Spring Break
E-mail informality riles up professors
Jessica Leggin / Campus Editor
Issue date: 1/15/09 Section: News
Communication between a professor and a student is often done by e-mail.
Students tend to e-mail their professors about homework questions, quiz and test concerns and other personal matters.
What students may forget is they are e-mailing a professor and not a friend. At times, some students might also forget to include a level of professionalism in their e-mails to professors.
Wesley Allan, assistant professor of psychology, said when he used to write e-mails to his professors, he took a professional standpoint.
"I tend to think of it as if I'm writing a letter to my boss," he said.
Allan said for the most part, the e-mails he receives from students are relatively professional, but sometimes some are not.
"Sometimes they can be a little bit too casual, and I am not upset with that but in my eyes, they are not presenting themselves as being professional," he said.
Allan said students need to use their Eastern e-mail address when e-mailing professors.
"I have received e-mails from addresses with drug references like stoner guy and weed lover," he said. "I haven't received any of these at Eastern, but students should still use a professional e-mail."
Allan also said he is not a fan of abbreviations in an e-mail.
"It looks more like a text message and sometimes that can be irritating," he said.
Charles Wootton, professor of accountancy, said he does not want students to abbreviate in their e-mails.
"I'd rather have no abbreviations," he said. "Some students try to use one or two letters for a whole word."
Wootton said sometimes students could be judged by the e-mail they send to a professor, whether it is the right impression or not.
"For the first two, three weeks of school, one might be judged based on an e-mail and bring upon the wrong impression," he said.
Wootton said poor spelling and grammar have a lot to do with it.
"Do spell check," he said. "Sometimes when you read an e-mail with a lot errors you know they kind of didn't think much about it because they didn't use spell check," he said.
Wootton also said when writing an e-mail, a student should never leave the subject box blank.
"Put a name, your class number or the question you have in the subject area because sometimes I ask myself if I should delete it because I do not know if it is spam or not," he said.
Vanessa Ruesch, a junior music education major, said when she e-mails professors, her level of professionalism depends on the particular professor she is e-mailing.
"I feel more comfortable e-mailing my instructor than, say, the director of bands," she said.
Ruesch said when she does e-mail a professor outside of her discipline or someone she does not know, she tends to be more professional.
"If it is someone outside of the music program, I make sure I am very proper and that I am good with words," she said.
Deborah Woodley, assistant chair for the school of technology, said if students misspell words or make grammatical errors, she points them out to the student right away.
"I'm pretty blunt," she said. "I tell them that I am not clear about what you are trying to say, and can you please rewrite the e-mail."
Woodley said she wants to teach students how to communicate in the workplace and reinforce appropriate e-mails.
"I consider e-mail contact the same as a phone conversation," she said. "Never say anything in an e-mail you wouldn't say face-to-face."
Jessica Leggin can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmleggin@eiu.edu.
Students tend to e-mail their professors about homework questions, quiz and test concerns and other personal matters.
What students may forget is they are e-mailing a professor and not a friend. At times, some students might also forget to include a level of professionalism in their e-mails to professors.
Wesley Allan, assistant professor of psychology, said when he used to write e-mails to his professors, he took a professional standpoint.
"I tend to think of it as if I'm writing a letter to my boss," he said.
Allan said for the most part, the e-mails he receives from students are relatively professional, but sometimes some are not.
"Sometimes they can be a little bit too casual, and I am not upset with that but in my eyes, they are not presenting themselves as being professional," he said.
Allan said students need to use their Eastern e-mail address when e-mailing professors.
"I have received e-mails from addresses with drug references like stoner guy and weed lover," he said. "I haven't received any of these at Eastern, but students should still use a professional e-mail."
Allan also said he is not a fan of abbreviations in an e-mail.
"It looks more like a text message and sometimes that can be irritating," he said.
Charles Wootton, professor of accountancy, said he does not want students to abbreviate in their e-mails.
"I'd rather have no abbreviations," he said. "Some students try to use one or two letters for a whole word."
Wootton said sometimes students could be judged by the e-mail they send to a professor, whether it is the right impression or not.
"For the first two, three weeks of school, one might be judged based on an e-mail and bring upon the wrong impression," he said.
Wootton said poor spelling and grammar have a lot to do with it.
"Do spell check," he said. "Sometimes when you read an e-mail with a lot errors you know they kind of didn't think much about it because they didn't use spell check," he said.
Wootton also said when writing an e-mail, a student should never leave the subject box blank.
"Put a name, your class number or the question you have in the subject area because sometimes I ask myself if I should delete it because I do not know if it is spam or not," he said.
Vanessa Ruesch, a junior music education major, said when she e-mails professors, her level of professionalism depends on the particular professor she is e-mailing.
"I feel more comfortable e-mailing my instructor than, say, the director of bands," she said.
Ruesch said when she does e-mail a professor outside of her discipline or someone she does not know, she tends to be more professional.
"If it is someone outside of the music program, I make sure I am very proper and that I am good with words," she said.
Deborah Woodley, assistant chair for the school of technology, said if students misspell words or make grammatical errors, she points them out to the student right away.
"I'm pretty blunt," she said. "I tell them that I am not clear about what you are trying to say, and can you please rewrite the e-mail."
Woodley said she wants to teach students how to communicate in the workplace and reinforce appropriate e-mails.
"I consider e-mail contact the same as a phone conversation," she said. "Never say anything in an e-mail you wouldn't say face-to-face."
Jessica Leggin can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmleggin@eiu.edu.
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