Look at the emails below in the order given when your teacher tells you to. Each one has one more mistake than the previous one, including all the kinds of the errors of the previous emails plus one different one. Identify and correct the errors each time.
Email 1
Dear Alex
Thanks for your class on Tuesday. It should really help me with the paper I am working on.
Please find attached last week’s homework. I could not find any line graph related to my topic, so I had to choose something rather random.
I would like to do this week’s homework, too. Please let me know the topic.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Hendrik
Email 2
Dear Alex,
Thank you for your reply.
I am sorry that I am sending the essay so late.
I just came back from Thailand yesterday and I was not able to send it earlier.
I was not really sure if I understood your instruction for the assignment, but in the attached essay I explained about the fundamental terms which appear in my research area.
Will you check it?
See you in the next class.
Best regards,
Gregorio
Email 3
Dear Alex
I’m sorry for missing the last class.
Would you please let me know the homework for this week?
I’ll try to email the previous homework beforehand.
Have a lovely day.
Warm regards
Frederique
Email 4
Dear Alex,
I’m afraid I will have to miss today’s class due to another engagement.
Kindly let me know the homework for the next class.
Thank you in advance.
Regards
Ignacio
Email 5
Dear Professor Case Sorry for not attending your last class.
I’d like you to tell me how to prepare to attend this week’s class. Best regards,
Elizabeth
Email 6
Dear Mr. Case
Sorry for my absence in the last class.
I will send you my homework which I intended to turn in two weeks ago.
I would appreciate it very much if you could correct it.
I also heard from a classmate that we are going to have a test in the next class.
Would you kindly let me know some details about the test?
Sincerely,
Catherine
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Hints
Email 1
One mistake – Command rather than request
Email 2
Two mistakes – Command rather than request and starting new lines inside paragraphs
Email 3
Three mistakes – Command rather than request, starting new lines inside paragraphs and not giving reasons
Email 4
Four mistakes – Command rather than request, starting new lines inside paragraphs, not giving reasons and inconsistent commas
Email 5
Five mistakes – Command rather than request, starting new lines inside paragraphs, not giving reasons, inconsistent commas, and no closing line
Email 6
Six mistakes – Command rather than request, starting new lines inside paragraphs, not giving reasons, inconsistent commas, no closing line, and no paragraphing.
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PDF version for easy saving and printing: Academic emails More and more errors game
Related pages
Alternative error correction techniques blog post
Teaching Emailing: Interactive Classroom Activities (over 300 pages of photocopiable materials)
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