--- title: "Email to a Professor – Free Template Writer | EduEmail" description: "Write a clear email to your professor: extensions, absences, meetings, recommendation letters, grade questions and follow-ups. Free and private." url: https://eduemail.me/ --- The writing desk # Write emails professors *actually* answer. Pick your situation, fill in a few details, and get a polite, specific email with a clear subject line. Nothing you type leaves your browser. To Your professor's address (added in your mail app) Subject Question about [topic] – [Course] Dear Professor [Last name], My name is [Your name], and I am a student in your [Course] class. I have a question about [topic]. [Your question] Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [Your name] [Course] [Open in mail app](mailto:?subject=Question%20about%20%5Btopic%5D%20%E2%80%93%20%5BCourse%5D&body=Dear%20Professor%20%5BLast%20name%5D%2C%0D%0A%0D%0AMy%20name%20is%20%5BYour%20name%5D%2C%20and%20I%20am%20a%20student%20in%20your%20%5BCourse%5D%20class.%20I%20have%20a%20question%20about%20%5Btopic%5D.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5BYour%20question%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AThank%20you%20for%20your%20time.%0D%0A%0D%0AKind%20regards%2C%0D%0A%5BYour%20name%5D%0D%0A%5BCourse%5D) ## Before you send 36 words - Fill in the subject details so it says what the email is about. - Add the professor's last name to the greeting. - Add your name and course so they can place you. - Fill in “Your question” so the request is clear. - Replace the [bracketed] parts before sending. - 36 words: short enough to read on a phone. Tips for this email - Check the syllabus, course page and any class forum first, and say what you checked. - Ask one focused question. If you have several, office hours may work better. - Send it from your school email account. [Already wrote your own draft? Check its tone](https://eduemail.me/email-tone-checker/) More from the desk ## Other student email tools Each one runs in your browser, with nothing to sign up for. - [Academic email checker](https://eduemail.me/academic-email-checker/): Is this an academic domain? Check an address against a public list of university domains and spot look-alikes. Check a domain - [Email tone checker](https://eduemail.me/email-tone-checker/): Paste a draft and see greeting, sign-off, text-speak, shouting and demanding phrases highlighted. Check my draft - [Student email signature](https://eduemail.me/student-email-signature/): Name, pronouns, program and links, as HTML and plain text. Student ID stays out unless you add it. Make a signature - [Recommendation letter request](https://eduemail.me/recommendation-letter-request/): The request email plus a timeline: when to ask, when to remind, with calendar reminders. Plan my request - [Research position email](https://eduemail.me/research-position-email/): A short, personal cold email about joining a lab, with length and personalization checks. Write to a lab - [Follow-up email](https://eduemail.me/follow-up-email/): No reply yet? See how long to wait for your situation, then send a polite nudge. Write a follow-up - [What is an .edu email?](https://eduemail.me/what-is-an-edu-email/): Who issues academic addresses, what happens after graduation, and the scams aimed at students. Read the guide Recommended ## Two free tools worth bookmarking Separate sites, not part of EduEmail, that help with the inbox side of student life. Keep your school inbox for school ### CleanTempMail A free disposable inbox for one-off sign-ups: a free download, a newsletter you are not sure about, a contest entry. No sign-up, a random or custom address, and messages are deleted automatically after 3 days. Keep using your school address for anything your school, financial aid office or professors need to reach you about. [Get a temporary inbox](https://cleantempmail.com/) Suspicious email from “IT services”? ### WebTraceCheck Got a “your student account will be closed” message? Open the link in a disposable cloud browser (Chrome, Firefox, Brave, Edge or Chromium on an isolated desktop that is deleted after each session) instead of on your own laptop, or check the sender's domain with the free [DNS & domain lookup](https://webtracecheck.com/dns-lookup). [Try the cloud browser](https://webtracecheck.com/) Questions ## Emailing a professor: the short answers **How should I address my professor in an email?** Use their title and last name: “Dear Professor Okafor,” or “Dear Dr. Okafor,”. In the US, “Professor” is a safe default for faculty. In the UK and many other countries, “Professor” is a senior rank, so most lecturers are addressed as “Dr.”. Use a first name only if they have invited you to. **What should the subject line say?** The topic and the course, so it is clear before they open it, for example “Extension request: Essay 2 – PSYC 210”. Avoid one-word subjects like “Question” or “Help”. **How long should an email to a professor be?** Short: usually under 200 words. Say who you are and which class you are in, make one clear request, and give any dates that matter. If it needs much more than that, ask to meet in office hours instead. **How long should I wait for a reply?** Two working days is reasonable for most course questions; a cold email about research can take a week or two. If you have not heard back, send one polite follow-up in the same thread. The [follow-up email page](https://eduemail.me/follow-up-email/) suggests timing for each situation. **Which email address should I send it from?** Your school email address, if you have one. Your instructor can see who you are, it is less likely to be filtered, and many schools expect course matters to go through school accounts. **Is anything I type stored or sent anywhere?** No. The email is put together in your browser and is not sent to a server. You copy it, download it as a text file, or open it in your own mail app. Visits are counted with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which does not use cookies and never sees what you type.