1. Some Thoughts About Communications in this Digital Age…..

2. Subject: U GOT HELP ME OUT, PLEASE HI DOCTOR, U TOLD ME AM GOING TO MAKE A "B" EVEN WITHOUT DOIN THE FINAL BUT UNFORTUNATELY U GAVE A "C" WHICH IS OF NO GOOD TO ME.PLEASE DOCTOR CHECK MY COURSE COMPASS,MY TEST AND MY FINALS OUT AGAIN PLEASE CAUSE WITHOUT U PASSING I MEAN GETTIN A "B" AM NO GOOD AT ALL AND ACADEMIC IS GOING TO BE AFFECTED REAL BAD PLEASE ONCE AGAIN LOOK INTO MY CASE. Within an hour, he sent another email-- Subject: u got to save my fuyure hello doctor,how u doin hey doc. i check my grade today and i realise i gave a "C" intead of a "b" remember when i came to see u in about my grade u said am good for a "b" but to my sadness u gave me a"C" please doctor u got to help me out cause without me passin ur class my educational carrer will come to a stop and i know u don't want that for nor any of your student please u got to help me,please for love of God u got to to me save my career.

3. "Hey," the email message began, "I was just wondering what my grade on the final was because i was kind of expecting a little bit of a better grade overall. I know i did crappy on the long analytical paper, but... i definitely thought I did a good job on the final. also know you're big into participation and... im almost positive that i only had 2 absences.. so yeah. just curious, and i dont mean to bother you at all, its just i need to have the grades to student teach one of these days...."

4. You will include a proper, descriptive subject line. The subject line is equivalent to the “In re:” line in a business letter. Blank subject lines are not only unhelpful, they are rude.

5. You will include a proper greeting. This means that every email you write to me should begin with “Dear Dr. Carlson,” and, if you want to be extra civil and polite, and pleasant little sentence such as “I hope this email finds you well,” or “I trust you are having a wonderful long weekend.”

6. Make sure you identify yourself. I have 250 students each semester. If you sign your email Katie or Matt, I might have trouble figuring out which class you are in-and this may make it difficult to answer your email.

7. You will be clear and concise regarding what it is you need. Just as with a business letter, if I cannot understand what is required, I’m probably not going to put a great deal of effort into a response. If you need three different things, perhaps you should consider three separate paragraphs. (By the way, this is a great lesson for essays as well.)

8. Proofread. I have twice had student apologize to me in an email for any incontinence. I assume that they meant inconvenience.

9. You will sign off, rather than just ending the email. This could be something such as: “Thanks very much for your help with this, Dr. Carlson. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours very truly, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.