Dear undergraduates (email etiquette)

[PiratePanda]

I understand that you are keen to start this new episode in your life. But please try to refrain from sending me a peremptory email about your timetable and an aggressive follow-up two hours later to ask why I haven't answered 1) on a Sunday morning 2) 3 weeks before the start of the year 3) when I know you've been told timetables will be provided in induction week and 4) I'm not in charge of them anyway (and I don't know why you thought a random lecturer would be the right person to email).

Also, my name is not "Hi".

What is wrong with people these days? Does no one teach email etiquette?

Pirate, hope you sent the reply in your OP back to the student - how else will they learn?
Job/internship applications from new graduates are not much better. Dear applicant, no, "please see my Linkedin profile" is not an appropriate substitute for a cover letter.

I would have thought a good rule of thumb was that to be over polite is better than being too casual. If anyone (lecturers included) want you to call them by their first name, I'm sure they will tell you.

This is really interesting. One of the skills my mother drummed into me, and which I, in turn, drummed into my children, was what she called the "art of the charming little note"

Dd has been using this skill recently, and has had the most incredibly helpful responses from her new university - really above and beyond what I would have expected! I wonder if there's a connection........?

Undoubtedly! How's she settling, by the way?

I really hate writing 'kind regards' or 'many thanks' the end of emails but do it because all my colleagues do.

It is such a chump thing to write and so boring. I'd really rather didn't write anything that fake platitudes.

Tbh I wish I could be more like my friend and put..

Cheerio,

Henry.

Which makes me smile every time and has a bit of personality in it!

She seems fine. I, on the other hand............

That is really interesting, Hakluyt - I've never thought of "the charming little note" in exactly those terms, but I do occasionally receive one from a student, and find them so winning that I will always bend over backwards to help! They make such a lovely contrast to the usual messages which are not always actually rude but are definitely low on charm.

Yes, Hak, I bet! Not looking forward to that...

On the subject of the thread, I entirely agree. I don't get too bothered about Dear Original rather than Dr Nit, but no subject line, no greeting at all, no sign off, peremptory tone and lack of punctuation are rude and annoying.

Maybe I ought to run a "charming little note" course............

This is fascinating! I've just realised that dd has managed to get all sorts of things out of people- work experience, sponsorship for plays she's put on,....all sorts of things.I wonder if it's just because everyone else doesn't know how to ask nicely?

Something else to thank my late mother for. She was quite often very very wrong, but when she was right, she was spot on!

I have cultivated over the years the equivalent skill, seducing academics into letting me interview them. I always start with Dear Prof/Dr Wotsit and then set out to charm in a slightly bluestockingy way.

I have a very high success rate.

Hi Hakluyt way is th timetable for your cores please k thx Mrs K.

This is correct, right?!?

I have to say, I don't worry too much about this (life's too short). I do sometimes remind students that not all lecturers are as informal as I am, and that they should be careful. I do mind peremptory emails that suggest that I am here to serve, but in my view most of this comes from (1) a lack of proper engagement between students and staff, often due to resource constraints (2) ignorance of formal writing styles and registers (3) absolute fear and panic - for most students it is a really BIG deal to email your professor to ask for something. IME (very loooong now) most of the peremptory ones come out of a bad place where the student just isn't coping

Kind regards always worries me. I always think the sender hates me.

It's like 'with respect'.

My old Head of Department used to fire off dozens of emails a day to colleagues, usually with the title Please. If you sorted your inbox by sender, there would be dozens from Professor X, all headed Please, Re: Please, Re:Re:Please and so on. It drove our business manager to distraction.

I had such a success rate as a lowly administrator in penning charming little emails that a professional body replied to my request for information with an email that started Dear Professor Mimsy. A proud moment. There was nothing whatever in my email signature to suggest that I was even an academic, never mind a Professor. It must all have been down to tone.

Ooh, what are your charming little note tips, Hakluyt? I think I probably have a good idea, but sounds fab!

I too would like tips!

Mother, many people I know put the "Kind regards" into their signature so don't feel persecuted!

Ooo no, I thought I was being polite and friendly by starting and ending my email with Dear "first name" (after receiving an email from Tutor signed "first name") and ending....many thanks for your assistance....Kind regards...
I admit I did ask to know which group I'd be in out of two on my course (starting in two weeks) purely so I can arrange childcare.
I am just going to not have to email my tutor at all! As I am the over friendly type and always enquire after their health and hope they enjoyed their summer break, oh I've made a right arse of myself haven't I..

rockpink - really, no you haven't! did you say that you needed to arrange childcare?

Yes, I was very apologetic about bothering her!

seriously - no-one (well, almost no-one) minds being emailed by nice, polite people who just want to organise their lives! I don't, anyway. Increasingly I quite like emails that I actually know how to answer...

It's really not difficult, and I'm surprised that children aren't advised by parents -- I know I was taught by my father how to write an official letter, and I've helped my DS compose a formal email or two. I was also taught about writing a formal letter at school.

If it's a formal communication, you treat an email exactly as you would a letter. You use the person's title, and you get straight to the point, and you sign off "Best wishes" or whatever.

You use a relevant subject line.

It's not difficult to find out the person's title: all academic staff are on their university's website, with degree and/or title listed.

And most of all, you don't write ANYTHING in an email to an academic which you wouldn't say to her face-to-face. That's a good way of checking your tone.

I fantasise about not answering emails that students write asking questions which if they lazy little beggars had either listened in lectures or bothered to read the course handout, or the student handbook, would be answered.

But then I get entitled comments on their end of course "satisfaction surveys" complaining I'm not friendly.

Don't worry at all, rockpink, you sound very polite and really rather delightful - I'm sure your tutors appreciate being treated like fellow human beings with lives outside work rather than like robot slaves!