Checkpoint 3.7.1. Email Mistakes.
Select all of the following mistakes the student made.
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Lack of humility and unprofessional tone.
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Correct.
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Student did not proofread.
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Correct.
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A professional sign off was not included.
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Correct.
Section 3.7 Professional Emails and Communication
Emails are often times annoying, but they continue to be an important tool for professional communication. There are newer communication tools that are beginning to penetrate the professional workspace (i.e. slack or Microsoft Teams) but they aren’t ubiquitous and they will require you to write professionally similar to the way I will outline in this section. The most difficult part about this is that social media and instant communication have different rules and norms that you are likely familiar with and may not realize are unprofessional. While there are undoubtedly benefits to instant communication in texting and the like, it has led to some bad communication habits that you will need to break to be successful in a professional setting.
It is important to remember that you can’t delete a badly written email and it can be held against you. So how do you make sure that you do not mess up your emails? Starting today, whenever you write an email to anybody that you are not friends with (and especially the University faculty and staff), remember to follow the rule outlined above, treat everyone like you would treat your personal hero or a celebrity. That means being coherent, precise with your language, proofreading your email to ensure there are no typos, and always be respectful. Below are a few bullet points diving into a little more detail on what a professional email looks like.
Email Checklist
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Have a professional email address. Limit it to initials or full spellings of your name and resort to numbers only if you have to. For example, if you have a common name (e.g. John Jeremy Smith) you can try “john.j.smith” or “j.j.smith” or “jj.smith” etc.
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Proofread your emails before you send them. It is important to remember that sending someone an email is the same thing as asking them to spend time on you. The recipient of the email will have to take part of their day to read and assess your email. That means that you can show them respect by making sure the email is well-written and free of typographical errors.
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Be sure to use the most formal possible title to address whomever you are writing, regardless of their standing, rank, or position. It is ok to refer to a close co-worker or friend using their first name, but unless you are explicitly told not to, use a formal title. For example, you should always start your email to your professors with either “Dear Professor Bechara” or “Dear Dr. Bechara” unless you are directed otherwise. If you are unsure about the educational attainment or professional title of the person you are emailing, use Mr. or Ms. as appropriate or play it safe and address then as Dr.
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Complete all of your emails with a professional sign-off. That means that after you complete the body of text, add a space, include a sign-off (sincerely, respectfully, etc), add another space, and then complete with your name.
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Follow all of the previous advice in this chapter. That means being respectful, humble, etc.
To give an example, let’s consider a hypothetical email from a student to a professor. In this case, we will consider that the professor actually DID make a mistake (it happens, we are human) and they typed in a grade incorrectly. So this is an instance where the student is in the right and needs to correct the professor. The email is:
Hey,
You messe d up my grade on quiz for. I got a 87 but you put 78 in the gradbeook. Be more carfeul next time.
Student McNotRespeftulson
Checkpoint 3.7.2. An Email.
Pretend you are the student and rewrite the email.
Make sure to take into consideration all the missing pieces you selected from the previous question. Remember, every email is a reflection of you and your professionalism.
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