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It explains how email choices affect scholarships, references, jobs, promotions, cases, clients, and licensing outcomes. The guidance includes using an appropriate email address, crafting descriptive subject lines, choosing correct salutations and titles, writing concise bodies with key details, and maintaining grammar and request style. It also outlines what to avoid, such as informal demands, avoidable questions, and improper complaint handling.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/emailing-like-a-professional-email-etiquette-and-best-practices/275094/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/emailing-like-a-professional-email-etiquette-and-best-practices/275094.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Angel","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"How should you address a professor or judge in the salutation?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Use the person’s title and last name, such as “Professor” for law school professors. Judges may be addressed as “Justice” or “Judge” depending on their position and jurisdiction, with special forms like “Chief Justice” when applicable.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What makes a strong email subject line?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"The subject line should be descriptive, searchable, and clearly reflect the email’s topic. If the question relates to a course, include the course name so it can be found easily.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What should you avoid when asking questions or making requests by email?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"Avoid making informal demands, asking questions that are already answered in the syllabus, or requesting help that you should obtain through classmates’ notes or advance recordings. Use requests rather than commands, and be specific about the needed information.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},275094,1790045822,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":30,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":140,"read_time":76},687207412472,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Emailing Like a Professional  \nDanielle Dempsey-Swopes, Associate Dean for Student Affairs  \n2025-2026  \nEmail is the official communication method of Washburn University and Washburn University School of Law. It will most likely be an important part of any professional career you have. Everyone thinks they know how to professionally email, but we all know, from our own experience with email, that some of those people are wrong.  \nSome people do recognize when they email unprofessionally but think it doesn’t matter. They are wrong on that count as well. Scholarships, references, jobs, promotions, cases, clients, and even bar licenses are lost every year because of poor email skills. In some of these cases, the person doesn’t even learn of what was lost, or why. Most people (with the exception of the Attorney Disciplinary Officer) won’t take it upon themselves to explain, so your Professionalism Mentor is your best friend in pointing out pitfalls to you early!  \nInitiating the Email  \nWhenever you initiate an email to a professor, staff member, prospective employer, or employer, you should remember that this is not a casual email to a friend. You want to show that you are a professional. Err on the side of excess formality. Nobody will be offended if you are too formal, but you can easily offend by being too informal. Remember that people are comfortable with telling others that they don’t have to be so formal with them (“You don’t need to call me Mr. Smith--call me Eddie”), but few are comfortable with telling people that they need to be more formal with them (“Quit calling me Eddie—call me Mr. Smith”) .  \n1. You should begin by using a proper email address. For Washburn school emails, you should try to use your Washburn email. You shouldn’t use a private email account with an unprofessional name like [cutiepie4evs@gmail.com](cutiepie4evs@gmail.com) At the same time, it is very important that you don’t use school or business email accounts to send personal emails, such asan email to your plumber disputing their bill. That is your dispute, and you need to be careful to keep your school or your employer out of it.  \n2. Treat the subject line carefully: it should be the workhorse of your email. It should be descriptive of the subject matter of the email and highly  \nsearchable. If you are asking a professor a question about a course, it is helpful to put the course name in the subject line, since they are likely teaching more than one course.  \nGood: Will miss November 1 class in torts due to surgery  \nBad: will miss class  \nHorrible:  \nIf the subject changes in a long email string, change the subject line to indicate the new subject.  \n3. The salutation is important: it indicates the level of sophistication, professionalism, and respect for others that you have. You should address the person by their title and last name. Be sure that you are spelling the name correctly. If someone isn’t a “Professor,” “Dr.,” “Judge,” etc., use “Ms.,”  \n“Mr.,” or “Mx.” unless you know of some other preference. Take the time todo a quick internet search or call the person’s office if you aren’t sure of the proper title. Law school professors are addressed as “Professor” rather than“Dr.” even if they have an advanced degree in law beyond the J.D. In almost all jurisdictions, judges on the highest court in the jurisdiction are addressed as “Justice” rather than “Judge.” Messages may be posted to “The Honorable Jane Smith” regardless of whether judge or justice, but then the salutation will begin,“Dear Justice Smith” or “Dear Judge Smith.” If the judge is the chief of the court, it should be “Dear Chief Justice Smith” or“Dear Chief Judge Smith.”  \nSome people have trouble starting the salutation with “Dear,” and you don’t have to, but many of the older generation still prefer it as they find the salutation to brusque without it. Don’t worry, they won’t think it’s a love letter.  \n4. Try to keep the body of your email brief and to the point, but compl","cbCaid5fZHbjUB09","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaid5fZHbjUB09","pdf",1184823,9,"English","# Initiating the Email\n## Using a Proper Email Address\n## Treating the Subject Line Carefully\n## Choosing an Appropriate Salutation\n# Writing the Email Body\n## Keeping It Brief and Complete\n## Using Who/What/When/Where/Why/How\n## Avoiding Common Mistakes\n# Requests, Questions, Complaints, and Attachments\n## Requesting Instead of Demanding\n## Not Asking Questions You Can Look Up\n## Following Chain of Command for Complaints\n## Referring to Attachments","[{\"question\":\"How should you address a professor or judge in the salutation?\",\"answer\":\"Use the person’s title and last name, such as “Professor” for law school professors. Judges may be addressed as “Justice” or “Judge” depending on their position and jurisdiction, with special forms like “Chief Justice” when applicable.\"},{\"question\":\"What makes a strong email subject line?\",\"answer\":\"The subject line should be descriptive, searchable, and clearly reflect the email’s topic. If the question relates to a course, include the course name so it can be found easily.\"},{\"question\":\"What should you avoid when asking questions or making requests by email?\",\"answer\":\"Avoid making informal demands, asking questions that are already answered in the syllabus, or requesting help that you should obtain through classmates’ notes or advance recordings. Use requests rather than commands, and be specific about the needed information.\"}]","Emailing Like a Professional - Email Etiquette and Best Practices | PDF",1789484954]