#professional emails

“We have made our position clear on numerous occasions to you and have given you several concessions to ease [the task]. All of which you have failed to take advantage of.”

(I’m in no way claiming to be an expert on this but I had to do it a lot recently for my research so I thought I’d make a list for anyone interested !)

Writing to historians to ask them questions is a very good way to get quality information about complicated topics. Here’s my advice for how to do it.

1. First off: you are allowed to email historians !

Not only are you allowed, you should ! Historians love when people are interested in their work. In my experience, almost all of them will take the time to respond. As long as you stay polite, they have no reason to be mad at you. And worst case scenario: they don’t respond, and you never hear from them again.

2. Find their professional address

It’s on their University’s website. Type their name, followed by, if their name is pretty common, by “professor”, “historian” or the fields they study. Sometimes, their email is included in the papers they write (but if the article is a bit old, check on internet to see if the address is still up-to-date).

3. Read (some of) their stuff

Try to know about the person you’re writing. This way, you will avoid asking for things they address in their articles, or misrepresent their positions.

4. Before writing your email, write down your questions

It’s important to have precise questions ! The more precise your questions are, the more precise their answers will be.

Frequent types of questions:

- asking for academic references on a specific topic (”Would you have any reading recommendations about ... ?”)

- asking for clarification on a point or concept they use in their work (”Could this idea be interpreted in that way ?”)

- asking for advice on a specific point (”How you should I apply this concept to this topic?”)

5. My template

Dear Professor [last name],

My name is [first name and name], I'm currently studying at [school/University] in [grade]. I'm currently working on [current project]. I'm particularly interested in [research topic].

I was thus very interested by your articles dealing with [topic], especially [cite one or two of their articles or book], which develop the idea of X / because of X.

[Short paragraph explaining the influence their work has had on your research so far]

I would like to ask you a few questions, and I would be very grateful if took time to answer.

[Numbered list of short and precise questions]

In any case, I send you my best wishes for the next year and for your future research, which I will follow with great interest.

Sincerely,

[First name and name]

[Contact info]

6. Now... rest !

Though he may not seem so, sending email to professors is hard, tiring and stressing. One email a day is enough. Give yourself credit, and rest !

Email:

Dr./Mr./Mrs/ ___________,

Describe your problem. Ask your question. Describe the solutions you’ve already tried (if applicable). Ask your question again.

Thank you,

Your name

Calling:

Hi, (Title and name), this is (your name) calling about (question/problem).

When you’ve got the solution:

Thank you so much (title and name). I greatly appreciate your help!

-end-

Hey! Are you just graduating high school or in college and kinda terrified to email your administration? Don’t know HOW to write these emails? Keep Reading! Trust me, we’ve all asked our friends to look over our emails before sending them to our professors.