Dear Professor O’Geary & Classmates, It is important to include a greeting in a professional/ academic e-mail message because it’s considered to show a certain level of respect and recognition for the people(s) you are addressing. For example, if you are talking to someone initially you don’t just go up to them and jump into the conversation, you begin by addressing them personally by name or whatever the case is so that they know the conversation is directed towards them. I personally always use Mr., Mrs., and Ms. in my day to day dialog so that is nothing new for me to use. One of the consequences of not including your signature in an e-mail to someone on the professional level, whether a classmate, possible employer, or even professor is that it could be mistaken for being rude. Also even though you might have mentioned your name in the beginning of your message, it just reminds your teacher who the message is from. Proofreading for grammar and spelling errors are important because not only could a misspelling result in your words being misunderstood but also because it’s not appropriate to use slang when talking to someone professional or someone in a professional setting. It is not okay to format an e-mail message the same as you would a text message because it’s just not professional. We are in college now and should be able to speak intelligently to our classmates and such with the proper language. It’s one thing to use slang or abbreviation’s with a friend