Conventions
for composing e-mails
1. Always explain in your e-mail to your student where the e-mail comes
from and what they need to do next to respond to the information. Some
examples would be:
"This message has been sent to the members of CST 110, reply not necessary."
"Further instructions have been posted in the class discussion forum. (link to forum)"
"Please reply to this message confirming that you have read this information."
2. Always complete the Subject line of your message. Identify the name
of the class in the Subject line and be descriptive about the content
(but not lengthy). Students sometimes create filters for their e-mail
to make sure all correspondence from a certain class stays together. Use
text in your Subject line that can be filtered.
3. Avoid sending too many e-mails. Combine many messages into one big
one if you can.
4. Because e-mail communication is immediate, a lot of people believe
they need to reply to the e-mail immediately. Once you click the SEND
button on your e-mail, that message has been published and cannot be retrieved.
If you receive a message that is upsetting or regards a situation with
a student that is very volatile, write your e-mail response, but save
it as a draft. Take some time and then come back and reread your message.
At that point, if you are still happy with your response, then send the
message.
The following sites will provide additional information on E-mail Etiquette. Remember, your students will probably be very familiar with the rules and have a great deal of experience with e-mail.
www.cs.queensu.ca/FAQs/email/etiquette.htm
www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/
A guide to "annoying" e-mail behaviors can be found at:
http://unquietmind.com/email.html
