Before, email etiquettes could have been ignored until college. But times have changed. Now that the entire world has switched to online learning, your kids emailing their educators has become inevitable. Teaching your kids email etiquette will help them in the long run. 

If you’re worried about email etiquette for students, proper email etiquette, business email etiquette, email etiquette rules, et cetera, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for we have collated everything you need to teach your kids about email etiquette! From registration to salutations, we have it all for you!

First Stop: Registration

There are several webmail service providers, but the leading three are Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail. In helping your kids choose their account provider, visit their respective sites to get a feel on navigating them. You can also decide based on which interface you’re most comfortable with. 

You’ll also be pleased to know that the aforementioned email providers are all free, so no extra monthly subscription for you! In addition, they have organizational tools to help your kids systematize their inbox.

Signing up for an email account is a very easy process. You don’t even have to download anything, emailing from your browser is all right! Just tell your kids to click their preferred email service provider. It will direct them to their websites.

Afterward, find the “sign up” button usually on the upper corner of the screen or at the center. Simply fill up the needed information to proceed, and you’re ready to go!

Pro tip! Make sure to guide your children in picking their email address. It would be best to just use their name (i.e. harrypotter@gmail.com or potterharry@outlook.com). If their names are already taken, adding a period, an underscore, or two numbers at most is okay. Having silly email addresses such as crazybailey@yahoo.com or goofyscooby@gmail.com is inappropriate and definitely not in the email etiquette handbook.

My Kids Have Emails, What’s Next? 

Now, let’s help them familiarize themselves with the basic parts of an email. There are several components they should be able to identify and work with.

1. Subject Line

This part should describe what your child is writing about.

2. Sender

If a laptop or desktop computer is available at your home for your kids to use, this will not be present there. However, if your children are using the application on their phone, this will be available.

3. Recipient

Here, your kids should input the email address of the person they are sending the message to. If they are sending the message to more than one person, just separate their email addresses with a comma and they’re all clear!

4. Greetings/Salutations

Every time your child writes an email, teach them to always start it off with greetings, such as “Good morning,” or “Greetings!”

5. Body

Your kid’s content should be comprised of an introduction of themselves, the intention of their email, and gratitude.

6. Closing Remarks

Inform them to conclude their email with some best wishes to their recipient.

7. Signature

Tell your children to write their full name in this section. If they’re writing to their professor, include the subject he’s teaching and your child’s section. If they’re writing to another organization, ask them to insert their position in their affiliation. 

8. Attachments

This pertains to the files (e.g. images, PDFs, word documents) your kids can attach to their emails. Before attaching these files, change their file names into the title or purpose of the document. Also, inform your kids to include their name.

For instance, if they’re attaching a form for enrollment, it should look like this: Enrollment Form – Surname or Enrollment Form (Surname).

Forgetting to attach your files is also quite common. Fortunately with Gmail, if you state in your email that you have attached something, it will remind you when you forget to attach a file.

If you’re new to all of these, no need to worry! Relevant contents of an email as well as email etiquettes will be tackled in the next segments.

Why Do I Need to Teach Email Etiquette to My Kids?

Communication is an important part of making connections. Now that we have evolved into integrating the internet into our daily lives, emails have become a blessing and a burden. It’s important to teach your kids how to compose a professional email. It will come in handy not just in school, but also at work when the time comes. 

Guide your kids as early as now, and they’ll become a natural in greetings, best wishes, and closing remarks in no time!

The Handbook of Email Etiquette

Of course, after signing up and learning the parts of an email, it’s time to dive deeper into the business of email etiquette. 

Email Subjects

The subject of an email should be concise. At the same time, it should also contain the main topic or objective of the email. As much as possible, the subject should not exceed six words.

For example, your child is writing to their professor about an upcoming exam. Include the name of their subject, the section they’re in, and the exam. It should turn out like this: MATH G2 Midterms.

In case they’re writing an email about a scholarship, simply put the name of the scholarship they’re applying for (e.g. Presidential Scholarship, College Board Opportunity Scholarships, AANAPISI Scholarship, Global Siemens MBA Scholarship for Master).

Greetings and Salutations

Tell your kids to start their email with positive energy. Greetings! Salutations! It’s necessary to offer courteousness before beginning an email. Moreover, see to it that the greeting they’re using is appropriate. Below are examples of proper and improper felicitations.

Inappropriate Greetings and Salutations

• Exciting news
• Exciting email ahead
• Good news
• Guys
• Hi
• Hey
• Hello
• Hi there
• Hey there
• Hello there
• Howdy
• It’s me (Name)
• Morning all
• Morning team
• Updates
• What’s up
• Yo

Appropriate Greetings and Salutations

• Dear (Name)
• Dear (Position)
• Good day
• Good morning
• Good noon
• Good afternoon
• Good evening
• Greetings
• To whom it may concern

Introduction

Given that your children are students, their instructor presumably handles hundreds of other pupils. They can’t be expected to recognize everyone. Inform your kids to introduce themselves: state their full name, section and course. 

Purpose of the Email

Immediately express the purpose of the email. In the same way that professors handle hundreds of students, it is probable they also receive hundreds of emails daily. It will do everyone good if the intent is succinctly written.

It’s best to limit the length up to two sentences only. In the event that your kid is writing about requesting a recommendation letter from their professor, they can write “I am writing to you to ask if I can request a recommendation letter from you. I am applying for the Presidential Undergraduate Scholarship Grant and would appreciate it if you could compose one for me.”

Clarifications

Online learning is difficult. It’s completely understandable if your children are left with questions after reading their assigned course outline or syllabus. Below are some examples of how to properly ask for clarifications.

• “I’m having a hard time understanding… I would like to inquire about…”
• “If it’s not too much trouble, I would like some clarifications regarding…”
• “May I ask if…”
• “Yesterday, there was an announcement about… I would like to confirm…”

Expressing Gratitude

Once concerns have been expressed, inform your children that it’s time to convey gratitude to the recipient of their email for their time. It’s disrespectful not to give thanks and issue a reply after they’ve received an answer from them.

• Thank you for your time
• Thank you for taking the time to read this
• Huge thanks
• Many thanks

Closing Remarks and Signatory

The final part of an email consists of closing remarks and signatory. Wish the recipient the best and put closing salutations and signatory.

Closing Remarks

• Have a great day ahead
• Have a wonderful day
• I am looking forward to hearing from you
• With gratitude
• With great pleasure

Signatory

• All the best
• Best
• Best wishes
• Regards
• Respectfully
• Sincerely

When Is the Right Time to Send an Email?

Kids have a designated bed time; adults have an established rest time away from work. It’s essential to teach your kids about respecting other people’s time. This is also applicable in sending emails.

If your kid is studying their syllabus at three in the morning and they encounter a topic they do not understand. They shouldn’t email their instructor right away. They can go ahead and compose their inquiry regarding their question but they can’t press send. There’s an option to schedule an email.

Depending on whether your kid is using Google Mail, Outlook, or Yahoo, advise them that they can pick an appropriate time they want their email to be delivered.

When is it acceptable to send an email? An email shouldn’t be delivered at the dead of the night or the early hours of the day. Only send an email from eight in the morning to five-thirty in the afternoon, at most. It’s disrespectful to send a letter in the middle of the night.

It is also important to note that your kids should only deliver it during school days and workdays. There must be a boundary between work time and break time. Of course, tell your kids to also respect their groupmate’s, colleague’s, professor’s, and employer’s period for rest.

Conclusion

Whether it’s email etiquette for students, appropriate email etiquette, corporate email etiquette, or email etiquette guidelines, it’s simple to get the hang of these email etiquettes. Help your kids with their email etiquette and constantly remind them to follow email etiquettes.

Download Grammarly if you want to make sure your kids have extra help in sounding professional and grammatically accurate.