<p>How do you address a lab instructor in an email? I have their name, and I'm 75% sure she's a TA but I'm not quite certain how to address her in an email. For professors, I generally go Hello/hi Professor ____. What would i substitute in for professor in this case?</p>
<p>eh i would just go: Hello, and leave out the professor or ta’s name</p>
<p>I would go with</p>
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<p>So for example</p>
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<p>If your lab instructor is a grad student TA, first name is usually fine. If they have a PhD, “Professor X” is the safest choice. </p>
<p>If you are unsure about an instructor’s academic rank, the directory on the department website will probably tell you.</p>
<p>Address her the same way as is done in the lab.<br>
If you have never addressed her and have not paid attention to how others address her, ask classmates.<br>
If no one has addressed her, Google her on your school’s site to see if she has been written about there (for example, an article that quotes her may say “Miss Jones …”).
If all that fails, engage her in small talk and ask her, suggesting “Miss Jones” if she has no wedding ring and “Ms. Jones” if she does. That will show you care to get it right and that you respect her enough to address her formally as a teacher.
If you must send the e-mail before talking with her, and all else fails, use her entire name, as in “Dear Jane Jones.” It sounds weird, but is the proper way. In your e-mail, tell her it sounds weird, is the proper way, and ask what she prefers in the future.</p>
<p>If they’re not a professor I just go with Mr./Ms. , works in any instance.</p>
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<p>Actually “Ms. Jones” is neutral and what you should go with if you don’t know whether or not she’s married. Miss is unmarried, Mrs. is married. Plus, just because she does or does not have a ring doesn’t mean she’s married. My mom didn’t wear a ring for about the first 15 years she was married to my dad. I’ve also noticed more unmarried people wearing jewelry on their wedding fingers. This is just a general note- go with Ms unless you learn decisively otherwise :).</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas, I used the Hi, I had a question about… and didn’t mention their name. So I guess it worked out. The lab instructor signed the response email with her name, so I guess I’ll use that if I have any more inquiries.</p>
<p>“Ms.” is not neutral. If she is married, it is wrong.
You say she signed the e-mail with her name and you will use that in the future. You don’t say how she signed. If she signed “Mrs./Miss/Ms. Jones” or “Jane,” you are fine. If she signed “Jane Jones,” you still have the problem.
If you still have the problem, ask her.</p>
<p>beo, I’m really not sure where you’re getting your info from, but you’re wrong. Ms. most certainly IS neutral. It’s short for Mistress which is used to refer to any woman regardless of marital status.</p>
<p>Ms. is the default form of address, unless you know positively that a woman wishes to be addressed as Mrs.</p>
<p>[Guide</a> to Addressing Correspondence](<a href=“http://www.emilypost.com/forms-of-address/titles/96-guide-to-addressing-correspondence]Guide”>http://www.emilypost.com/forms-of-address/titles/96-guide-to-addressing-correspondence)</p>