Asking for a reference
You need a reference from a teacher who has about two hundred students. The deadline is in three weeks.
What makes them most likely to say yes?
Life Skills · Prepare · Grades 9 to 12
Chapter 4: Communication
Say who you are, what you want, and by when.
Say who you are, what you want, and by when.
2 situations to decide. There is often more than one good answer: pick one and see what happens.
Asking for a reference
What makes them most likely to say yes?
Something has gone wrong
What do you write?
Most emails go unanswered because the reader could not tell what was being asked, or the answer would take too long to write.
Who you are, what you want, why you are asking them, and by when. Four lines is usually enough.
"Question about Thursday’s deadline" gets opened. "Hi" gets left.
Offer two times rather than asking when suits. Attach the thing rather than saying you can send it. Every step you remove makes a reply likelier.
These ones do have right answers.
Tap the parts in the order they should appear.
You are asking a teacher for a reference.
Question 1 of 2
Which is the better subject line?
Question 2 of 2
You have had no reply after a week. What do you do?
Something to do away from the screen. Nobody is checking.
Why: The cutting is the exercise. Almost every unanswered email is too long.
This is one of the highest-return practical skills in the whole subject. Students who can write a clear request get help, extensions and opportunities that equally capable students do not.
Worth writing one together the first time, then having them write the next one alone. It is a format skill and it transfers immediately.
Following up without apologizing excessively is a distinct sub-skill. Many young people either never follow up or open with a paragraph of apology.