The Leave Letter with Too Many Promises
A Class X student has missed three days of school because of viral fever. She must write a leave letter to the Headmaster. Her first draft begins: 'Respected sir, I am so sorry I cannot come to school because I was sick. Please excuse me for 3 days. I will be very grateful. Yours faithfully, ...' The school rule says leave letters must state dates, reason, and a request for permission; they must not include medical certificates unless attached. The student has a doctor's note but does not want to attach it because it lists her home address. Her parent can sign the letter. She has 80–100 words and wants the tone to be respectful but not servile. A classmate suggests adding 'I assure you this will never happen again' and 'I promise to work twice as hard'. You need to decide what to keep, cut, or change, and how to handle the missing dates without inventing them.
1. Decide whether the classmate's two suggested sentences should go into the letter. Justify your decision by referring to the school rule and the student's purpose.
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Both should be cut. The purpose of a leave letter is to inform the Headmaster of absence and ask permission, not to promise future behaviour. I assure you this will never happen again is a promise the student cannot keep-illness is not fully controllable-and it draws attention away from the request. I promise to work twice as hard is an exaggerated offer that makes the letter sound childish or bargaining. It also adds words without adding information. The school rule asks for dates, reason, and a request; neither sentence supplies these. A brief sentence such as I will make up the missed class work is more relevant, but even that is optional. Keeping the letter respectful and factual is better than adding dramatic assurances.
2. Rewrite the opening two sentences so that they are formal, precise, and not servile. Do not invent dates.
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Original: Respected sir, I am so sorry I cannot come to school because I was sick. Please excuse me for 3 days.
Revised: Respected Sir, I was unable to attend school for three days because of viral fever. I request you to grant me leave for those days.
Reasoning: Respected Sir is the correct formal salutation; sir should be capitalised. I am so sorry I cannot come mixes present inability with past absence and sounds over-apologetic. I was unable to attend states the fact. sick is vague; the confirmed reason is viral fever. 3 days should be three days in formal prose. Please excuse me is acceptable, but I request you to grant me leave is more precise because the letter is a formal request. I do not write actual dates because the setup does not give them; the student must fill them in after checking.
3. The student has a doctor's note but does not want to attach it because it shows her home address. Advise her, considering the school rule and privacy.
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The rule says medical certificates must not be included unless attached, so there is no need to attach it. She can write I can produce a medical certificate if required without enclosing the note. That gives the Headmaster the option to ask for it and protects her address in the ordinary case. If the school later requires the certificate, she can submit it in a sealed envelope or ask the office to note only the medical details. She should not claim I have attached a certificate when she has not. The letter should state the reason and dates, and the parent should sign it as permitted.