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Ask a teacher for an extension the right way

Practice: Getting the tone right. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You're Maya Ortiz, a junior in Mr. Delgado's Period 3 Chemistry class. Debate regionals overlap your lab report deadline, so you need to email him for an extension. He hates long emails: put the request, for the latest new due date his policy allows, in the first sentence after the greeting, keep it to at most 3 sentences, plain text, no subject line (you'll type that yourself), and sign with your name and class period. Write a prompt that gets that email.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Just saying "write an email". The AI writes a long, polite email full of warm-up lines, which is the opposite of what Mr. Delgado asked for. Try: Add: "At most 3 sentences. Put the request in the first sentence after 'Hi Mr. Delgado,'."
  • Not checking the policy's date. The AI copies the wish in your notes (a full week), or counts Monday even though there's no school that day. Try: Say the date: "Ask for Tuesday, Oct 21, the latest the policy allows since Monday has no school."
  • Letting it pad the email. AI emails default to 'I hope you're well', an apology and a long thank-you, which buries the request. Try: Add: "Exactly 3 sentences: the request, the reason, a short thank-you."
  • Leaving a subject line and placeholders. AI adds a 'Subject:' line and signs off with [Your Name], which you'd have to clean up before sending. Try: Add: "No subject line. Sign it Maya Ortiz, Period 3."
  • Getting formatting in an email. AI often bolds the subject or key dates, which shows up as asterisks when pasted. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Puts the request first
  • Names the new date
  • Limits the sentences
  • Skips the subject line
  • Gives the sign-off

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