: Is the phrase “You are requested†polite or rude? I along with my guide wrote a research publication, which had to be sent to a journal for the purpose of review. My professor wrote the
I along with my guide wrote a research publication, which had to be sent to a journal for the purpose of review. My professor wrote the cover letter of the paper as follows:
Dear Editor in Chief
You are requested to review the paper "Title of the paper"....
Thanks
This cover letter is from the authors of the research paper (me and my supervisor) to the Editor-in-chief of the journal, requesting that our paper be reviewed.
To me, this seems a very impolite way of beginning a cover letter addressed to an Editor-in-chief who is much higher in rank and position than us. On the other hand, we are mere authors of the paper. I believe that a phrase like "You are requested" is used by a top authority to those below it, or when both the writer and reader are at the same rank. Does the phrase "You are requested" seem impolite, when it is written to an authority much higher than you (i.e. by a mere author to an editor-in-chief of a journal), or is it fine?
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I would say it 'sounds' pretentious for this reason—
"you ARE requested" uses the 'passive voice' – which talks about 'state'*, over action. This implies that an [perhaps] authority** other than the speaker/writer has issued an outstanding request; it removes the human agency from the request by removing the issuer of the request from the explicit statement.
Instead, try: "I request..." or the more deferential "I would request". It becomes clear, without pretense or much [frothy] implication, who requests.
* the state of BEING requested
** or else, why would anyone care who issued the request, if that issuer falls below the threshold of authoritative? The delivery of the statement itself implies the there-presupposed significance of the issuing authority.
Dictionary defines to request as to politely or formally ask for something. So by definition it is not rude.
You request things from your seniors ("Boss, here is my leave request"). If there is a problem it stems from the passive voice.
"I request that you review my paper" is unequivocally polite but "you are requested" leaves some ambiguity, has the request been made by someone who has authority over the reviewer rather than by the author? Or perhaps it is actually humble, "far be it from me to ask that you review my paper, I dare not even mention myself in the request"
I suspect that no offence would be taken by the editor.
"You are requested", in general usage, gives the impression you are ordering someone to do something, albeit in an oblique way. It's similar to the usage of "With all due respect..." It sounds neutral, but everyone knows (enough that jokes about it are common) that what follows that phrase is probably not going to be respectful in the least. If you look at suggested cover letters for writers to submit to editors, for example, they'll say things such as "I’m submitting this to be considered for publication...".
The editor knows what their job is; "You are requested to review..." sounds like you're telling them what it is.
"Why thank you author. Until you told me to review this paper you are submitting, I had no idea that I reviewed papers people submit."
ADDENDUM
Just as a test, I asked my wife what her reaction would be if she received an message from someone she works with (she works for a government department) that began "You are requested to do..." something. Her direct quote was that she'd be tempted to tell the person to "Fuck off." She said she would have seen it as someone ordering her to do something. My co-workers whom I asked gave the same sort of response; if it came from a superior, it was a thinly disguised order. If from someone else, it was trying to tell them to do something with a veneer of false politeness.
As an academic myself, I write
We submit our paper, "title of paper", for your review.
In the end I think editors don't care or bias their treatment either way, they deal with numerous submissions from people with many native languages writing English as a second or third language, and they are themselves intellectuals, they aren't going to let petty emotions of rank get in the way of providing a good paper in their journal.
"You are requested" does sound a bit commanding. Perhaps "you have been requested" would fit better, as it is a passive phrase that removes some of the causation from the request. It's a common way to remove blame from the person talking -- such as the classic "mistakes were made" phrase that's often used in political situations to derive attention away from the person speaking.
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