could use, as well as the proper style for the body of the essay. I think that she was wise to include the note that sent email is permanent. Of course, everyone knows this, but it’s a good reminder to a freshman who might be tempted to send something in haste or without really thinking it through, especially when they are angry or upset about a grade.

The presentation goes on to cover a list of example emails, along with a slide of tips and tricks. Among these I found the advice to be careful with sarcasm and humor especially good, as humor often does not come across correctly in writing, and sarcasm may be perceived as disrespectful in the context of an email to a professor. After these last tips, the presentation is over. On the whole I thought that it was a well thought out and successful presentation. After receiving the information in the Prezi any freshman should be able to put together an effective and appropriate email to their professor.