And Get The Answer You Want

Goal: Write your teacher an email so you get the information you need – the first time.

How NOT To Write An Email

During these times of school closures and remote/ home learning, students can struggle with organization and are forced to communicate with their teachers via email. Depending on how the email is written, the student might get an answer. And, they might not.

Picture this: John is reading his teacher’s instructions for the remote learning lesson of the day. He glances through the instructions once and does not understand one of the questions she wants him to answer. So, he clicks on his email tab and fires off this email:

Miss Saly – I dnt get the queston

Miss Sally reads his email, which has no subject, but does have terrible grammar and spelling, and she does not know what John means. At this point, Miss Sally sighs and either:

a) Writes back trying to gather more information – which leads to frustration and nothing is resolved.

b) Gets irritated by John’s vague and demanding tone and ignores his email completely.

You get the picture. By now John has spent 10 to 20 minutes emailing back and forth with his teacher, or waiting for his teacher to answer, and is exactly in the same place where he started: he still doesn’t get the question.

Why are emails so hard to write?

Well, they’re not. But, in the age of rapid communication, students can get used to the quick-response method of texting with friends and family. These texts don’t require a subject, an introduction, or even decent spelling or grammar to get a message across. However, texting has not replaced formal communication in schools and businesses, and teachers still count on the trusty email to communicate with students.

Email also makes it easy for teachers to filter questions and student communication in order to decide which emails are more urgent and what information to give – and possibly to email several students at the same time.

But like anything, email is only effective when used effectively. If you want your teacher to help you and provide the answers you need quickly, you need to write your email in a way that makes it easy for your teacher to want to answer your email, and also give you the information you’re looking for.

The Basics of a Good Email

Try NOT to send one…

Sending unnecessary emails because you didn’t take the time to read the instructions carefully – or at all – is the quickest way for your emails to get ignored and thrown in the trash bin. As much as this sounds a bit obvious, I cannot emphasize enough how much teachers, um, dislike getting emails asking about things they have already explained and answered.

To avoid having your email trashed:

a) Go to where your teacher leaves remote-learning instructions and READ them CAREFULLY and COMPLETELY.

B) Repeat the instructions to make sure you understand them – which if you have read them completely and carefully, you probably do.

C) Only if you have a specific question about the instructions, then write an email.

Be clear about your subject

Teachers like to know what you’re asking about. Surprisingly, students frequently ignore the subject section of the email and dive right into their questions. For a teacher, though, knowing the subject of a student’s email makes it easier for them to decide to open and answer your email. Because they have a better idea of the information you’re seeking upfront, it is already less work to respond to your question or comment. If your email does not have a subject, your teacher easily skips over your email until all other emails are answered, before deciding to figure out what it is you want.

SIDE NOTE: Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT put your entire message in the subject area – your teacher won’t read it.

Use punctuation and grammar

This is an email to your teacher. Yes, your teacher will notice all your grammar and punctuation mistakes. While teachers forgive a mistake here and there, an email filled with obvious and unnecessary mistakes sends a message that you do not care enough about the receiver to write them a well-composed email. In this age of Grammarly and spell-check, there is no excuse for those mistakes – and your teacher knows it. You are going to school to get an education, so show that you have one in your email.

Be specific

Though I mentioned this earlier, it is worth mentioning again. Writing your teacher a vague email like John’s (above) is the quickest way to irritate your teacher and leads to the very real possibility that you won’t even get an answer. Be clear in your message about what it is that you do not understand or need to know. Do not ask about everything, but focus on the parts that you need clarity on. The more specific and clear your email is, the higher the chance that your teacher will answer you quickly with the things you want to know.

Careful with your tone and structure

Students often don’t realize that the written word can come across as dry and more aggressive than the spoken word. Because you cannot use verbal emphasis and non-verbal cues, the way you put your written words together is important. You want to make sure that your email has a respectful tone that kindly requests and does not demand.

One way to start off right is by addressing your teacher with a “Dear,” or if that’s too formal, a simple “Hi”.

Using a slightly more formal tone in your writing helps to make sure that you show respect to the reader.

Finally, thanking your teacher in your email and appreciating their help beforehand establishes goodwill on your part. It also encourages goodwill on your teacher’s part.

Proofread!

Before you press that “send” button, proofread, proofread, proofread! Besides checking your grammar, you also want to check for words you did not mean to write.

In a quickly written email to your teacher, you might unconsciously include slang, inappropriate, or even swear words. Maybe these are words you might use with your friends and family without any problem. However, trust me when I say your teacher will not appreciate those words, and may even take serious offense. Seeing that your goal is for your teacher to answer quickly with the information you need, the last thing you want to do is offend them and risk their anger.

How can you make sure you write your teacher an email that is clear, specific and does not offend them? Proofread.

Getting that answer…

Learning how to write your teacher an email to get the answers you need is essential not only with remote learning but for good communication in your educational life. In the end, learning how to communicate effectively in writing gets you the answers you need more quickly and can make the process of working and learning from home just a little less painless.