You missed that important exam due to an emergency and would like to ask the professor for the opportunity to take a make-up test.
This is your first time, and hopefully last time, you’re making such a request and you aren’t sure how to phrase it, to hopefully increase your chances of a positive response.
But don’t worry as we’ve got you covered. This article provides some templates that you can easily modify for the purpose as well as a few tips to keep in mind when emailing a professor.
Tips For Emailing Professors
Let’s first take a look at a few things to keep in mind when you’re contacting your professor.
Use Proper Title
Find out their official titles before you send the email. If they don’t yet have the title “professor” you should use the appropriate title “Dr”.
On the other hand, if they have the title “professor”, you should use the appropriate title. Professors go through a lot of trouble to acquire their titles. They would appreciate that you’re appreciating their titles.
Examples:
Dear Professor {{Last name}}
Dear Dr. {{Last name}}
Use School Email
Every tertiary institution provides its faculty and students with official email addresses. If you don’t know the professor’s email address, we’ll show you how to find it later.
Keep in mind that your professor may not respond if you send them an email using your personal email or if you simply send it to their personal emails.
Using your school email also ensures that the professor will get the mail as your personal email may end up blocked by spam filters.
Some professors also try to ensure there’s a balance between their personal lives and work. Any work-related emails, especially from students, to their personal emails would simply be ignored.
So, if you want them to receive and read your email, you should make sure that you use your school email.
Formal Tone
When emailing your professor, it’s important to keep it professional. No matter how close you are to someone, you should avoid using any kind of informal language.
Emojis and other terminology that you typically use with friends should be avoided. The professor would merely become irritated.
The professor might interpret it as a sign of disrespect. You should be aware that this email is accessible to the school, and that they control it.
Therefore, any signs of overfriendliness between faculty and students could raise red flags. Unless the professor specifically instructs you to use informal language, always use formal language in any official email discussion between yourself and the professor.
Correct Grammar
If you are aware that your writing isn’t the best, ask a fellow student for assistance or use software like Grammarly to help you.
Since it’s just an email, professors anticipate that tertiary students will have basic writing abilities.
Your email will become difficult to read if there are too many grammatical errors, which will only irritate your readers.
Using tools like Grammarly would be helpful but you should keep in mind that they aren’t perfect. It is advisable to review your email once more before sending it.
Be Polite
Professors dislike entitled students and would most likely just ignore any emails from them. So, you should always strive to be polite in your email to the professor.
It doesn’t matter how you may feel about the professor, you should be polite in your emails. Do not presume that they would stop everything they’re doing just to accommodate you.
Students sometimes believe professors are being paid by their school fees so they’re entitled to certain things. Avoid sounding like that, if you don’t want to get on the professor’s bad side.
Identify Yourself
The professor may not remember every one of their students. Don’t take it personal. Professors may teach multiple classes and may not be able to remember every student.
You don’t want to give them additional work to do by not identifying yourself. No professor wants to spend the next 30 minutes looking through their student list to identify who you may be.
Either identify yourself in the introduction of the email or include it in the email signature. You can also do both to make things easier.
Clear And Brief
This isn’t the time to show the professor how verbose you may be. You may have the time to do that but that doesn’t mean the professor does. Avoid writing long emails to the professor if you want them to read through it all.
Professors receive multiple emails from students, other staff members, publications, and more. Don’t make things difficult for them by writing lengthy emails. Shorten the email as much as possible while also maintaining a polite tone.
Explain Your Situation
If you need them to do something for you, ensure that you specify this in the email. You don’t want them to spend the next 30 minutes thinking about all the other options and whether it’ll be convenient for you.
Any back-and-forth emails may end up making them lose interest. So, if you have an idea what you need from them, politely explain it in the email. Try not to sound entitled in any way.
If you’ve already discussed what you need with the professor, you can simply remind them of the discussion in a few words.
Don’t Forget Attachment
Don’t forget to attach any necessary documents if necessary. Confirm this before you send the email. I can’t tell the number of times I’ve sent an email simply to receive a response that I neglected to attach the necessary documents.
The professor may simply ignore the email if you don’t include any necessary attachments. So, it’s advisable to always double-check to ensure that the email has successfully been attached before pressing the send button.
Wait Patiently
Avoid bombarding them with reminders or you can get blocked. If it has been more than 24 hours since they responded, you can send them a reminder.
Remember that some professors might not check their work emails on weekends and holidays. You must therefore be patient.
If you haven’t heard from them in a while, you can also go to their office. If you are going to give them reminders, you should be careful how frequently you do so.
Act Early
Don’t wait till the last minute to contact the professor. If you know beforehand that you won’t be able to make it for the exam, you should bring this to their attention.
If you miss the exam, you can alert them as soon as you can. Don’t wait till weeks after the exams to request a makeup test. They’d most likely ignore you if you wait too long.
Clear Subject Line
Don’t forget to include a subject in your email if you want a response. Professors receive loads of emails daily and subject lines help them identify urgent emails so they can quickly respond.
It makes it easy for them to understand the content of your email without spending too much time reading the full body of your email, which saves them a lot of time.
Example:
Request for Make-Up Exam
End Formally
Thank them for their time and consideration as you close the email. If you didn’t specify them in the email’s introduction, provide your full name, class, and section information.
Example:
Thank you
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section}}
How To Find Your Professor’s Email
So how do you find the professor’s email address if this is the first time, you’re reaching out to them?
School Website
Check your faculty page on the school website. These pages usually include information about professors including their official contact information.
Course Overview (LMS)
If your school uses some form of learning management system (LMS) you can check the course overview page for the professor’s assigned course.
You’ll find the professor’s official contact details on the course overview pages.
Course Syllabus
You can also check out the professor’s syllabus for their contact information. You’ll usually find the professor’s contact information as well as their attendance policies on the course syllabus.
Other Students
You’re most likely not the only student who had to email the professor at some point. So, you can ask your classmates for the professor’s email.
Even if none of them has it, you can be sure that someone will provide some advice on where they may have seen it along the line.
Sample Email To Professor Asking For Make-Up Exam
Template 1: Request Make-Up Exam For Already Completed Exam
Email Subject
Request For Make-Up Exam
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I hope this email finds you well. My name is {{Your name}} and I’m in your {{Class title}} class that meets on {{Meeting days}}. I was unable to make it for the recent {{Class title}} exam due to {{Reasons}}.
I would be grateful for an opportunity to make up for missing the exam. If possible, can you let me know the procedure for scheduling make-up tests? I am well-prepared and ready to take the test whenever possible.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
Template 2: Requesting Make-Up Exam For Already Completed Exam
Email Subject
Request For Make-Up Exam
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I am writing to request a make-up exam for the {{Class title}} exam which was administered on {{Date of test}}. Unfortunately {{Reasons}}, I was unable to make it in time for the exam.
I am aware that not all classes may allow for make-up exams, but I would appreciate the chance to make up for this missed opportunity. I am well-prepared and ready to take the exam whenever possible.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
Template 3: Requesting Make-Up For An Exam You Will Miss
Email Subject
Request For Make-Up Exam
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I am writing to inform you that I will not be able to make it for the scheduled {{Class title}} exam due to {{Reasons}}. I understand that it’s my responsibility to show up for every exam but I would be grateful for an opportunity to make up for missing the exam.
If possible, can you let me know the procedure for scheduling make-up tests? I will be available to take the test anytime from {{Availability time}}.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
