Communicating with tutors: exiting conversations

time to complete: 10 minutes

Finally, we will look at some other functions that are useful when exiting a conversation with your tutor. You probably have a set time for your meeting that you have to adhere to, but sometimes you might finish earlier or run over (= take more time than planned). In either case, your tutor will indicate that the tutorial is coming or has to come to an end. Have a look below at some of the things they might say:

So, to exit your conversation with your tutor gracefully, you can express your gratitude, indicate that you need to leave, and make closing remarks:

Indicating what you need to do / where you need to go

  • If you’ll excuse me, I need to…
  • I am heading to a class right now,…
  • I have to get to a meeting by 3:00 p.m., but…
  • Forgive me for being in a rush, but I am really late for an appointment. 
  • I’ve got to get to a seminar by 2:00 p.m. 
  • I have a class at 1:00 p.m., so please excuse me for rushing. 

Adapted from Huang (2010, p.17)

Expressing gratitude

  • Thank you very much for your advice/suggestions.
  • I am very grateful for your advice. 
  • I (greatly) appreciate your guidance. 
  • I really appreciate the time that you have taken to..
  • As always, I appreciate your expert comments and advice. 
  • Thank you for taking the time to read my paper and for your valuable/insightful feedback.
  • Thanks so much for your helpful advice about.. 
  • Thank you once again for taking the time to speak/meet with me today.

Adapted from Huang (2010, p.18)

Closing remarks

  • Thank you again. Bye
  • Thanks again. I’ll see you in class. 
  • I’ll see you soon. Take care.
  • I’ll talk to you in a few weeks. Bye-bye.
  • I’ll be in touch. Goodbye.
  • See you soon. Have a good weekend.
  • Talk to you later. Have a nice day.

Now, complete the following task to do some practice.

Task: Drag and drop the words to rearrange each phrase/sentence into its correct order.