Writing Professional Emails Created by: Cheryl Radeloff and Sarah Sifers Funded by: Minnesota State University, Mankato College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Subject Line Always include a subject Be specific as possible Include class and section Examples Re: Abnormal Psych Assignment Re: Intro to Women’s Studies Section 01

Salutations Include a salutation Doctor or Professor unless told otherwise Avoid “Mrs.” Avoid slang Examples Dear Dr. Radeloff: Prof. Sifers, NOT Hey Sarah

Addressing Emails Only include relevant people Be careful with “reply to all” Check to make sure the addresses are correct

Body of an Email Include an introduction Use appropriate grammar and mechanics Use active voice Use paragraphs Avoid all caps Use a professional tone Be concise Use gender neutral language Avoid possibly offensive comments Avoid unnecessary attachments Limit use of “urgent,” “important,” and “high priority”

Email Address Think about what your address suggests Examples: Cheryl.radeloff@mnsu.edu SarahSifersPhD@yahoo.com NOT supersexymama@email.com

Wide Audience Emails & Spam Avoid Spam Chain letters “Warnings” Do not forward confidential information from others

Additional Resources http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/ http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_emailett.html http://science.kennesaw.edu/~hmattord/email.htm  http://www.psych.ku.edu/psichi/EmailEtiquette.htm http://www.egrad.com/index.cfm?action=story&iStoryID=322