Dear Students,

As sometimes it is awkward to email your lecturers, here are some suggestions that may end up being also very useful in future professional and academic environments.

In the past, I have received emails that start with "Hey," "Contessi," or even "Compare." Compare!!!!!!!??????

My advice: DON'T DO THIS!!!

I'm going to provide a couple of suggestions meant to be useful when you email a faculty member that you haven't met before or don't know well, or with whom you don't have a friendly relationship, yet. After the ice is broken or the course is over, it's safe to assume that you are in a friendly relationship stage, and it's perfectly fine to use the first name.

But in the meantime... here are some ideas.

• • 1. If you don't know your lecturer, open an email with a proper salutation, such as Dear...

    2. Use the appropriate title, for example, Dr. or Professor (for a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer “Dr.” is appropriate, while “Prof. or Professor” is appropriate for Associate Professors and Full Professors). Dr. works great in general. Nobody will get upset if you call me or another lecturer by first name, but just be extra courteous if it's the first time. People will appreciate it.

    3. Use the family name of the person you are addressing.

    4. Then write your email. Try to be concise, grammatically correct, precise, direct. Funny always gets extra points. Many many moons ago (circa 2004) I had a very funny student and I still remember her emails. She went on to become a movie director and I still keep tabs on her.

    5. And conclude with your favourite closing sentence (Cheers, Best, Best regards, Best wishes, Kind regards, etc.).

    6. Sign with your full name. If it's course/assignment related, the student id also helps the lecturer to identify your material.

__________________

A short example

__________________

Dear Dr. Contessi,

I'm writing because ...

Kind regards,

Peter Brown

__________________

Now, I've recently read a long Twitter discussion focusing on how asking students to be addressed politely exudes "privilege" and makes students from disadvantaged background uncomfortable.

This doesn't make any sense to me: I certainly don't hail from a privileged background and I was taught to be polite; it costs nothing.

In fact, I would NEVER email a student, with an opening like "Hey." It's just plain disrespectful and I simply suggest that a similar courtesy should be extended to me and other faculty members. However, I do email students with whom I have an established relationship signing -SC.

With this in mind, if you've introduced yourself and feel comfortable doing it, it's perfectly acceptable to email using "Hi First Name" and closing with "Cheers, Regards, etc.". Though maybe this won't make a formidable email!

Other important and interesting issues:

• GENDER. Don’t forget that addressing a female instructor/lecturer with Ms. while using Dr. or Prof. for a male instructor/lecturer is not appropriate. The proper salutation should be used independently of gender.

• LOCAL CUSTOMS. Also, notice that Australia and the United States are somewhat less formal than continental Europe or the U.K., so these suggestions are a bit more formal than local customs, but in an international environment, we are all better off using three more seconds of our time to sound professional, rather than coming across as rude.

• AFTER THE COURSE IS OVER. As a personal note, I don’t mind if you address me by first name (Silvio) when there is some familiarity and after the class/exams/grades are over. In fact, I will be happy if you occasionally keep me updated about your professional or academic developments (if you feel like doing so). One good way to do this is to connect to my LinkedIn profile.