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Email Netiquette Checklist 
Voice Mail Etiquette

Netiquette is a lot more than saying “please” and “thank you.” Netiquette means being courteous and professional in all electronic communication with your professors. Please follow these basic guidelines while you are in school and continue using them in your professional practice. 

1. The #1 rule of email netiquette is to consider the person who is receiving your email – read your message before sending it and think how your professor will receive your message. A certain degree of formality is required.

2. Always give the subject of the message, beginning with the course you are in.  For example,
   Subject: NSG 2288, Question about research project

3. Address your professors by their titles, and never assume that because your professor is a woman, she is “Mrs.” or “Ms.”  Professors who have earned doctoral degrees should always be addressed as “Dr.”

4. Use proper punctuation and capitalization. Sentences should begin with a capital letter and end with a period or question mark. The pronoun “I” is always capitalized, and your name begins with a capital letter.

5. Never type your message in all caps – THIS MEANS YOU ARE SHOUTING and it is the same thing as yelling to your professor face-to-face. In addition, the use of multiple exclamation marks for emphasis !!!!! carries the same lack of professionalism as typing in all caps.

6. Spell all words correctly. Every email program has a built-in spell check, so there is no excuse for misspelled words.

7. Sign your email messages – always enter your first and last names so that your professor will know who you are. Signing emails is just like signing hand-written notes and letters.

8. If your email is a reply, be certain that the original email to which you are replying is included. Otherwise your professor will not know what you are replying to.  For example, if your message is a reply but contains only the words “I’m not sure what you mean; could you provide a Web site that would help?” – how will your professor know what your problem is? Your email software preferences must be set so that the original is included inline.

9. When sending attachments, always provide a brief description of what the attachment is. An example of this rule would be to say, “The attached file is my research paper draft.”

10. Allow your professor time to respond to your message. Even though email is instantaneous, your professors probably are not waiting at their computers for your messages to arrive. Check your course syllabi for your professors’ policies.
    

Quick Email Netiquette Checklist  

      [  ] Subject line with course number and the message subject
      [  ] Correct salutation (Dr., Ms., Mrs., Mr.)
      [  ] Message has no errors in spelling or grammar, and no shouting
      [  ] Signature
      [  ] For replies: original message included
      [  ] For attachments: attachment identified in message 

A word about Voice Mail Etiquette: when leaving a phone message for your professors, please give:

• your first and last name

• the course in which you are enrolled

• the message

• your phone number s-l-o-w-l-y and clearly – repeating the number is always a good idea