Document Type
Blog
Publication Date
7-12-2023
Abstract
Over the years, the emails from my students have embodied a broader and broader range of formality. Emails with no subject lines, no salutations, and very little detail are the norm. While sometimes frustrating, I can’t fault my Gen-Z students for writing to me the way they would text a parent: this is the way they’ve grown up communicating. But I would also be doing them a disservice if I didn’t help them understand that this kind of email communication is not typically tolerated in the world outside of our classroom. I do this in the rst week of class by providing the link to “Emailing a Professor” from Purdue, a concise overview. I have also pulled content from the lengthier, though extremely pleasing, “Writing Emails to Professors and TAs” from Boston University. These sources are great, but writing a professional email is only one of hundreds of frequently untaught skills students need to know for college and beyond. Providing this information makes what many call the “hidden curriculum” visible.