Writing an email to your tutor

Like any other form of communication, an email should be written with the reader in mind. Writing Tip An email will create a positive or negative impression on your tutor, depending on how it is written. However well you get on with your tutor, your correspondence should reflect your relative status, should be clear and easy to read, and should not contain mistakes. Write a clear and useful subject line Your tutor is a busy person and has an inbox full of emails. He or she needs to be able to note the content of a message quickly and to make any necessary response. What’s wrong: At a glance, none of the subject lines gives any indication of what the email is about. Here is an example of a full, clear subject line: Subject: Request work reference for Dave Watts, History 2006 Remember! Your email address may bear no relation to your name, so putting your name in the subject line may be helpful if your tutor has a lot of students. It may be useful to add your course details as well.