How do I explain personal details to my professor without being inappropriate?

I am writing an email to my professor in hopes that I can make up an exam that I missed.

I missed the exam under fairly extreme circumstances, catching the flu and not being aware it was on that day, so I feel like I have a case to make. But the syllabus states that no make up exams are allowed, which makes me feel like adding personal pleas is my only hope. But I am also afraid that it might hurt my case more than help it.

This is my draft, as a starting point:

Hello,

This is XXXX from your Tue/Thu mornings Speech class. I came down with the flu last week and unfortunately I was too sick to attend class. I opened D2L today and was shocked to see that I missed the midterm.

Looked at the syllabus and I was horrified to find that the midterm is worth 20% of the final grade, which means that the highest possible grade for me is most likely a C, or a B only if I get 100% on everything.

It would mean a lot to me if you were to give a small extension to the exam, even for partial credit or a more difficult version of the test. I desperately need to get an A in all my classes this semester. I am planning to transfer to XXXX University to study Mathematics, and they have a very strict in their acceptance process. Until 2015 I was sort of a bad student with not the greatest GPA, which meant that my chances of getting into XXXX were non-existent. However ever since last summer I have been getting only A's in all my classes, and I am hoping that a string of straight A's will give me a chance to get into XXXX.

posted about 8 years ago

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Ovi‭

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