An example subject line might be “Jane Doe 6th Period Russian - Research Paper” or “John Smith 3rd Period Calculus Question”. If you’re simply emailing about a question or letting the teacher know that you won’t be in class for some reason, write something like “[Name] [Class] [Date] Quick Note” in the subject line.
For example, you might start your email by typing “Dear Mrs. Johnson,” and then pressing ↵ Enter twice before starting your email’s body. Avoid substituting other words for “Dear”; do not use “Hey”, “Hello”, or similar. Never call your teacher by his or her first name unless they have asked you and every other student in your class to do so. [3] X Research source 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; however, in a school context, you should still treat the teacher with the respect that they are used to.
Begin by explaining why you’re sending the email in one sentence. Ask any questions that you need to ask. Try to keep your message to five sentences or fewer, unless you have a very detailed question. For example, your email’s body might read: “I’m emailing to ask you about this Monday’s homework. I’m not sure what the last sentence of question number 3 means - could you please explain it to me?” If you are emailing on the behalf of your child, 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. "
For a letter of recommendation, for example, you might write “I wanted to ask you for a letter of recommendation if you have time. " You shouldn’t try to convince your teacher to do something, especially if it’s a favor—just asking will be sufficient.
Do not use emojis or chat acronyms in your message—always err on the side of formality, even if your teacher is laid-back and casual. For example, even if you’re just turning in an assignment, writing “Here is my assignment for Friday. " is better than writing “assignment for friday” in the body section.
The file name is the name of the attachment itself, not what you see when you open the file and look at what’s written at the top. You might also want to put the date in the file name.
Possible substitutions for “Thank you” include “Sincerely”, “Regards”, and “Best”. Avoid “Thanks”, “Cheers”, or any other casual language. For example, you might write “Thank you,” on one line, press ↵ Enter, and then enter your full name on the bottom line.
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. You can also ask the school secretary, other teachers, or even parents.
You might want someone else to look over the email for you for this step.
Once you have sent the email, you can check the “Sent” section of your inbox to be sure that the message went through. [5] X Research source
Once you have sent the email, you can check the “Sent” section of your inbox to be sure that the message went through. [5] X Research source
It’s always possible that your teacher doesn’t feel comfortable answering your question over email. Don’t stress if your teacher doesn’t respond to your email. Since there’s a record of you sending the email and not receiving a response, you can use their lack of response as an excuse if need be.
When following up, 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!” (or something similar). Do not send more than one follow-up email.
Never use texting language in an email, even if the precedent is set by the teacher whom you’re emailing.
Naturally, if your teacher wants you to submit assignments, topic suggestions, or anything else via email, they will give you detailed instructions on how they’d prefer to receive the assignments.
If you have a mental health concern or a personal issue which you wish to discuss with someone outside of your family, most schools have at least one on-staff counselor whom you can email.
Apologizing for behavior or attempting to offer an explanation should be done face-to-face, but never over email. Anything that impacts your ability to attend school or a class on a certain day is fine to talk about, but it isn’t necessary to include large amounts of detail. For example, if you’re sick, explaining that you’re taking a sick day is better than telling your teacher about your symptoms. Emailing about common interests, jokes, or any other topic which falls outside of classroom discussion is strictly off-limits.
You’ll also usually find your teacher’s email address in the course syllabus if they’re comfortable with you emailing them. You can also ask your teacher face-to-face about emailing, though that won’t be an option if you have to email them before the next time you see them.
Teachers may be uncomfortable with (or forbidden from) responding if you use your personal email address. Due to strict filtering rules on many school servers, emails from personal addresses may not even be able to reach your teachers’ inboxes.
