How do I approach a professor?
Some students wring their hands about approaching a professor in the first place. So, below, I’ve posted some tips that address the most common anxieties or missteps I’ve seen. Every professor, of course, has different preferences—but this list is based on my experiences and my advisors’, and has worked well for me:
I happen to love emails in which students find something cool and class-related in your own research (or just on the internet) and send it my way. I’ll often try to work your contribution into class material. But not every professor will love this. Vibe the professor out in person first, and ask if it’s okay to send on a link.
I really love emails in which students have an amazing and fascinating and GENUINE light-bulb moment of brilliance about class material or discussion and, succinctly and clearly, send it my way. It’s always better to bring such things up in class, so we can all benefit from them. But when that’s not possible, sure, tell me what you’re thinking!
This is really general email etiquette: please take the time to make clear what you’re actually asking in your email. As with your essay writing, be clear and economical!
You and your instructor are humans. Regardless of the subject: if you speak to, email, or write for your instructor like he or she is a statistic or requirement, expect the same treatment—or worse—in return. If you treat your instructor like a rulebook or file, you will be filed away. Just talk to us. We’re all fellow scholars.
For matters of class policy, always check the course syllabus (and, in my case, the course website and FAQ) before asking the professor. Most questions will be answered on their own that way; for those that aren’t, you’ll still be better able to formulate the question in a way that will apply to that class in particular.
Don’t send an email that requires me to scroll to read the whole thing. If you find yourself going past the boundaries of succinctness, just come talk to me in person. Professor-student emails are for quick and simple exchanges, not for complex discussion.
TMI: don’t do it. Particularly with me. Professionalism is something I value highly in my students—do not send me information of an obviously personal nature, certainly not in an email. (That includes explanations for your absence, an issue of personal preference for me.) Overly personal emails signal to me that you do not really understand what a professor is for, or that you still have your head stuck in high school (in which intimately personal revelation is sometimes appropriate and necessary). Remember that this is your professor’s place of work: if you put us into an inappropriate or unprofessional situation, then it feels an awful lot like harassment. As much as I care for and respect my students, I know that we all work best when we respect each other’s space.
Unless otherwise instructed, address a professor as Professor [lastname] (some profs prefer “Doctor [lastname]”). In conversation, you can shorten this simply to “Professor” or “Prof.” Never use sir, mister, Ms., or (ye gods!) miss or ma’am or missus. Just as you wouldn’t use these terms for a medical doctor while she or he is on the job, we also expect that you’ll address us by the title appropriate to the office we’re currently performing.
If you are otherwise instructed, then take the time and consideration to use the name for us we say we prefer. For me, I may sometimes specifically instruct certain classes to use my first name when addressing me (from a pedagogical standpoint, that means I’m trying to level the playing field in discussion) — take requests like those seriously.