📝 The rules
Teachers, counselors, colleges, coaches and employers read a lot of email. A clear, polite one gets a faster and better answer.
| Topic | What to do |
|---|---|
| Your email address | Use a professional one, like first.last@ on a free email provider. Use your school email for teachers. Use a personal one for colleges and scholarships, because school accounts can close after you graduate. |
| Subject line | Say what it is and who you are. Example: Recommendation letter request - Jordan Lee, Class of 2028 |
| Greeting | "Dear Ms. Rivera," or "Hi Mr. Cho," instead of "Hey" or no greeting. Don't know a name? Use "Dear Admissions Office,". |
| Sign-off | "Thank you," "Sincerely," or "Best," then your full name, grade or class year, and school. |
| Tone | Polite and friendly. Skip slang, emojis and ALL CAPS. |
| Length | Short: one purpose, about 3 to 6 sentences. Put your question or request near the top. |
| Proofread | Read it out loud. Check the person's name and title, and make sure the attachment is really attached. |
| Reply timing | Try to answer within a day or two. Give others a few school days to answer you. (This is general advice, not a rule.) |
| CC, BCC and Reply all | CC someone who should see it, like a parent. BCC hides addresses on group emails. Use Reply all only when everyone needs your answer. |
| Attachments | Send a PDF with a clear name, like JordanLee_Resume.pdf, and mention it in the email. |
| Following up | No answer after about a week? Send one short, polite follow-up in the same email thread. |
| Thank-you notes | Send one within a day of an interview, and after anyone writes you a recommendation. A handwritten note is a nice extra. |
✅ Do
- Use a clear subject line
- Say who you are in the first line
- Ask for one clear thing
- Proofread and check attachments
❌ Don't
- Start with "hey" and no name
- Use text-speak ("u", "idk")
- Send a wall of text
- Send several follow-ups in one day
Want people who look you up to find good things too? See Digital footprint.
💌 Example emails
Seven fill-in-the-blank examples. Pick one to open it in the Email builder below. Everything in [brackets] is a blank for you to fill in.
🔧 Email builder
This page never sends email. Fill in the blanks, copy the subject and message, then paste them into your own email (Gmail, Outlook or your school email). What you type is saved on this device only, so you can come back to it. It isn't sent anywhere or saved to an account.
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- Is the subject line filled in?
- Is the person's name spelled right?
- If you mention a file, is it attached?