6 Tips, Rules, and Examples for Writing an Email to Your Teacher

From time to time, even the shyest students admit they write letters to teachers at school or instructors at college. Regardless of the faculty, school, or university, writing emails is a part of studying no student can avoid. In fact, learning to write an email is as important as learning to write a paper since both allow you to get answers and make a great first impression. The only difference is that writing an email is easier than writing a whole new essay from scratch. All famous authors who have dealt with this will agree.

6 Tips, Rules, and Examples for Writing an Email to Your Teacher
[image: unsplash by christin hume]

If your fingers sweat and tremble typing ‘Dear Mr. or Ms.’ or a teacher always misunderstands the question in your emails, check the tips below on how to take your email writing to a brand new level.

Tip #1: Be Polite

As simple as it sounds, being polite is the golden rule in both oral and written communication. This does not mean you have to be prim and proper like Jane Eyre from the same-named novel by Charlotte Bronte or as famous poets do in their poems. Anyway, it will not be an extra to add Mr. and Ms. before writing the surname of your teacher. Avoid addressing them by name. Yes, they may think of you as a good friend, but in formal communication, politeness and respect come first.

Time has come to apply the basic rules of etiquette you have got as an elementary student years before. Do not forget greetings like ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good evening.’ It is better to avoid informal greetings like ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello,’ especially if you do not know the teacher well enough.

Tip #2: Time is Non-Renewable

Time runs slower for students because they are less busy compared to teachers and instructors. For a thirty- or fourty-and-more-old teacher (especially if they have hundreds of students), time is the resource they value very much. Teachers are busier, and as a student, you must acknowledge it.

To ensure that you have not taken much of your teacher’s time, follow these simple rules:

Say ‘thank you.’ Your teacher will gladly share some tricks on finding the best online resources to master writing and support you at the hardest time. They may sacrifice their efforts and health, and they will never ask anything in return. Just remember, once in a while, everyone loves hearing the words of gratitude.

Be concise. The email containing more than 500 words might be confusing. Meanwhile, an email with less than 50 words is not the best choice as well. Think of the core of your question. Make a number of words in your head and try to write down the main idea of the email without crossing the limit.

Add personal information in the beginning. Your teacher is busy, yet reading a new email must be quick and effective. Mention the group or the faculty you are from so the teacher understands whose letter they are reading.

Tip #3: Subject Line Makes Writing Perfect

[image: unsplash by stephen phillips - hostreviews.co.uk]

Ever wondered what the annoying empty space at the beginning of the email is for? Now you know it: this is where you need to write down the main idea of the email. Ironically, be as detailed as possible. Writing a subject line like “Research paper” or “Essay on Shakespeare” says nothing to your teacher if all their courses include writing research papers and studying Romeo and Juliette.

But if you write ‘Anne Gaynor - Major in Business Management; II Semester; Final Research Paper on Shakespeare,” your teacher will understand that your name is Anne Gaynor and you are majoring in Business Management, while the course on Shakespeare is your secondary interest.

Tip #4: Abbreviations Are Annoying

Everyone has a friend who writes as they pay for each word. As a result, the readers are doomed to decipher not only popular abbreviations like ‘LOL’ or ‘IMHO’ but a lot more tangled cases. So, avoid being the person who seems to have forgotten a human language. Always remember that slang abbreviations sound more like misspellings in formal writing. They definitely do not improve your reputation in the teacher’s mind.

Avoiding words like ‘dude,’ ‘awesome,’ or ‘lit’ goes without saying. In fact, one of the tips, which all the greatest books on writing will ever tell you, is to avoid abbreviations where you can use full words. Show respect to your reader - not everyone understands the youth slang, especially teachers who are often from older generations.

Tip #5: Be Careful Where You Write

How often have you clicked the wrong key accidentally and sent the message before finishing it? Sure, your friends will be the most understanding people to wait for the continuation of your message. But does this rule apply to all teachers? No, scroll back to Tip #2: Your teachers value their time!

We suggest you write a message in a Word Document or Google Documents specifically before copying the message to your teacher in actual Google email format.

By writing a message in a separate document sheet, you will not accidentally send it to your teacher. Moreover, there will always be time to use online grammar checking tools to make your writing flawless before sending the email.

Tip #6: Practice Makes Perfect

The person who said that to learn something, one must repeat it has been right. Remember how you started walking? Step by step. Use this principle here, too: learn the greetings first and how to write an introduction, and later, proceed with the body and the conclusion. Any guide on how to improve your writing will teach you that to learn something big like writing a story, you should start with something small, like writing a phrase or two.

If writing an email is still your core insecurity, find templates on the Internet and customize them. By using them each time as “cheat sheets,” you will feel less stressed. 

At first, sight, writing an email to your teacher may sound overwhelming. However, knowing the peculiarities of letter writing and the requirements of formal communication allow any student to become confident in communicating their ideas and needs to the teachers. In addition, writing emails as often as you can makes you a better email writer each time you do it.