Netiquette 101

Tips for E-Mailing/Messaging Instructors:

Understanding the rhetorical situation and audience awareness are two basic skills taught in most college writing classes. However, students sometimes forget what they learned (or are learning) about these two aspects of writing when communicating with college faculty. Often, they mistake instructors for friends or peers. Friends know you well enough to fill in gaps in your writing/thinking process. They know what you really mean even if it’s not there on the page. Peers use the same language and style of communication.

The relationship (and therefore the communication style) between an instructor and student, however, is generally more distanced and formal. When communicating with your instructors, therefore, you want to state your point clearly and avoid overly informal language. When you e-mail them or contact them using the message tool for an online class, you should be sure to do the following:

1. Include a brief phrase in the subject line which clearly refers to the topic of your message. Remember, even something that seems specific like “question” or “assignment three” might be too vague, especially if you are submitting assignments in the same place where other communication about the class is happening. Phrases such as “question about assignment three” more clearly indicate to the instructor that you have a question which needs addressed so you can complete the assignment. This helps the instructor evaluate and prioritize responses from several students and also to find a specific piece of communication from you (which can sometimes be like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack) if he or she needs to refer to it again later in the semester.

2. Include your name and the class in which you are enrolled in the text. Again, be specific. This is especially helpful at the beginning of the semester or if you are in an online class where face to face contact is limited or non-existent. It may be clear to you which history class you are in, but an instructor may be teaching several different ones, not just several sections of the same class. By using the specific class name, you will automatically help the instructor narrow down points of reference for that particular class as he or she is reading your message which in turn translates into a faster and better response to your message. If you are using a message tool only open to students in a specific class section, of course, you don’t need to state the class you are in. Including your name, however, is always a good idea because it reinforces your presence in the class to the instructor, and although many students prefer to remain anonymous, success rates are higher for students who have a real or perceived connection with the instructor.

3. Begin your message with a salutation such as “Dear Professor X,” or “Hello Ms. Y,” and end it as you would a letter. Unless your instructor has explicitly said it is ok to do so (or has previously used his or her first name only when corresponding with you), it is advisable to avoid referring to your instructor by his or her first name only. Doing so implies a familiarity and a relationship that does not usually exist between a student and a teacher. Some instructors are not bothered by students using their first names, others are. Generally, it is more polite and respectful to err on the side of formality.

4. Be as direct and concise, yet as clear as you can in stating the issue or question at hand. For example, “I’m confused by the assignment and need help,” might seem pretty specific, but might also appear vague when read by your instructor. Try to articulate what is confusing you or where you became lost. If you are referring to problems you are having accessing information the instructor has posted or given you a link to for an online class, try to summarize what steps you have tried in order to access the information. State any error messages you see. Also, remember to clearly reference which assignment you are referring to. Often students are working on more than one at a time within the same class or different sections of the same course are working different assignments.

5. Before clicking on send, try to evaluate whether or not the question you have can be adequately answered through e-mail or whether you would be better served meeting the instructor during office hours. For example, if you have a specific question about the assignment that you can’t find the answer to, that could probably be handled through correspondence. However, if you are working on a paper for an instructor and would like him or her to read it before you go any further because you are unsure how to proceed, that would probably best be handled in a face to face discussion.

6. Your tone throughout the message should be friendly and professional. (See number 3 on this list about erring on the side of formality…) Remember that humor and sarcasm may not “read” the way in which you have intended it; therefore, unless you know your instructor will “get it,” it’s best to avoid remarks that might be appear differently than what you intend because non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, vocal tone, and body language will be missing from your message. Also, you shouldn’t use e-mail or the message tool to vent or rant or otherwise air your frustrations in the heat of the moment. Generally, that’s never a good idea. Whatever concerns, frustrations, etc. you might have, try not to let your emotions get the best of you. As a rule, instructors don’t set out to intentionally create situations which confuse and frustrate students. On the contrary, most work very hard not to. Give yours the benefit of the doubt, even if you are sure he or she is one of those rare ones whose goal is to make your life miserable. After all, pretty much any message you send an instructor includes either an explicit or inferred request for help, leniency, etc., and human nature dictates that the more defensive someone feels (as your instructor probably would be after reading a good rant), the less likely that person is to A.) Really hear what you are trying to say, and B.) Respond in a manner that is favorable to you. It is sometimes easy to mistake the digital distance provided by electronic communication as a buffer of sorts; however, you really shouldn’t write anything that you wouldn’t be willing to say to the instructor face to face—in a public setting. This applies to content as well as tone. If you have a personal situation you need to discuss with your instructor because it is interfering with the class, a general outline of the situation is usually enough. If the instructor needs more details about it, he or she will ask. A good way to avoid an overly emotional message is to just stick to the facts at hand. Also, remember that if you need to emphasize something, you should use the underline or italics function. Using all caps. indicates shouting.

7. Always use good grammar. It doesn’t matter if your teacher is your friend on Facebook, or if you follow him on twitter, or if your friends understand what you are trying to tell them when you text them. That this is the 21st century isn’t a valid argument against good grammar, either. Neither is “the man” keeping you down. Refer back to number 3, concerning formality and the relationship between you and your instructor. Therefore, you need to use complete sentences, proper paragraphing, correct and precise word choice, correct punctuation, and accurate spelling. If you want your instructor to take you/your concerns seriously, then you should be willing to show her that you do. A good start to this is to put the effort into constructing and editing your message so that it is grammatically correct and coherent.

8. If e-mailing an instructor, you should use the e-mail address you were provided by the school to send your message. Many institutions have their spam filters set so that they filter out e-mail from free e-mail providers. Sometimes, these messages go straight to a spam or trash file that your instructor doesn’t see when she is viewing her inbox. She will have enough there on a daily basis to keep her busy and won’t take the initiative to go looking for more, especially if she is unaware that you are trying to contact her.

9. Before you e-mail or message your instructor, check your course outline or syllabus for any guidelines that the instructor has posted concerning response time, etc. Know what these are and plan accordingly, especially if you are asking about an assignment. Make sure the instructor will have time to see the e-mail, respond to it, and that you will then have time to use that information to complete the assignment before it’s due. Unless he states otherwise, you should assume that your instructor doesn’t check e-mail outside of what is considered the normal business hours for the college-even if he has before. You don’t want the one time he is unable to do so to be the one time you really need him to. Also remember that just because you have the ability to contact the instructor 24/7 does not mean he reciprocates on that same schedule. Most instructors have indications of when they are online for classes that are held online, days when they do or do not check e-mail (such as holidays and weekends), and an expected response time. Try to respect the guidelines that he has posted. Conversely, if the time indicated in the syllabus has passed with no response or if it seems to be taking longer than it usually does to get a response, follow up with another e-mail or phone call to the instructor’s office.


Online Discussion Threads:

Although many instructors use discussion threads to encourage the exploration and exchange of ideas among students in a way similar to classroom discussions in a face to face setting, there is a major difference between this type of discussion and an oral discussion in a classroom. Remarks posted on a discussion board are in print. They can be accessed, downloaded, and printed—all which lends an air of permanence to what you say that does not exist in a regular conversation. Therefore, you should keep the following guidelines from William Draves’ Teaching Online in mind when posting remarks to a discussion thread:

1. Think of your comments as being published in a newspaper. A newspaper is available to members of a local community. In the same way, your comments are available to everyone in the “community” of your class. You may be responding directly to one member, but you need to always keep in mind that the other members of the class, including your teacher, can read what you post. And like information in a newspaper, your comments are archived and available for quite some time.

2. Don’t let emotion drive your comments/responses. It’s great to have emotion and be passionate. However, reason and logic should be the driving force behind your comments. Remember, these discussions are class assignments. Instructors are issuing grades based on them, and they are interested in seeing how you understand, evaluate, and synthesize ideas and concepts presented in the class materials and readings.


3. Focus on the ideas at hand. A personal connection, if relevant and helpful to the class, is usually fine, but otherwise you should avoid delving into personal problems and issues.

4. Avoid being overly negative. You can disagree, but you can also agree to disagree. Despite what we might see portrayed in various media, reasonable people often do. Avoid being aggressive or condescending. Don’t use all caps. or excessive question marks or exclamation marks for emphasis. State why you disagree with the ideas someone states; don’t attack the person for having those ideas. Remember, one of the goals for discussion board assignments is usually that—a discussion, an exchange of ideas. Talking with people is inherently different from talking at them. Work on creating posts and responses to others that facilitate communication, not that inhibit it.


5. Make the comments you post about other students’ work the ones you’d want to read about your own posts. Whether you agree or disagree with the content of what someone posts, try to frame your remarks in as positive of a way as possible. Doing so will have a higher chance of encouraging a real discussion between you and the person you are responding to. Also realize that while you might emphatically disagree with someone on one specific post, you may find that you agree wholeheartedly with that same person later in the semester. That person may also be the only one who comes to your defense when it seems as if everyone else shares an opposing view from yours in a later post. With the distance and anonymous quality of digital communication, it’s hard to sometimes remember that there is another real person on the receiving end of the comments we write-or perhaps that our comments would have any impact on a person we have never met. Therefore, it’s a good idea to take some time and review the comments you’ve constructed in a response before you actually post them. Try to imagine logging on to the discussion board and seeing those same words in response to something you have written. How would you react? Be polite and understated with your remarks. Remember, the words on the page are the only clues to what the reader has as to your tone. Any negativity will be magnified by the sense of vulnerability most people feel by having their writing available to others. Humor and sarcasm usually doesn’t read well in situations such as this and should be avoided, especially any attempts at inside jokes or any humor which comes at the expense of others in class.