Dear Students,
This week, we are going to review tenets (traits, sides, aspects, principles) of professional email writing.
First, read this overview below.
Subject line: what your email is about.
Greeting: Address your teacher by name (Ex. Dear Ms. Hostetter, or Hello, Mr. Turcotte).
Body: the main section of the email. Never send an email without something written here.
When you write to a teacher, both now at AP Center and in college one day, always say your first and last name AND which class you are in. Remember, most teachers cannot read the Chinese characters in your email address, and we have many students. In addition, we may have students with similar English names, so always include your family name (姓氏) in Pinyin.
Your teachers should be treated professionally, so make sure your email address is professional, too, if it uses English letters.
After you introduce yourself and your class name, tell the teacher why you are writing the email. If you have attached any files, tell him or her about them, too.
Make sure your files are attached in the right format. If you have a Mac, save files by tapping or clicking on File--> Save As, and then change the file type to DOCX or RTF format.
End the email with a polite note of thanks and a salutation like "Sincerely," "Respectfully," or "Your Student," and then type your name again, English and family name in Pinyin.
Capitalize all names and proper nouns, and check your grammar carefully. Again, this is a professional environment, so you want to make sure you come across respectfully. Easy errors show laziness and a lack of care.
Below, I have written the rest of your work like an email. Please read it carefully, complete it by the end of the day TOMORROW, and send it to me by Tuesday, June 30, 11:59 PM.
Dear Student,
Hello! How was your Dragon Boat Festival? This is Ms. Hostetter, your 2B English teacher, and I have some work for you to do.
First, install Grammarly on your Internet browser. It is free. Go here: https://www.grammarly.com/. This is a powerful tool to use in college as well as now to check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Read about what Grammarly is at the site.
Secondly, read this article about writing professional emails: https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/7-simple-steps-to-improve-business-email-writing-skills-in-english/.
Thirdly, write me a professional email at ajoyhostet@outlook.com in which you answer these questions in complete sentences. Your sentences should restate the question clearly enough that I can tell what it was without checking the website.
1. The author of the article lists 7 tips. Pick one tip that you found useful or surprising. Copy the tip IN "QUOTES," and then explain why you thought it was surprising or useful.
2. Were you able to install Grammarly? How do you think it will be useful or helpful when you write in English?
3. What did you do for Dragon Boat Festival?
Remember to include all parts of the email listed above. The actual email will count for a grade, including spelling and grammar.
I hope you had a good break! I look forward to reading your ideas.
Sincerely,
Ms. Hostetter