Professional Email

Start with the right address

Your email address is the first thing people see. Use a simple, professional one for school and job applications:

If your school gives you a student email, use it for anything to do with school.

The parts of a good email

1. Subject: specific, so they know what it's about before opening it.
2. Greeting: "Dear Dr Adewale," or "Good morning, Mrs Okon," for formal emails.
3. Opening line: who you are, if they may not know you.
4. The point: what you need, in one or two short paragraphs.
5. Closing: thank them and say what happens next.
6. Sign-off and signature: "Kind regards," then your full name and details.

An example

Subject: ECO 201 – Request for extension on Assignment 2 (Matric 21/0453)

Dear Dr Adewale,

I'm Amaka Obi, a 200 level Economics student in your ECO 201 class.

I was admitted to the health centre on Monday and could not complete
Assignment 2, due on Friday. I have attached my medical note.

Could I please submit it by next Wednesday? I have already finished
the first half.

Thank you for considering my request.

Kind regards,
Amaka Obi
200 Level, Economics
21/0453 · 0803 000 0000

Tone tips

• Be brief. Busy people read short emails first.
• One email, one topic.
• Be polite, not over the top. "Please" and "thank you" are enough.
• No text-speak: write "please", not "pls"; "you", not "u".
• Check attachments. Say "I have attached…" and make sure you did.
• Read it once before sending, especially names and dates.

A simple signature

Set one up once (in Gmail: Settings → See all settings → Signature):

Amaka Obi
Economics student, University of Lagos
linkedin.com/in/amaka-obi · 0803 000 0000

Try it

1. Create a professional email address if yours isn't one.
2. Add a signature.
3. Write an email to a lecturer or an organisation asking one clear question, using the six parts above.
4. Read it aloud before sending, and check the subject line makes sense on its own.