How to Write an Email to a Lecturer

Writing an email to a lecturer requires more consideration than sending a quick message to a friend. Your education forms the foundation for your future career, so it’s crucial to communicate through academic channels professionally, including emails. When emailing your instructor, always use your student email account and begin the message with a polite greeting. Treat this interaction as you would a formal job letter, ensuring brevity and correct grammar!

Check the course materials for your question. Often, your query has already been addressed in the resources the lecturer provided at the start of the course. Asking about something that’s already covered may make you seem unprepared and careless, and could annoy the professor for wasting their time.

• The course material might include details on assignments, submission deadlines, class policies, and assignment structure.
• If the lecturer has only given a list of readings, you can email with questions about content not covered in the materials.

Use your academic email account. Lecturers typically receive a large number of emails daily. By using your school-provided email account, your message is less likely to end up in the spam folder. Additionally, the email address provided by the school looks more professional. The lecturer will also easily identify you as the sender, as student email accounts are usually based on your name.

Write an attention-grabbing subject line. The subject line gives the lecturer an idea of the main content of the email before they even open it. This is useful as it helps the professor allocate the right amount of time to address your query. The subject should be clear and to the point.

• For example, you might write "Question about Current Assignment" or "Graduation Thesis".

Start with a greeting and use the lecturer's title and/or name. Of course, you may want to jump straight into the issue at hand. However, when writing to a professor, treat it as a formal letter. Begin with "Dear Dr. Tran Van Dung," followed by a comma. Be sure to use their last name if you are not very familiar with them.

• If you are unsure of the professor’s academic title, you can address them as "Professor Tran Van Dung."
• You can opt for a slightly more informal greeting, such as "Dear Professor Dung," if you and the lecturer have had personal interactions.

Remind the lecturer of who you are. Professors have many students to keep track of, so they will need you to introduce yourself. Mention your name, the class you are taking with that lecturer, and the specific session, for example, "Economic Mathematics, Period 2."

Avoid going off-topic. Lecturers are busy people, so keep your message to the point. Skip irrelevant details and aim for brevity.

• For example, if you have a question about an assignment, you could write: "I have a question about the assignment you gave us last Tuesday. Should we do it individually or in groups?"

Write in complete sentences. An email is not a Facebook post or a quick message to a friend. When writing to a lecturer, you should use full sentences, as anything less may come across as unprofessional.

• For example, avoid writing: "Great class, teacher... amazing!"
• Instead, write: "The lecture you gave us last session was extremely clear and helpful."

Focus on tone. When you contact a professor for the first time, keep your tone and language professional. This means no emoticons! As you develop a correspondence with the professor, you might feel more at ease, especially if the professor becomes more casual (e.g., by sending you an emoticon in their email).

Make requests politely. Many students tend to demand things from their professors, but this will not get you far. Instead, frame your request as a respectful plea that the lecturer may either accept or decline.

• For example, if you need an extension for an essay, don't say, "My grandmother just passed away. Please give me more time to submit my paper." Instead, say, "I’ve had a challenging week due to the passing of my grandmother. Would it be possible to get an extension for my paper?"

Use proper punctuation. For emails to friends, you might skip paragraph breaks and commas. However, when writing to a lecturer, make sure to use punctuation where it's needed.

Spell out words clearly. While shorthand language is widespread on the internet, professional emails require you to avoid using such forms. This means you shouldn’t use "thui" for "thôi" or "j" for "gì", among others. Stick to proper Vietnamese language.

• Don’t forget to check your spelling with an automatic spell checker before sending the email.

Capitalize appropriately. The first letter of each sentence and relevant nouns should be capitalized. Don’t confuse formal writing with casual speech, and always capitalize words that need to be.

State the action you want the lecturer to take. Be clear about what you want from the lecturer towards the end of your email. If you need to meet them, make sure to ask for that directly.

Proofread the entire email for grammar. Review your email to ensure there are no grammatical mistakes. You’ll likely catch one or two errors that need fixing.

Review the email from the lecturer’s perspective. Think about the content of your email to ensure that you’re not making unreasonable demands. Also, make sure your message is truly concise. You probably don’t want to overshare personal details, as that can appear unprofessional.

End the email with a polite closing. Since you started formally, you should conclude in the same manner. Use phrases like "Sincerely" or "Best regards," followed by a comma and your full name.

Follow up after a week. Once you’ve sent your email, avoid pestering your lecturer for a reply. However, if you haven’t received a response within a week, you can follow up with another email, as your original message might have been overlooked.

Acknowledge the reply. Once your lecturer responds, confirm that you’ve received their reply. A simple "Thank you, Professor!" will suffice. If necessary, you can write a more detailed email using the same formal structure. If your issue hasn’t been fully addressed via email, politely ask to schedule a face-to-face meeting.

• For example, you could say, "Thank you for clarifying my question. I look forward to seeing you in class."
• If you want to meet in person, you could write, "Thank you for your insights on this matter. If you have time, would it be possible to meet in person to discuss this further?"

• If your email is to inquire about what you missed due to inattention, it’s best to ask a classmate who has already covered the material.