Email Studio: Email: Asking a Librarian for Sources
Core · about 7 minutes · aim for 100-150 words.
Your task
You are writing a research paper and need help finding academic sources. Write an email to a university librarian, Ms. Thompson.
Your email must:
- Explain what kind of sources you are looking for
- Ask whether the library has them or can order them
- Ask how to access the materials once they are available
0 words · target ≈ 100-150 words
Model email & full-answer points — after writing
Subject: Help Finding Sources on Urban Green Spaces
Dear Ms. Thompson,
I am a graduate student in urban planning, and I am writing a research paper on how urban green spaces affect residents' mental health. I am looking for recent academic journal articles on this topic, especially studies published in the last five years that compare different cities.
I have searched the library catalog, but I found only a few relevant articles, and two of them are not available in full text. Does the library subscribe to any other databases that I should search? If the articles I need are not in the collection, is it possible for the library to order them through interlibrary loan?
Finally, could you tell me how I would access these materials once they become available? For example, would I receive an email with a download link, or should I check my library account?
Thank you for your assistance.
Kind regards,
James Okafor
A full answer must
- Identify your field and research topic so the librarian can target the search
- Specify what you need precisely (type of source, date range, focus)
- Mention what you have already tried before asking for help
- Cover the ordering question and the access question separately
- Keep questions clear and numbered by idea, not piled into one sentence
Self-evaluation checklist — the 10-point review
Automated checks on this page (length, variety, linking words) are practice feedback only — not an official TOEFL score.