How to Write a Formal E-mail to a Teacher

Writing an email to a teacher is one of the most daunting aspects of a student's career. How intensely formal you have to be may vary with teachers; my English teachers have never cared about students being too formal, yet all my science teachers want us to write a Letter to the Editor in the 4 lines of an email. Regardless, it doesn't hurt to be formal with a teacher or with someone with higher authority than you.

There will be examples to help you but hopefully, the instructions will enable you to write a formal email regarding any topic to anybody.

Step 1: Salutations

A big source of confusion is whether you can say Hi or if you should stick to Hello. You may say Hi to your teacher every day in class, but a Hello sounds more respectful in an email. If you are still skeptical, a simple Good Morning/Evening is the way to go.

For your signature, if you have asked for a favour, a question or for feedback, 'Thank you' would be apt. For almost anything else, a 'Sincerely' should be sufficient.

Step 2: Introduction to Topic.

An introduction is where you introduce your purpose of writing the email. What I'm about to say may sound like an oxymoron but be as detailed as you can be in the fewest words. Teachers have a ton of things they must get and they are doing you a favor by letting you contact them after school hours. And because they have so much on their minds, it's hard for them to remember every small detail about every student they have in their classes.

So, when writing an email (here's another oxymoron), be as straight forward as you can without sounding blunt. If you're writing an email to your teacher reminding them that you will be missing a test because of a family matter or because of a school match, mention it all in the email. Make sure you are giving them sufficient information to work with, just not your entire life story.

Emails to teachers should be short and straight to the point, so keep your introduction a maximum of 2-3 sentences.

Step 3: Body of the Email.

There have been instances where my topic of discussion only needed the 2-3 sentences of the introduction. But for longer emails, it's appropriate to have 5-7 sentences of supporting information.

If you are writing about missing a test because of a family issue, here is where you can mention when you will be back and when you hope to be available for a retest.

If your email has any attachments, here is where you mention it.

ex: "I have attached a copy of the draft for this assignment", or "Please find attached a draft of this assignment"

Everything that isn't important enough to be in the introduction goes here. If you want to remind your teacher that you have already spoken to them and what their response was, this is where that goes, as well.

A chill teacher doesn't mind being reminded of a conversation so simply stating " you said..." shouldn't be a problem. But I have had teachers tell me to "email [them] about it" and I used to break into a sweat about how I would mention this conversation without quoting them (anybody who had Kishen sir in 8th grade will know how much he hated being quoted by students).

So:

"I spoke to you this afternoon and the conclusion of the conversation was for me to email you about...", or "The conclusion of our conversation this afternoon was for me to send you an email outlining ...".

Step 4: Conclusion.

Here is where you say what you wish to accomplish from this email being sent. You may restate, in different words, the purpose of this email. You may request for a reply. You may ask for feedback. Or you may just say thank you for taking the time to read this email (teachers aren't exactly paid for school-related work being done outside school).

ex: "Thank you for taking the time to read this. I would appreciate a response", or "I would highly appreciate your help".

Step 5: Subject Line.

The subject line is the first part of your email your teacher will see. It should be informative but condensed. I would say take the 4 (max. 5) most important words in your introduction and fashion a subject line from that.

ex: "Article Summary - Draft"

If it is the first time you are contacting your teacher through email, I recommend writing your name in there as well. This is helpful if your email id doesn't clearly state your name or if you aren't very well acquainted with this teacher.

ex: "UCC Executive Position - Aarushi Gupta"

Here are some examples to act as templates.

1. Question

Good Morning Ms. Doe,

I don't mean to bother you, but I have a query regarding our assignment due tomorrow. You specified that the hard copy must be one page, double-sided. Unfortunately, my printer doesn't print double-sided and the library will be closed tomorrow morning before your class begins.

Will it be okay for me to submit the hard copy as two separate sheets in class, and submit a copy that matches your specifications at lunch, when the library opens?

Please let me know.

Thank you,

Aarushi Gupta

2. Feedback

Good evening Ms. Doe,

I spoke to you this morning expressing concern of my article summary being a little vague. You said you would have a look at the draft and let me know what you think. 

I have attached a draft of the summary to this email. I would highly appreciate any feedback from you regarding the same. 

Thank you,

Aarushi Gupta

3. Response

Good Morning Ms. Doe,

I have received your email regarding my role as a library volunteer. I confirm that I will be there, tomorrow at lunch, for my first shift.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to helping you.

Thank you,

Aarushi Gupta

Writing an email doesn't have to be an intimidating task. Just write what you really want to say and fix it to sound formal and mature.

I truly hope these examples help you write even better emails to your teachers. For more help, email (XD) me at rueshi25@gmail.com - Aarushi