A professional email is something different from the emails that you send to your family and friends. It shows your way of communication, your seriousness, how better you play with the words etc. Correspondingly, when you write an email to your professor, you should keep multiple things in mind. Let us see how to write a greeting email to professor.
Greeting Email to Professor
When you write an email to your professor, you should interact with him/her in a very soft way. The choice of words matters and you should use polite, straightforward, respectful, and courteous words that can convey your message. The way you communicate with your professor determines your personality and put an impression on him/her. In this article, we will discuss how to start, write a body paragraph and conclude a professional email with examples.
Why write an email to the professor?
There are several reasons to write an email to your professor. Sometimes, if students want to know about the coursework, want to solve any issue related to academic or extra-curricular activities or want to request about their absence, they can solve their issues by sending an email to the professor. But it seems more often that students often feel shy or avoid writing an email to their professor. The reason behind this is they don’t know the exact way to communicate with them and how to greet them properly. However, this difficult task can be solved by a proper guideline that will encourage you to greet your professor without any problem.
1. The polite way to greet a professor
Starting an email is a thought-provoking task for students and yet very difficult as well. Use polite words while greeting your professor an email. For instance, the word ‘Dear’ or “Respected” with the name of your professor is the most suitable and polite way to start communication. Don’t use informal words like ‘Hi’ that are inappropriate for the professor’s greeting. The words like ‘good morning’ or ‘good evening’ also put a good impression while starting an email. Moreover, keep it clear that the start will be short and precise and make sure the spellings of the greeting along with the professor’s name should be correct. After a short start, come to the next line to further precede your email.
2. Body Paragraph
Your body paragraph will show your intentions and purpose for writing your email. This paragraph should be very clear, easy to understand, grammatically correct and free from spelling mistakes. When start writing this paragraph, visualize that your professor is a busy man and he doesn’t have enough time to read lengthy emails. You start your body paragraph by mentioning your name and the class with the section in the first sentence. This will help your professor to know you exactly and answer you directly. After that, you directly come to the point and write your issue that needs to be resolved. If you think that you can convey your message in a sentence, don’t write extra sentences to make it lengthy.
3. Greeting with appropriate sigh off
Use the appropriate words while signing off an email because the end of the email is as important as the start. Don’t use informal words for the professor like cheers’ ‘all the best’ ‘bye’ etc. Using proper words like ‘ Best Regards’ ‘ Thank You’ or ‘Sincerely’ with your full name will make your email’s ending more appropriate. As the professor receives multiple emails daily, if you will mention your full name at the end, it will help the professor to recognize you and give you a response immediately. Ensure that an inappropriate ending or email without an ending will negatively impact you.
Things must be considered
While writing an email to your professor, a few things must be considered. For Instance:
- Use good English vocabulary that shows your command of the language
- The content of your query should be clear with a good choice of words
- Proofread your email to see that it is grammatically correct
- All the spelling of the words including the professor’s name should be accurate
- Mention the sufficient background information of your issue
- If your way of talking is casual with your professor, then keep it with your professor. But don’t be careless in choosing your words
- Don’t ask useless questions to your professor, like ‘ did you teach something important that I missed today’
Example Email
Dear Professor John,
My name is Maria and I am a graduate student of Computer Sciences, Semester 2, (section 1). I am writing this because you mentioned your computer lab projects yesterday in class. I read the project’s detail and found it very informative and interesting. I want to learn more and want to join your lab next week. Therefore, my question is related to a vacant position in your lab. Would you allow me to join your lab from next week onwards?
Thank you for your time and I will wait for your response
Best Regards,
Maria Smith
Student ID: 749122
Computer Science, Class of 2022
Conclusion
Greeting an email to your professor is different from the usual emails that you send to your colleagues or friends. Your email reflects your personality and makes an impression on your professor. Therefore, always choose appropriate English words without grammatical error and spelling mistakes. At the same time your start, body paragraph and end should be proper with decent and suitable words. Make sure that the content should be to the point with sufficient background information. Mention your name with the subject and the class. Similarly, don’t ask useless questions in your email. In short, communicate with your professor with a precise choice of words through your email.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to start an email to a professor?
Start your email with a proper salutation; the choice of words should be polite and appropriate. For instance, say ‘Respected Sir’ or use the word ‘Dear’ with the name. Don’t use informal words like ‘hello’ or ‘hi’ at the start of the email.
2. What to write at the start of the body paragraph?
It is better to mention your name with class and section details shortly, and then you can come to your issue.