Blurb:

This chapter is the first of two related chapters on repair work. Chapter Six focuses specifically on apologies and Chapter Seven on excuses, both examples of types of repair. Apologies are analyzed in Chapter Six in light of the notion of ‘face’. Previous work on apologies (Olshtain & Cohen, 1983) frames the analysis of these students’ e-mail apologies. Accordingly, students’ actual expressions of apology, explanations of their own situations, acknowledgements of responsibility, offers of repair and promises of forbearance are explored in detail. Meier’s (1997) three supercategories are compared with Olshtain & Cohen’s (1983) five formulas in the context of student e-mail repair work. This chapter closes with specific pedagogical implications and areas of future research related to apologies.