在北美給教授寫郵件 你一定要懂得的14個「潛規則」

對於留學生而言，如何給北美的教授寫郵件是他們的煩惱之一。不光是留學生，就連土著每次給教授發郵件都要斟酌良久，點擊發送鍵前都要反覆檢查數次，但偶爾還是會有一些瑕疵存在於郵件中。細節決定成敗，我在這整理出來一些給北美教授寫郵件的注意事項供大家參考，其中大部分注意事項不僅可以運用於與教授溝通的郵件中，同時也適用於將來與同事或上司的郵件當中。

1.E-mail to a professor should be treated like a business letter – at least until you know that professors personal preferences very well. Although e-mail is widely regarded as an informal medium, it is in fact used for business purposes in many settings. You wont err if you are too formal, but there is the possibility of committing many gaffes if you are too informal.

按照商業信函的要求對待給教授的每一封郵件-儘管電子郵件被廣泛認為為不太正規的溝通媒介，但事實上它又大多用在商業用途中。你不會因為過於正式而犯錯，但過於不正式往往會給你帶來不必要的誤會。

2. The subject header should be informative. It is not a salutation line, so dont write something like"hey professor" in that line. Instead, write a few words indicating the purpose of your message: "Request for a space in your class," for example.Never include demands such as "urgent request—immediate response needed.」That』s the surest way to get your request trashed.

郵件主題應當包含必要信息。注意郵件主題一欄並不是用來打招呼的，所以千萬不要在主題欄出現諸如「hey professor」的字樣。最好的選擇就是用最簡略的語言表達清楚你的目的，如「Request for a space in your class」等。千萬不要包含一些要求，比如說「緊急請求--請立即回復」，可以很肯定的說，你的請求會像垃圾一樣處理掉。

3. Use professors names when addressing them. Many professors we queried said that they do not like to be called simply "professor." They prefer "Professor Lee" or"Ms. /Mr. Lee". Some professors will eventually suggest that you call them by their first names, but if you are more comfortable continuing to use a title, that is always fine. Just be sure to use a name.

郵件中提及教授時盡量用到他們的名字：很多教授表示他們不喜歡被簡略的稱呼為「professor」。相較於「professor」，他們更喜歡被稱呼為「Professor Lee」或者「Ms/Mr. Lee」。一些教授會建議學生直接叫他們的名字（first names），但是如果你認為加之頭銜（如Professor，Dean等）也是可以的。

4. Avoid "hey" – no one we queried likes that one. To some eyes and ears, "Dear Professor Jones" may be too formal for an e-mail message – but in fact, it will do just fine when your purpose is a business-like one. Simply writing "Professor Jones"(followed by a comma) is fine, too. Some faculty are sensitive to the word"Hi" as a salutation, whether alone or with a name (e.g., "Hi,Professor Jones"), but others dont mind it and in fact use it themselves.

郵件開頭避免使用hey-沒有教授會喜歡這種稱呼方式。在很多人眼裡，在郵件中使用「Dear Professor Jones」會顯得過於正式。但事實上，如果你的目的帶有商業性，這樣的稱呼恰到好處。當然，簡單的「Professor Jones」也不存在問題。另外，雖然一些人對於用「Hi，Professor Jones」來打招呼也非常敏感，但大部分人還是習慣用hi來開始一封郵件的。

5. Dont expect an instant response. Although we have all become accustomed to the instantaneous quality of electronic communication, your professors want you to know that they simply cannot always answer a message quickly. Allow them a day or two, or even more, to respond.You can re-send the message if you havent heard back in five days or so.

不要認為即時回復理所當然。儘管我們都已經習慣了網路中溝通的迅速反饋，但實際上你的教授不會那麼快的回答你的問題。基本上每個教授都很忙，所以不要接二連三的發郵件催促你的教授，給他們一到兩天或者更多的時間來回復你。如果五天後仍沒得到回復，你可以再發送一遍郵件。

6. Dont use smiley faces or other emoticons when emailing professors, and dont use all those internet acronyms, abbreviations,and shortened spellings (e.g., LOL, or "U" for "you").Similarly, dont confuse email style with txt style. All of that electronic shorthand signals a level of intimacy (and perhaps of age) that is inappropriate for exchanges with your professors.

切記在與你的教授溝通的郵件中不要運用任何錶情符號，更不要用網路流行的首字母縮略詞，縮寫詞和簡寫（如lol(Laugh Out Loud), U(You), Urs(yours)等等）。不要把郵件混同於簡訊，因為以上所有的電子速記寫法所代表的親密度程度（亦或是年齡層）對於你的教授來講很有可能是不合時宜的。

7. Write grammatically, spell correctly, and avoid silly mistakes. Use the spelling checker. Especially double-check for embarrassing errors in your subject header. Show that you care about how you present yourself in writing to your professor.

反覆檢查語法和拼寫，避免犯愚蠢的錯誤。尤其要多次確認郵件主題的內容沒有令人尷尬的錯誤，要讓你的教授感受到你對這封郵件的誠意。

8. Dont use e-mail to rant or whine. Sometimes that may well elicit the exact opposite response that you intend.

不要在郵件中抱怨或發牢騷，有時候只能給你帶來相反的效果。

9. Keep most messages to under a screen in length; lots of readers will simply defer reading long messages, and then may never come back to them. On the other hand, a very short, terse message may simply be meaningless. Be sure to include enough information so that your reader can understand what you are requesting. Provide a bit of background or context if necessary. State your request clearly.

控制郵件的長度。很多收件人看到很長的郵件的第一反應是跳過，打算遲一些再讀，但最終會忘記這封郵件的存在不了了之。相反，非常短小的郵件看起來也會顯得沒有誠意和意義。所以，切記把握郵件的長度，提供足夠的信息讓你的收件人明白你郵件的意圖。如果需要，可以適當提供一些背景材料供收件人參考。但一定要讓你的問題看起來簡單明了。

10. Quote selectively and briefly from any prior messages to provide context and background.Although sometimes its good to quote an entire exchange so as to keep a record of whats beensaid and decided, often thats unnecessary and simply ends up making a messagetoo long and cluttering the screen.

學會選擇性的從過去的郵件中截取必要信息提醒教授。儘管有些時候可以引用整篇郵件讓教授看到你們已經談了些什麼，但事實上這樣只會讓郵件看起來很冗雜，很難引起教授的注意。

11. Dont lay it on too thick. Its one thing to bepolite and friendly in your e-mail; its another thing to wind up with a brownnose.

不要太過殷勤。在郵件中表現出禮貌和友好很重要，但是要適度，不要搞得像是在阿諛奉承。

12. Many professors advise that you think about why you are sending an e-mail message. Are you asking something that could easily be checked if you took a few extra steps yourself? For example, e-mailing a professor simply to ask when her office hours are can be annoying when the office hours have been clearly announced on the syllabus already. On the otherhand, emailing for an appointment is just fine. Are you emailing to lodge acomplaint or to ask for a letter of recommendation or to seek help with aproblem set? In these cases, personal contact and an office visit might be much better.

很多教授會建議學生在發郵件前先思考郵件的目的是什麼；是否在向他們詢問一個自己本來就可以很容易得到答案的問題。例如，如果你給教授發郵件，目的只是詢問本來就清楚的寫在教授已經發給你的課程大綱上的問題（上課時間，地點等），只會給教授留下非常不好的印象，有些教授會選擇不回復，認為你在浪費他們的時間。另外，如果你只是為了和教授約見面時間，通過發郵件的方式是可以的。但如果你的目的是希望得到教授的推薦信或尋求其他幫助時，面對面的交流要比郵件交流禮貌很多。

13. Sign-offs and signatures count. Always end by thanking the professor for his or her time, and closing with "Best wishes" or "Regards" (or some other relatively formal, but friendly, closing). And always sign with your (entire) real name, not some wacky nickname like Ry-Ry or Biff.

最後的簽名很重要。每封郵件最後都要感謝教授抽出時間來幫助你，並以「Best Wishes/ Regards」來結尾。（或者其他相關的正式語，但是要用友好的語氣。）然後簽上你的全名，而不是諸如Ry-Ry/ Biff什麼的昵稱。

14. Always acknowledge. If your professor deigns to answer—or send you the handout or reference that you asked for—be sure to tell him or her that you got it. That way he or she will think kindly of you next time they see you in class.

必須要告知教授已收到郵件。如果你的教授給了你答覆或者將你需要的資料發送給你，一定要告訴他你已經收到了。這樣，下次在課堂上看到你的時候，他們就會覺得你是個不錯的學生。

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