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introduction
In this section you will find recommendations on the types of structures and expressions you can use to write your request to adapt it to the communicative situation.
Please, notice that most of the sample requests provided will appear decontextualised, but in a real email they would appear after the opening lines and before the closing lines, and together with more information [some of which will be covered in the Politeness Strategies section].
Finally, remember that these are just different options you can use to write your requests. They will be particularly useful if you don't have a lot of experience writing this kind of emails to faculty.
Before we start
How many structures do you already know to make (polite) requests?
How direct or indirect are they?
Are all of them questions?
Do you use specific structures depending on the communicative situation?
Do you know any specific words that can be included in your sentence to make your request sound more polite or less demanding?
There are a variety of structures that we can use to make polite requests and to adapt such requests to the level of imposition and the social distance of a particular communicative situation.
For example, as the level of imposition increases, we should avoid certain structures (such as the use of the present tense 'Can') because they may give the impression that we assume that the instructor will comply with our request. In turn, we should favour expressions that imply that the instructor has the possibility not to comply with our request, or that they can comply with our request only if they are willing to.
Let's see some examples:
Consider the following situation: Your instructor has mentioned a website in class that has information that can be really useful for your group project. You did not write down its name and now you can't remember it. You want to work on the project during the weekend, so you write an email to your instructor to ask them for the website’s name.
How do you imagine your request would be?
Would you use a question?
Which kind of verb would you use? Why?
HINT: Think about the level of imposition: Is it a reasonable request? How much time and/or effort does it require?
In the interactive activity below you will start thinking about how different request structures may be more or less appropriate depending on the situation.
In the example above, the student is asking for information. This is a very typical type of request, and it usually presents low levels of imposition. However, some requests for information may be more imposing that others.
Consider the following situation: You handed in your group project two weeks ago and your classmates and you are quite anxious about your grade. You know your instructor is really busy; she has to grade around thirty projects in addition to keeping up with her other duties. However, as the holiday break is approaching and you really want to know you grade, you decide to write her an email.
What is the level of imposition of your request? How would you phrase your request?
You can explore different options for this request for information in the activity below:
As you have seen in the activities above, the kind of structure we choose to phrase our request will depend on the specific communicative situation.
Structures that are perfectly adequate for lower imposition requests may sound impolite in high imposition situations.
Structures that are adequate for high imposition requests may feel overly polite in lower imposition situations.
Directness
One of the aspects that affect our perception of a request is how direct they are. The more direct a request is, the more your interlocutor will perceive it like a command instead of a request.
In English, verbs in the present tense are perceived as more direct than verbs in the past tense. Simple forms of the verb are perceived as more direct than continuous forms of the verb.
In addition, the passive voice is also perceived as less direct than the active form of verbs, because it moves the focus of attention from the interlocutors to the actions.
more direct
Present tense (e.g., can, want)
Simple forms (e.g., I wonder, I hope)
Active voice (e.g., if you can grant me an extension)
more indirect
Past tense (e.g., could, would, wanted)
Continuous forms (e.g., I was wondering, I was hoping)
Passive voice (e.g., if the deadline could be extended)
In the activity below you will find a series of requests. Try to order them from more direct to more indirect.
Questions and statements
As you have seen in the activities above, we can phrase our polite request either as a question or as a statement. Below you will find different structures you can use in each case.
Questions
Questions are the prototypical structure for requests. However, when we are writing emails to instructors we have to be aware of the forms that are considered most adequate. Past forms of the verbs are always preferred and perceived as more polite.
a. Could you…?
Questions that start with the modal verb could are frequent in low and medium imposition requests. 'Could' emphasizes ‘possibility’; that is, you don’t assume the instructor will comply with your request.
Could you give me access to the online learning platform? (request for action)
Could we be the last group to present our project tomorrow? (request for permission)
The word ‘possibly’ can be added before the main verb to make the request more polite, emphasising even more the idea of possibility instead of certainty.
Could you possibly tell me if the optional test is available yet?
b. Would you like… / Would you mind if...?
Questions that start with the modal verb would are also preferred to questions in the present tense (which are perceived as much more direct). 'Would you like...' can be used in requests for confirmation, while 'Would you mind if...' is used in requests for permission.
Compare the pairs of questions below:
TOO DIRECT
Do you want me to send it to you by email?
Do you mind if we are the group who presents first in class tomorrow?
PREFERRED
Would you like me to send it to you by email?
Would you mind if we were the group who presented first in class tomorrow?
c. Would it be possible…?
Another way to make the request sound less imposing is to use the impersonal structure ‘Would it be possible...', because it shifts the focus of the sentence from the agents (‘you’ and ‘the instructor’) to the action. In addition, this structure emphasises ‘possibility’, that is, you are not implying that the request will be fulfilled.
FOCUS ON THE AGENTS
Would you grant me an extension?
Would you give me permission to change groups?
FOCUS ON THE ACTION
Would it be possible to get an extension?
Would it be possible to change groups?
Statements
Requests can also be expressed in the form of statements. In order to make these statements sound adequate it is important to use past tenses and continuous forms, as we will see below. These forms emphasise 'possibility' and minimise the imposition of the request.
a. I was wondering if / whether...
The expression in the past continuous ‘I was wondering if / whether’ is perceived as an indirect and polite way to start a request.
I was wondering if... we have to follow any conventions to design the cover of our project.
To adapt our sentence to different levels of imposition or distance, in the second part of the sentence we can use a variety of structures (it would be possible, could, would, past tense, etc.):
I was wondering whether... it would be possible to postpone our oral presentation until next week.
I was wondering if... you would be willing to appear as a reference in my CV.
I was wondering if... you knew of any English summer courses I could attend to improve my language skills before I go abroad.
b. I would...
There are several formulas you can use to start your request that begin with the modal verb would. These are some of them:
I would like to + verb... ask you whether it would be possible to change groups for the next project.
I would [really] appreciate it if... you could help select some bibliography for our final assignment.
I would be [most] grateful if... you granted me a two-day extension.
The first formula, 'I would like to + verb', focuses on what you want or need.
The other two formulas emphasise the fact that you would be thankful if the request was fulfilled. The second part of the sentences is a conditional structure introduced by if, and thus indicates that fulfilling the request is a possibility, something hypothetical, and thus less imposing.
Remember that the second part of the sentence has to be written in the past tense.
These formulas are polite, but they are perceived as slightly more direct than 'I was wondering'.
c. I [just] wanted to + verb...
Although the simple present form ‘I want’ is considered too direct for an email to faculty, starting a request in the past tense version ‘I [just] wanted to + verb’ can be considered appropriate, particularly in low imposition requests you make to instructors you know well.
Examples:
I am writing because I wanted to ask you whether we need to bring our coursebook to class tomorrow.
I just wanted to confirm that submission date for the optional activities is November 3rd.
Note: Using ‘just’ further minimises the strength of the request, as it suggests that it is not really important.
d. I was hoping...
Finally, to express your expectations about something you can use the past continuous form ‘I was hoping…’. It politely expresses (that is, it can be a good substitute for sentences that imply that you need something).
I was hoping... to know the date for our presentation before the holiday break starts.
I was hoping... to get your advice on this matter.
With the activity below you can discover the implied meanings behind some of the expressions we have seen in the section.
Read the email below, where the actual request is missing, and think about the level of imposition of this specific situation.
Is the instructor’s duty to send Elisa the feedback or is it more of a favour?
How much time or effort the action may take?
How would you phrase your request if you were Elisa?
Complete the activity below to decide which requests from the list would be considered appropriate for Elisa's email.
What about 'please'?
Most of us are taught that ‘please’ makes everything sound more polite in English. That is why many students write requests like these ones:
Please write me a recommendation letter.
Please, have a look at my essay.
Can you have a look at my essay please?
As you can see, even though the sentences contain the word ‘please’, they sound very direct:
The first and second ones are commands (orders).
The second one is worded in the present tense (Can), and thus it focuses on the ‘ability’ of the instructor to do something, not on ‘possibility’ or their ‘willingness to do something’. This kind of wording implies that the student has assumed the instructor will comply with the request. Instead, the student could have written, ‘Would it be possible for you to have a look at my essay?'.
How would you rewrite the following real requests written by students?
Here is my essay. Please help me revise it.
Please I need to get your feedback on this.
If possible, please read my essay today.
Please tell me how to proceed.
I want to know the results of the final exam, so please let me know as soon as you can.
Of course, we can add ‘Please’ to sentences that are already worded in a way that is considered indirect and polite.
It should be used with care, though, as it may add urgency to the request. Have a look at these two questions.
Do you need ‘please’ in the second question? Why? Why not?
(1) Could you have a look at my essay, please?
(2) Could you possibly have a look at my essay, please?
Question (2) does not really need the word ‘please’ because it already includes the word ‘possibly’ to minimise the request.
NOTE: ‘Please’ is also considered quite appropriate when it is included as part of the pre-closing line. Example:
Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you need more information concerning this issue.
Complete the activity below to create new, more polite versions of the real requests with 'please' that you read before.
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