Being able to write a polite, professional email is an indispensable skill not only for future doctors, but all future professionals. This skill will not only help you during your studies, but also with future job applications or any administrative tasks.
Following these guidelines is not only important for general politeness (remember, there is a person on the other end of the communication, and you should show them common courtesy), but providing all the necessary details also helps the recipient in providing you with the best service possible.
Why? Imagine that you receive an inquiry, but there is no name or personal details included in it. How would you know who the sender is, and how to help them best? Providing your name is the most basic step to ensure successful communication.
While these tips and instructions may seem irrelevant or unnecessary for you, keep in mind that the academic and professional sphere will expect this kind of communication from you. Keep the use of emojis and text speak to chats with your friends.
There’s a relatively simple pattern you can follow with emails. Your email should contain these five basic parts:
- email address, subject line
- greeting
- introduction and reason for the email
- clarifying your request/question
- closing
Email Address, subject line
- Create a professional email address. Your 12-year-old self might have thought that onedirection4ever@yahoo.com was amazing, but professors might just throw your email in the trash.
- Make sure that the email address you use is one you have stable access to. Do not send emails from addresses you check once a month – this also applies to using email addresses to register to events or other activities.
- Don’t forget the subject line – without one, your email might not even get opened.
Greeting
Don’t forget to greet the person you’re emailing appropriately. If you do not know the person you are emailing, there are still ways to include a greeting. If they have a position, include that as well. For example:
Dear Dr Dóra Reglődi,
Dear Professor,
Dear Officer,
If your email has multiple recipients, you can either greet all of them at once, or one by one.
For example:
Dear Professor Gábor Pethő,
Dear Dr Éva Mikó,
Dear Recipients,
Don’t start your email with Good Morning, especially not Hi or Hello. These greetings are for your friends and family, not for professional settings (unless someone explicitly states that you are welcome to use such informal addressing).
If you’re not sure about someone’s gender, check on the university website, or use gender-neutral language. You don’t want to email a female professor and call them a Mr in your email. Starting any email with Dear FULL NAME is a safe bet.
At Hungarian universities academic ranking differs from that of other European or American universities.
”Professor” is the highest ranking, the Hungarian equivalent is ”egyetemi tanár”. In letters/e-mails they are addressed as: Dear Professor FULL NAME. The other ranks can be addressed as: Dear Dr FULL NAME, egyetemi docens=associate professor; egyetemi adjunktus=senior lecturer; egyetemi tanársegéd =assistant professor.
Introduction and reason for the email
This is important when you’re emailing someone you don’t know. Tell them who you are and why you’re writing, like so:
I am XY (NEPTUN CODE), a second-year student in General Medicine. I am writing to you because REASON.
Please note that you’re not supposed to use contractions or text speak. Remember: you are most likely emailing an administrative officer or a professor, not one of your friends.
Providing these details will help the recipient of your email identify you, which is crucial for providing you with an informative reply.
Clarification
Once your recipient knows who you are, you can elaborate on your request or question. This can be anything, depending on the situation.
Try to be succinct, and clear. You do not need to write several pages, just summarise your request in a few sentences.
Closing
You can close your email by thanking the recipient for their answer before you sign off. You can do this as simply as writing ”Thank you for your answer”.
Don’t forget to sign off!
Yours sincerely, or
Yours faithfully, or
Best regards,
ALWAYS sign your email, using your full name, and if you have one, your position. If you are a group leader or group representative, you can add that too.
XY (NEPTUN CODE)
Group leader of Dentistry 1
We hope this will help you writing emails in the future. Remember: you can never be too polite! Always err on the side of caution.