The Homeschool Resource

• Teaching your child or teen how to professionally write an email is important because it helps them communicate clearly, respectfully, and effectively in academic and workplace settings.

• Key elements of a profession email include considering the audience, maintaining a polite and neutral tone, proofreading carefully, and ensuring accuracy (including attachments), all of which reflect professionalism.

• The best way to teach email skills is through practical, hands-on methods, such as modeling, practice scenarios, and structured templates. This helps students build confidence and provides them with the ability to take the skills out into the real world.

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Why Do We Need to Teach About Emails?

Writing a professional email is an essential skill in both the academic and workplace settings. Think about all of the emails that you have sent to teachers, colleagues, and workplace superiors. These emails were written with special attention being paid to tone, clarity, and etiquette. Unfortunately, many children and teens are never taught how to properly write an email. In fact, you may be amazed at the number of emails sent to college professors and corporate superiors that start off with the greeting of “Yo Prof” or ‘Hey boss”. Helping your child develop the skill of conveying information while considering structure, tone, clarity, and etiquette will benefit them in both academic and professional environments.

What to Consider When Writing an Email

Tell your child that before beginning to write an email, there are a few considerations to keep in mind. First is the person whom they intend to write. Is this person a superior/client or is this a classmate/colleague who they have spent a lot of time with? This will determine whether they will need to use formal language or a slightly less formal, more friendly language. For example, you may write “thanks for your help” to a classmate or colleague where you would write “thank you for your time” to a manager or client.

Second, and one of the most important considerations, is the tone of the email. Explain that they will want to maintain a polite, respectful, and neutral tone throughout their message. This includes avoiding slang or overly casual language as well as humor. Let them know to never use all caps, as it can come across as yelling at the recipient. Also avoid emotional writing, maintain a calm and constructive demeaner even if they are addressing a problem or issue that makes them feel angry or upset. You may want to tell your children not to write an email if they are emotional (such as frustrated, angry, or upset) as they will inevitably make the tone the same.

Third: proofread, proofread, proofread. Nothing says unprofessional more than misspelled words and punctuation errors. Also have them ensure that names, dates, and details are accurate. Definitely make sure that the recipient’s name is written correctly, as misspelling their name can create a negative impression. Teach your student that reading the email aloud can help them identify grammar mistakes, awkward phrasing, or unclear sentences. A polished email reflects attention to detail and professionalism.

Finally, they need to check any attachments. Many times, with emails to college professors, work teammates, and work supervisors a file will need to be sent with the email. It is important that your child double checks that they are sending the correct file before the email is sent. Sending the wrong file not only seems unprofessional but, depending on the file sent, could cause embarrassment for the recipient and/or your child.

How to Teach the Subject

Teaching children and teens to write professional emails works best if you keep the lessons practical and relatable. You may want to include more hands-on learning rather than lecture heavy learning as this is more useful for this type of lesson. Also, explain why writing an email professionally is important. Give them real-world examples of when they would need to use this skill such as contacting a professor about a missing assignment, applying for an internship, or asking an organization about volunteer opportunities.

Teens already know how to communicate digitally, as they are used to texting, you just need to help them adjust their tone and greetings as well as provide them with a structure they can follow. One way to teach this is to show them examples or a side-by-side comparison of an unprofessional email versus a polished one. This can be done online or by providing your own examples such as a one-line email saying “hey, teach, srry I missed class. Any assignment?” vs a more put together email with a precise subject line, a proper greeting, complete sentences, and a closing/signature. Seeing the difference will help them understand what you are trying to explain quicker and gives them expectations to attain to.

Also consider model writing a professional email and then having your child practice writing one with a scenario that they can relate to. Practice is essential in teaching about emails and tone, as is feedback. Your feedback or a peer’s feedback should be specific. Try not to say “this doesn’t sound professional”, instead, say “make sure your greeting starts with Dear Mr. Ackworth, instead of Ackworth to sound more professional”. This gives them a specific area to fix instead of making the whole email sound wrong and discouraging.

It is important, when teaching your child or teen how to write an email, that you instruct them on how to properly structure an email. If your child is having a hard time getting the hang of it, try providing them with a template such as:

Subject Line:

Greeting:

Opening:
Body:

Closing:

Signature:

• Subject Line: The subject line of an email should be a clear and concise summarization of the email written in just a few words (typically 5-7 words). It is essentially the emails “first impression” to the recipient. This generally determines whether the recipient believes that it is important enough to open and read. Some examples include writing “Question about Group Project X” instead of just “Question” or “Requesting a Meeting Regarding Deadline” instead of “Deadline”.
• Using an Appropriate Greeting/Salutation: A good rule of thumb is that all recipients should be addressed formally unless you have a pre-existing informal relationship with them. The most common formal greeting is “Dear ________,”. This type of greeting is best used when writing to a teacher, professor, supervisor, or colleague with whom you are not very close. Also know that using the correct title (such as Mr., Ms., Dr., or Professor) shows respect and attention to detail. It also may be a good idea to tell your child that even if they feel they have a good relationship with their teacher or boss, it is still best to use a formal greeting when writing an email to them.  
• Opening: The very first lines of an email should start by briefly introducing yourself if the recipient does not know you or by providing a polite introductory sentence such as “I hope you are having a great week” or “I hope this email finds you well”. In other words, a friendly but professional introduction sentence.
• Body: Immediately following the opening, you should state the purpose of the email. Avoid unnecessary details and keep your message focused and concise on what you need or want from the recipient. Use short paragraphs or bullet points if needed to improve readability. Also make sure to clearly state what you need in response such as a quick reply to a question, a signature on a document, a decision, or a clarification of a project or deadline.
• Closing and Signature: The closing should be a polite phrase such as “Sincerely”, “Best regards”, or a simple “Thank you”. Follow this with your signature which should include your full name (first and last) but may also need to include your student ID number, job title, and contact information.  

You could even turn this structure into a checklist that they could follow until they gain more confidence. The key is repetition and relevance. When your child sees that professional email writing is a practical life skill and not just a school task, they will be much more likely to take it seriously.

Sending an email to superiors or other professionals is a skill that your child will need to use for their entire adult life. By teaching them to use a clear subject line, an appropriate greeting, a concise body, polite tone, and a proper closing, they will learn to communicate effectively and leave a positive impression on their recipient.

What are some reasons that your child has had to write a professional email and how did they they do? Please share some tips and tricks with the community in the comments below.