: How do I explain personal details to my professor without being inappropriate? I am writing an email to my professor in hopes that I can make up an exam that I missed. I missed the exam under

@Nimeshi163

Posted in: #Email #Letter #Vocabulary

I am writing an email to my professor in hopes that I can make up an exam that I missed.
I missed the exam under fairly extreme circumstances, catching the flu and not being aware it was on that day, so I feel like I have a case to make. But the syllabus states that no make up exams are allowed, which makes me feel like adding personal pleas is my only hope. But I am also afraid that it might hurt my case more than help it.
This is my draft, as a starting point:

Hello,
This is XXXX from your Tue/Thu mornings Speech class. I came down with the flu last week and unfortunately I was too sick to attend class. I opened D2L today and was shocked to see that I missed the midterm.
Looked at the syllabus and I was horrified to find that the midterm is worth 20% of the final grade, which means that the highest possible grade for me is most likely a C, or a B only if I get 100% on everything.
It would mean a lot to me if you were to give a small extension to the exam, even for partial credit or a more difficult version of the test. I desperately need to get an A in all my classes this semester. I am planning to transfer to XXXX University to study Mathematics, and they have a very strict in their acceptance process. Until 2015 I was sort of a bad student with not the greatest GPA, which meant that my chances of getting into XXXX were non-existent. However ever since last summer I have been getting only A's in all my classes, and I am hoping that a string of straight A's will give me a chance to get into XXXX.

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@Sarah872

@Sarah872

Personally, I think adding too many details harms your case --it makes you sound like someone who habitually searches for excuses rather than someone who experienced a valid, one-time emergency. Therefore, I would initially go with the simplest reasoning:


This is XXXX from your Tue/Thu mornings Speech class. I came down with the flu last week and was too sick to attend class the day of the midterm. While I understand that you do not generally allow makeups, I hope you will make an exception due to the medical nature of my absence.


If the request was denied, I would follow up with:


Is there any possibility I can do additional make up work to compensate for missing the exam? I desperately need to get an A in all my classes this semester. I am hoping to transfer to XXXX University to study Mathematics, and they have a very strict GPA requirement in their acceptance process.


You want to stick as closely as possible to your strongest reasons.

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