When starting an email to a professor, it is best to take a more formal approach to avoid making a poor impression. In the greeting, use “Dear” followed by a title and the professor’s last name (e.g., “Dear Professor/Dr. Willow,”).
You can follow the greeting with a number of opening lines before diving into the purpose of your message, such as:
You can also use “I’m reaching out …” if you prefer to come straight to the point.
You can adapt the tone of your emails according to the professor’s response. For example, if they greet you with “Hi/Hello” in their reply, you can adopt the same style.
However, continue to use their title (unless they explicitly give you permission to address them otherwise), and avoid using overly informal language like slang or “Cheers.”
You can automatically rewrite your sentences to express your intended meaning using QuillBot’s tools.