Your classmates could end up being important business contacts as you all progress through your careers. Of course, this also means you might be asked for favors that you’re not comfortable giving, such as providing recommendations for someone whose skills or other attributes you don’t admire. Choose a person who was in a course you recently took and imagine that a few years after graduation he or she texts you with a request for a job recommendation letter. You’ve kept in touch socially, at least online, and would like to continue to do so, but your memory of this person’s professional potential is more negative than positive. (Make up any combination of negative traits, such as failing to contribute to team projects, giving up quickly in the face of adversity, struggling to understand basic concepts, or other limitations.)

Your task: You’ve decided to decline the request, so now you must figure out how to phrase your response. Draft a message that you could send in this scenario, making up any information you need. Don’t use the person’s real name, and don’t include any information that your instructor or anyone else could use to identify the person, but imagine that you are in fact writing to this individual. You’re on a compatible mobile service that doesn’t limit the length of text messages, but remember that your message will be read on a small mobile screen. Email your response to your instructor.