Request for Elder at Virtual Meeting: Email Template

Purpose of email and audience analysis

a. Write a short paragraph describing the goal or purpose of your email, who your intended audience is, and how you have analyzed audience need.

b. Read the following scenario and draft an email that makes a request. Your email must be properly formatted and include date, sender, receiver, subject line, greeting, goodwill closing, and complimentary close. Use correct grammar, spelling, sentence structure and punctuation, and either a vertical or horizontal list for details. Identify yourself appropriately.

Scenario:

You are the Chairperson of the TRU Student Leadership Development Committee and are trying to organize an upcoming virtual meeting for your team.

Even though this will be a small, informal meeting, you want your new committee members to be familiar with the practice of making territorial acknowledgements or welcomes at official functions.

Send an email to Thompson Rivers University’s Office of Indigenous Education to request the presence of an Elder at your next meeting. The elder will be asked to explain the importance of land acknowledgements, outline proper procedures, provide some local history, and answer any questions the group might have.

Provide the reader with as much appropriate information as you can think of and organize it logically using a list. Hint: at minimum, the reader needs to know the date, time and place/platform before checking Elders’ availability.

Your contact person at the Office of Indigenous Education is Misty Antoine, Divisional Secretary (receiver) and her email address is [email protected].

You can use your own name and email address as the sender or make one up. Your title is: Chairperson, TRU Student Leadership Development Committee.

*Note: Ms. Antoine is NOT an Elder.

Part 2 Email that Responds

a. Write a short paragraph describing the goal or purpose of your email, who your intended audience is, and how you have analyzed audience need.

b. Read the following scenario and draft an email that responds. Your email must be properly formatted and contain all the necessary elements listed in Part 1 (email that requests).

Scenario:

Now you are the Administrative Assistant for TRU’s Office of Indigenous Affairs. You can use your own name or Misty Antoine as the sender.

Respond to the previous request, stating that you’ve found an Elder who is potentially willing to attend the event, depending on their schedule. Ask for clarification/confirmation of any details that were provided about the meeting and / or ask for any additional information that wasn’t included in the request email.

If you were asked to speak at an event or meeting, what further information do you think you’d need? Try to think of a few details that were either vague or not provided at all. Be creative but realistic.

If you included a comprehensive list of details in your first email and really can’t think of any additional questions, then provide some information or make a request on the elder’s behalf. Use your imagination and try to come up with some realistic questions. Organize them logically in a list.

Your audience is the Chairperson of the TRU Leadership Development Committee (receiver). Make up a fictional name and email address for the audience/receiver.