I'd put two thumbs up, but I'm typing.

When emailing an instructor, it is helpful to put the course # in the subject line. Include an informative statement about the topic of your email. For example: "ENGL 2101: Question about second assignment" (drop the quotes). Emails without subject lines often get confused for spam and deleted. If you are not using a university email account, it is all the more important to have a clear subject line.

On that latter point, many professors require email to be from a university account. I am relaxed on this issue. Be aware, though, that an address like sexy_thang@hotmail.com does not create a professional impression.

When addressing your instructor, "Dr. X" or "Professor Y" are preferable to "Hiya" or "Yo!"

Email is generally more relaxed than traditional business or professional correspondence. But, business or professional email still needs to be a lot more formal (i.e. polite; well-written) than text messages to your homies. K?

Make your message clear and explanatory. Your instructor talks to a lot of students in a given day, so "I'm writing about what we were talking about" is not always that helpful.

Please include your full name and student # in the body of your email.

Be aware that some email may trigger spam filters and therefore not get delivered. Check with the instructor if you do not receive a reply.

Here is a more detailed discussion (via Terminal Degree).

A Bloggers' Code of Ethics
Be A More Productive Blogger
how to blog
Electronic Frontier Foundation: How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Legal Guide for Bloggers
Blog etiquette

And don't forget your first line of defense, Blogger Help

These posts are written, by definition, by experienced bloggers, but their ideas on how they would do things differently might be of help to those just starting out. Keep in mind that many of these writers are part of a blogging community with a particular emphasis which may or may not be appropriate for you.

(hats off to Sharon at Watermark for the link, and the useful summary. Sharon also writes at Blogging Blog, where you will find lots of great stuff).

Further reading:
Blogging for Beginners: a series of posts from ProBlogger. Much of the emphasis is on gaining a profile and making money, but there are nonetheless some useful tips.

All bibliographical materials ("works cited" pages) and references must be in MLA format.

On-line guidelines:

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

Citing weblog material in MLA format:

Citing a Weblog Entry in MLA Style
Citing a Weblog Comment in MLA Style

More links:

English > Links > MLA Reference Style

Another way of extending the conversation is through your links. You can add or change links manually on your template. You can also use Blogrolling.com, a free program that simplifies adding blogs to your sidebar.

Read lots of other blogs. See what's out there, and what others are doing. Get a sense of a particular community or forum before you leap in, however. Link generously when you post, and when visiting others' blogs, be sure to leave comments. Blogroll your favourites. In no time at all you will find yourself within a vibrant, online community of people with similar interests.

Final note: be sure to credit your sources. Not because you will get nailed for plagiarism -- this isn't an academic assignment. However, you will get nailed for rudeness: the technology enables anyone to see who has linked to what, and if you rip off someone's material without at least a nod, you may hear about it. But if you play nice, people will welcome you into the conversation.

1. Familiarize yourself with Blogger. Visit all the pages; click the buttons. Play around.
2. Use Blogger help. It really is useful when you have a question or problem, and can save you time.
3. You can save your unfinished posts as drafts and come back to them later.
4. To avoid the dreaded lost post, you might want to compose in a word processor and then paste to Blogger, particularly if it is a long piece. (This has the added benefit of allowing you to spell check).
5. Some people save all their posts on their hard drives, just in case.
6. When you start to feel more brave, you can customize the look of your blog, if you feel artistic. Start small: change the colours, say. But if you want to get into it, the sky is the limit. Look what one UNBSJ student did with his Blogger account: you won't find anything like this in the standard templates. If you get interested in design, you might want to look at this site on website usability (thanks to Jertz's Literacy Weblog for the link).