Emailing a Coordinator: Requesting a Timetable Change
A Level 2 student is writing an email to Ms Chen, the international coordinator at a Chinese partner school. The student has been placed in the calligraphy elective, but it clashes with physics on Tuesday afternoon. The student wants to switch to Chinese cooking, which is full but has a waiting list. The coordinator’s earlier email said: “换课申请截止到本周五下午5点，之后不再处理。” It is Thursday. The student has a doctor’s appointment on Friday at 4 p.m., so cannot visit the office in person. The writing task requires 150–200 characters, a formal greeting and sign-off, a clear request, two reasons, and a proposed alternative if the request cannot be met. The student tends to write direct sentences such as “我要换课，因为我有事。” and often omits the greeting. The teacher has also said that the email must mention the deadline so the coordinator knows the student has read the earlier message.
1. Write the opening 2–3 sentences of the email in Chinese: greeting, self-introduction, and request. Explain how the wording shows an appropriate register.
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A suitable opening is: “陈老师：您好！我是二年级三班的李明。不好意思打扰您，我想申请把星期二的书法课换成中文烹饪课，因为书法课和物理课时间冲突。请问现在还可以申请吗？” The greeting uses the surname plus 老师 and 您好, not a bare “你好”. The self-introduction gives class and name so Ms Chen can identify the student without asking. “申请” is more formal than “我要”, and “不好意思打扰您” softens the imposition. The reason is specific (“和物理课时间冲突”), not vague (“我有事”). The question “请问现在还可以申请吗？” acknowledges the coordinator’s authority and the deadline instead of demanding a change. This is the register expected in a school email to a teacher.
2. The student worries that the cooking class is full. Write one sentence proposing an alternative and explain why it is better than demanding a place.
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A suitable sentence is: “如果烹饪课已经满员，能不能先把我放在等候名单上？或者您建议我选其他时间不冲突的课？” This acknowledges the constraint (“已经满员”) and offers two fallbacks: the waiting list and the coordinator’s advice. “能不能” and “或者” make the request negotiable; the coordinator can say no to one option without rejecting the student. A demand such as “你必须让我进烹饪课” would ignore the class limit and damage the relationship. The alternative also shows the student’s main goal is a workable timetable, not a particular class at any cost.
3. Revise this sentence to fit the formal email: “我星期五下午四点要看医生，所以不能去，你帮我换。” Explain two changes and one thing the revision should not lose.
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A suitable revision is: “因为星期五下午四点我要去看医生，恐怕不能亲自到办公室办理，能否麻烦您帮我处理一下？” Two changes: “你” becomes “您”, which marks respect to the coordinator; the bare imperative “你帮我换” becomes “能否麻烦您帮我处理一下”, a question that leaves the coordinator room to decline or propose another route. “恐怕” softens the bad news, and “亲自到办公室办理” is more formal and precise than “去”. The revision should not lose the reason and the time: Friday 4 p.m. doctor’s appointment. It also should not lose the deadline link; a strong version adds “我知道申请截止到星期五下午5点，所以想提前通过邮件申请。”
4. The teacher requires the email to mention the deadline. Write one sentence in Chinese that does this without sounding like a threat, and explain the tone.
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A suitable sentence is: “我知道换课申请截止到本周五下午5点，所以想提前发邮件给您，麻烦您看一下。” It names the deadline accurately and shows the student has read the earlier message, which is what the teacher asked for. The tone is cooperative because “我知道” reports understanding rather than quoting rules back at the coordinator; “想提前发邮件” explains why the student is writing now; “麻烦您看一下” is a polite request. A weaker version would be “你们说星期五5点截止，所以你要马上处理”, which sounds accusatory and treats the deadline as the coordinator’s fault. The sentence should not promise that the student can come in person, because the doctor’s appointment makes that impossible.