E-mail etiquette has become a lost art.

Communication with professors is a vital resource for students when it comes to missed days in class, submitting assignments via e-mail (for those who allow it), and keeping in contact after the quarter ends for letters of recommendation for transferring to four-year institutions.

According to several instructors and their Web sites, many have come to a consensus as to what students should do when you have to get in touch with them via e-mail.

Here are tips to keep the communication flowing unhindered:

Remember to include who you are.

Instructors will want to know from whom the e-mail is coming. Faculty agree on the information students should supply: the student’s full name and the class enrolled in. If this vital piece of the puzzle is ommited, instructors may think the e-mail (the e-mail of utmost importance that has to do with a project that will make or break your grade) is nothing more than spam, which will go unopened, and eventually, thrown in the trash.

Keep the language of your e-mail professional and avoid slang.

Treat e-mails with your professors as those you would have with future employers. Would you want to refer to them as “dawg,” “bro,” or “sister”? The usage of this language reflects negatively on students. Use of this type of vocabulary can make or break a prospective job interview, or in the setting of De Anza College, the likelihood that professors will grant you an extension on that assignment.

If you are interested in a certain class, start a dialogue with the professor.

If, while making your schedule for any subsequent quarter, you find a class that looks interesting to take, but want to know more, e-mail the instructor. Keep the e-mail in line with the aforementioned rules of etiquette and let the instructor know who you are and what you want to know. Simple e-mails like this, most of the time, lay the groundwork for friendships with professors that will last well beyond a college career.