Writing an Email to a Professor: Attending an External Lecture

Situations for Sending an Email to Professor

In TOEFL Writing Part 2, some questions ask you to write an email to a professor. In this scenario, you may be asked to make a request in an academic context, ask questions, or share updates on the progress of an academic project.

Since a professor is not your friend, you need to maintain a formal tone when writing the email, unless otherwise specified.

Creativity Tends to Be Important

When you are asked to write an email to a professor, TOEFL often provides only limited information or context. This means you need to use your creativity to develop details such as your current situation, any issues you have encountered, and updates on the project you are working on.

Maintain Formality

The level of formality in an email depends on the context and the relationship between the sender and the recipient. In TOEFL Writing Part 2, emails addressed to colleagues are generally written for professional purposes. Although colleagues are not strangers, the relationship is typically work-related rather than personal.

For this reason, casual or informal language is usually inappropriate unless the prompt explicitly allows it. Maintaining a clear and professional tone is essential in this task.

Now, let’s try writing an email based on a similar scenario.

Practice Question

Email Prompt

You will read some information and use the information to write an email. You will have 7 minutes to write the email.

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You are taking a course taught by Professor Chen. As part of the class, students are encouraged to attend academic events related to the course topic during the semester. Recently, you learned about a public lecture that seems relevant to what you have been studying in the course.

However, you are not sure whether attending this lecture could count toward the participation requirement for the class.

Write an email to Professor Chen. In your email, do the following:

• Briefly explain the event you found.
• Ask whether attending the lecture could count toward your course participation.
• Ask if there is anything you should do to document your attendance.

Write as much as you can and in complete sentences.

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Your Response:
To: Professor Chen
Subject: Question About Attending an External Lecture for Course Participation

Remember that you only have 7 minutes to complete the task. This means you are not expected to provide an in-depth analysis of the problem or detailed suggestions. Keep your ideas simple and focus on clarity.

Also, since you are writing an email to a colleague, the tone does not need to be overly formal. As long as you avoid highly colloquial expressions, a polite and natural style is enough.

Model Answer

To: Professor Chen
Subject: Question About Attending an External Lecture for Course Participation

Dear Professor Chen,

I recently came across a public lecture hosted by the university’s economics department that focuses on urban development and local policy. Since this topic relates closely to several issues we have discussed in class, I thought attending the event might be a valuable learning opportunity.

I was wondering whether participating in this lecture could count toward the course participation activities mentioned in the syllabus. If so, could you please let me know whether there is a preferred way to document attendance, such as submitting a short reflection or providing proof of participation?

Thank you for your guidance.

Best regards,
Joey

Overall Structure

This response is effective because it clearly follows the three tasks in the prompt:

• Explain the event
• Ask whether it counts toward participation
• Ask how attendance should be documented

The email completes these tasks without adding unnecessary details. This is important in a 7-minute writing task.

Opening

I recently came across a public lecture hosted by the university’s economics department…

The first sentence introduces the situation naturally. Instead of starting with a rigid phrase such as “I am writing to ask…”, the writer explains how he or she learned about the lecture. This makes the email sound more authentic and less mechanical.

The sentence also provides enough context for the professor to understand what the student is referring to.

Connecting the Event to The Course

Since this topic relates closely to several issues we have discussed in class…

This sentence is important because it shows academic relevance. The student is not simply asking for permission; the writer is demonstrating that the event connects to course material.

Asking The Main Question

I was wondering whether participating in this lecture could count toward the course participation activities mentioned in the syllabus.

The phrase “I was wondering whether…” is polite and appropriate for writing to a professor. It softens the request and maintains a respectful tone. The student also refers to the syllabus, which shows awareness of course requirements.

Asking about Documentation

…whether there is a preferred way to document attendance…

This part fulfills the third task. Instead of asking a vague question, the writer provides examples:

• submitting a short reflection
• providing proof of participation

Including examples helps the professor understand exactly what the student is asking.

Closing

Thank you for your guidance.

This short closing works well because it is polite but not overly formal. In a short email task like this, a simple closing is often better than a long one.