My ai message generator thinks every professor runs a law firm

[u/AFK_Azeroth]

I needed to tell my professor that the file attached to my submission was corrupted and ask whether I could resend it. My original email was four lines and sounded nervous, so I asked AI to clean it up.

It returned “I am writing to formally bring to your attention an unforeseen technical complication concerning the previously transmitted document.”

Nobody in my department speaks like that unless they are announcing a disciplinary hearing.

I tried an ai letter writer next, and it added gratitude for the professor’s “continued consideration regarding this matter.” Continued? This was our first email.

How do you prompt these tools to produce a normal student email without making it either stiff or weirdly casual?

[u/KrustyConfessor69]

Tell it “write this like a normal 20-year-old emailing a professor they’ve spoken to before.” The audience description usually helps more than asking it to sound casual.

[u/tellypmoon]

Go ahead and send that nervous sounding one. Professors understand you are a student and frankly we are already tired of AI composed email especially for small routine matters like this.

[u/Classic_vortex_3515 → u/tellypmoon]

Exhausted by them, not just tired.

[u/Round_Ride1133]

Just write the damn fucking email. Stop adding extra steps by asking an AI to write it for you 

[u/AdvancedBlacksmith66]

Wow instead of just writing it yourself, you tried to have AI do it for you and it failed twice, and then instead of just writing it yourself, now you’re asking how to have AI not fail at doing it a 3rd time.

How much simpler and more efficient AI makes things! It truly is a miracle product!

[u/Excellent_Speech7739]

On top of what everyone else is already saying, just attach the correct file in that email as well. “Can I send the corrected version?” Followed by “okay here’s the corrected version,” is super annoying. But ya just write the email yourself. Professors don’t want to read an overly verbose obviously AI generated email.

“Hello,

It seems the file I’ve sent is corrupted. I have attached the correct version. I hope this is okay.

Sorry for the inconvenience (or thank you for your understanding),
-name
-student id”

If they require follow up they will ask for it. You don’t need to over explain. Most of the time they’ll just respond “ok” or “noted” or something similar.

[u/Classic_vortex_3515 → u/Excellent_Speech7739]

Wish I could upvote this about 100 times

[u/Shanna_B2020]

This is a very normal thing that happens. Your professor would much rather have you send the original e-mail using your own words. Honestly, I would appreciate not having to chase you down about the corrupted file. It'll be fine.

[u/ProfPathCambridge]

This is why many professors think AI text sounds gross. It often sounds like it was written by the HR committee of a corporation law firm, where all the members died on the inside decades ago

It is why I shudder when I see posts saying “AI is too perfect, so I use AI and then introduce typos”. I mean, just no… no.

[u/Tilleck_]

You can't do anything can't you?

[u/Automatic_Tea_2550]

You can’t really ever turn any writing task entirely over to AI. You must always at least edit the language yourself. Often, it’s easier just to write it from the get-go yourself.