Email Etiquette Assignment

E-mail etiquette refers to how you, as students, construct your e-mails to me, your teacher. Over the past few weeks, some of the emails I received from you appeared much too informal or unclear. Thus, here are some guidelines when sending a teacher an e-mail and our assignment. 1. Dont forget your subject line. It should be very clear what you are writing about. A blank is not appropriate. Homework: Please read is a better subject line than question or class? A subject line that identifies both your course and the issue, like English II Honors homework: question about the essay assignment, would be excellent. 2. Teachers like their titles and their names within the email. Dear Mr. Hermanson 3. Always identify yourself at the end of the e-mail with your full name, especially name you go by in class. Use Jim Student rather than Jim, though, since I may have ten Jims. If in class I call you Becca, then dont sign the email Rebecca. I wont know who that is! 4. Always remember that this is a permanent internet record kept by the school. Do not put anything in your email you would not be willing to have the entire school hear about. Im not going to publish it, but you might need to show it to someone. 5. Always use the highest standard of English in your messages. No teacher, regardless of his ability to translate text spellings, wants to have to figure out what you said. If it needs to be said, say it well and correctly. This means, no i instead of I, b/c instead of because, etc. I teach English! 6. As a check for whether or not your email is appropriate, read it aloud. Think about whether you would be willing to say it to your mother or father, or grandmother or grandfather.

THE ASSIGNMENT You will send me an email by 9:00 on Sunday, October 16th, 2011. Within that e-mail, you will address three topics: 1. How you, as a student, can make our class more interesting, enriching, and communal. 2. Why it is important to use proper grammar, appropriate language and writing in an e-mail to a teacher, such as myself. 3. A joke (in general) or funny story about yourself (again, keep it appropriate). The e-mail need not read more than a short paragraph to cover all three points. The email that proves the best constructed, most interesting, and most reflective of our writing objectives from each class will earn extra credit. This Assignment is worth 25 points.