在小学和初中，孩子们与老师和外界的沟通与联系通常是由家长代劳的，但到了高中，这种沟通与联系的工作应该开始由孩子们自己亲自来完成。事实上，一个高中同学如果对课堂老师的讲课有疑问，对自己成绩单上的成绩有异议，或对自己在高中的选课有顾虑时，需要与学校老师或 counselor 联系的时候，学校的老师和 counselor 可能更愿意首先与同学本人直接沟通。到了高中，学校老师和 counselor 更希望看到学生的独立自主，而不是任何事还是由家长在包办。与此同理，如果高中同学需要寻找暑期工作或 internship, 申请各种暑期 programs, 甚至申请大学时，需要与顾主，教授，admission officer 提供自己的申请或提问相关问题，都是需要学生本人自己出面去完成这些任务的，家长不能也不应该代劳。
所有这些沟通和联系除了有些可以面对面进行，其余多数情况下是通过电子邮件来完成的。如果这些邮件不能以专业的方式来完成和发送，不仅会让邮件被忽略，而且还会给学生造成不专业或无礼这些不良的声誉，所以每个高中同学学习如何撰写专业的电子邮件就变得非常重要。
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Email Address
The email address should be professional. The key to a professional email address is keeping it simple. For example, you can use the format johnsmith@example.com or john.smith@example.com. Don’t try to personalize your email address by adding in numbers or a creative slogan. Any email address that contains something other than your first and last name or some version thereof is generally considered unprofessional. If a working adult sees an email from an address like the ones above, they’re less likely to take what you have to say seriously. If you already have an email address but it’s unprofessional, it’s worth creating another one just for professional use; you’ll likely get more responses and solicit more respect from those with whom you trade emails.
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Subject Line
The subject line should concisely convey your purpose for writing. Your subject line can be as simple as "Thank You" or "Request for Recommendation"
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Greeting
Always open your email with a greeting, such as “Dear Amy”. If your relationship with the reader is formal, use their family name (eg. “Dear Mrs. Smith”). If the relationship is more casual, you can simply say, “Hi Amy”. If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, use: “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam”.
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State Your Purpose
Begin the email by stating your purpose. For example, “I am writing to enquire about …” or “I am writing in reference to …”. Make your purpose clear early on in the email, and then move into the main text of your email. Remember, people want to read emails quickly, so keep your sentences short and clear and keep your email as concise as possible. People tend to skim long emails, so only include essential information. You’ll also need to pay careful attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation so that you present a professional image of yourself.
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Font Style
Avoid ornate, playful, or colored fonts; these simply distract the recipient from your actual message. Avoid overusing bold and italics as well, which make an email look cluttered. Do not write in all capital letters either; this comes across as angry or overexcited in an email.
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Emoticons
Do not include emoticons in a professional email; save these for personal correspondence.
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Closing
The last step is to include an appropriate closing with your name. “Best regards”, “Sincerely”, and “Thank you” are all professional. Avoid closings such as “Best wishes” or “Cheers” unless you are good friends with the reader. Finally, before you hit the send button, review and spell check your email one more time to make sure it’s truly perfect!
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After You Send Your Email
It’s okay to send a follow-up email to the recipient if they haven’t replied to you in at least a week. It is possible that your email went into their junk folder by accident or they saw your email but forgot to reply. You can send a follow-up email to gently remind them that you are awaiting a reply. If you want to send a follow-up email, make sure it happens within two weeks of sending your initial email. This email should be even briefer than the last one. Simply thank them for their time and consideration and ask if they had a chance to look at your previous email. Make sure you are respectful of their time and effort in this email.
文章来源于 InfoFromLing
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