Email Teachers

If you cannot make it to your teacher's office hours, you can always email him or her. This article will give you some advice on how to email your teacher and avoid any confusion or miscommunication.

10 Second Summary

1. Specify the class and assignment in the subject line.
2. Address your teacher formally.
3. Keep your email brief and to-the-point.
4. Use formal language and proper grammar.
5. Send the email and be patient when waiting for a reply.

Steps

Sample Emails to Teachers

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Writing the Email

1. Write a clear subject line. Your teacher may receive many emails each day, so it's important to be clear about who you are and why you're sending the message. Include your name. Include the name of the class, especially if your teacher runs multiple classes. If you are emailing about a specific assignment, write the title of that assignment. Check the course syllabus: the teacher may have already suggested an email subject format that he/she prefers.
   • The subject line might be: "Russian History Research Paper" or "Calculus advice." Use your name along with a contextual identifier, such as, "Billy Jones (6th period chemistry class)."
   • If you are in a very large class—say, a college lecture in which the professor doesn't know you personally—then write the name of the class. For clarity, you may even include the title of the assignment or project that you're emailing about.
2. Address your teacher formally. Start with "Dear Mr. Smith", "Hello Mr. Smith," or just "Mr. Smith,". Feel free to be a bit more casual if you know your teacher especially well. Nonetheless, try to err on the side of formality.
   • Do not simply begin with "Hey," or "Hello." Most formal emails begin by respectfully acknowledging the name of the recipient. Do not call your teacher by his or her first name unless he/she has asked you to do so.
   • This formality still applies if you are a parent emailing a teacher on the behalf of your child. As an adult, the teacher may be your peer. In a school context, however, you should still treat the teacher with the respect that he or she is used to.
3. Use proper English. Make sure that your message is well-written and grammatically correct. It's important to make a good impression, especially if you're asking for a favor. You might get a bit more casual with your language if you're on good terms with the teacher. If things are tense, you should use a formal tone.
   • Do not use emojis or chat acronyms in your message. Err on the side of formality, even if your teacher is laid-back and casual – and even if your teacher uses emojis herself!
4. Be straightforward. Make your email quick and to-the-point. Don't waste your teacher's time. Begin by explaining why you're sending the email. Ask any questions that you need to ask. Keep your message to five sentences or fewer, unless you have a very detailed question.
   • The first line of your email (after "Dear Mr. So-and-So,") might be: I'm emailing to ask you about the homework that you assigned for this Monday. It might be, "I was hoping to ask for an extension on the big research paper." If you are emailing on the behalf of your child, then the first line might be, "I am Billy's mother, and I'd like to talk about his grade in your English class for this past semester."
   • If you are asking for a favor or a letter or recommendation, then you may want to flatter the teacher a bit. Play up the positive aspects of your relationship with a given teacher. However, if you are apologizing or trying to recover from a mistake, you should probably keep your tone respectful and to-the-point.
5. End the email. Thank your teacher for reading the email, and sign your name in a formal way. Preface your name with "Thank you," "Regards," "Your Student," "Best," "Much obliged," or another traditional and respectful closing. Write your name on the line below the closing words. For instance: Thank you. Sincerely, Kevin Baker.

Sending the Email

1. Find your teacher's email. Send your message to the teacher's professional, school-issued email account, unless he/she has provided you with a personal address. Your teacher may have given you an email address in the course syllabus. If not, you'll need to track it down yourself. If your school has a website, check the "Faculty" page or the contact page for the teacher's particular department. Consider simply asking your teacher for his/her email!
   • If you can't ask in person, and you can't find the email on the school website: try asking around. One of your friends or classmates might know. Ask the school secretary, or other teachers, or even parents.
   • Deduce the email address. School-issued email addresses often follow a pattern: for instance, [first-initial][last-name]@yourschool.edu, or just [last-name]@yourschool.org. If you know that Mr. Blumpton's email address is mblumpton@yourschool.org, then it might be safe to assume that Mrs. Audrey Pratt's email address is apratt@yourschool.org.
2. Send the email. Make sure that the address is entered correctly. Check that you've said everything that you need to say. Consider running a spell-check before you click "Send." Once you have sent the email, check the "Sent" box to be sure that the message went through.
3. Be patient. Teachers are often busy people, and you should not expect an immediate response. If your concern is very complicated, or not very urgent, then you might be waiting for a few days. It might take your teacher longer to respond if you send your email over the weekend or during a holiday.
   • Try to figure it out on your own. If you're emailing your teacher with a question about the course material, look for another source. Refer to the Internet, a textbook, a library, or a classmate.
   • Send a follow-up email if you have an urgent question that you can't otherwise resolve. Be brief and polite. Acknowledge the first email, explain why you need to know the answer as soon as possible, and say, "I just wanted to check back with you in case you didn't get my first email!" Do not send more than one follow-up email.

Tips

• Only email your teacher for school-related purposes.
• Use an appropriate font: Ariel, Calibri, and Times New Roman are good.
• If it is a homework problem, write "ASAP" (as soon as possible) or "Urgent" in the subject bar. Be aware that some email spam filters will flag messages with all-caps subject lines.
• Unless your problem is urgent, avoid emailing your teacher on the weekends or over the holidays. Teachers usually work full-time, and they don't get a lot of time off. They spend almost every day with their students, so respect the fact that they might need some time apart from their school and their pupils.

Warnings

• Never write anything that could be considered inappropriate in an email to your teacher. Remember: this is your teacher's job, and any email that you send to a school account is subject to review by the school authorities.
• If your teacher takes a long time to respond, avoid sending follow-up emails unless absolutely necessary. Your teacher may be very busy, or he/she might not be ready to respond to you. Wait to speak with your teacher in person, if possible.

Sources and Citations

See also

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• Write a Formal Email

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