Most cold emails are deleted unread, not because they're badly written but because the reader is skimming a full inbox in seconds. This course spends twelve weeks on the specific failures that get an email ignored, unopened, or reported.
This course is more informally known as "Nobody Owes You a Reply".
What you will do
Twelve weeks, each built around one specific way a cold email fails: a vague ask, a subject line that hides its own point, a follow-up that costs the reader twice for nothing. Each week's Weekly Sync puts that week's idea to work on a real email, so the practice keeps pace with the teaching. A midterm teardown asks you to find ten problems yourself, with no lecture pointing you to them, and the semester ends with a one-page personal doctrine on what makes an email worth sending, defended against one you'd actually send yourself.
Course structure
Runs in Semester 1, 2027 only. No prerequisites. Each week pairs a one-hour lecture (Mondays, 11am–12pm, Sloppy Slop Slop Building, Rm 7.09) with a one-hour Weekly Sync, for two contact hours a week. Graded CRS (pass/fail); it does not count toward GPA.
| Block | Theme | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Principles | 1–4 |
| 2 | The Reader's Economics | 5–8 |
| 3 | Scale, Craft and the Law | 9–12 |
There are three assessments. See the assessment page for the brief and due dates of each.
Weekly Sync timetable
Each Weekly Sync is run by one of the three tutors:
Weekly Syncs work like tutorials: attendance is mandatory and required to pass the course. The exercises done in each sync build directly on that week's lecture and feed into the assessments, so keeping up with them is critical to doing well.
| Tutor | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tucker Vance | Tuesday | 2pm–3pm |
| Oliver Bennett | Wednesday | 10am–11am |
| Wei Chen | Thursday | 4pm–5pm |
If you have a question, email SLOP3089@slop.university or use the Canvas page.
Who it is for
Anyone who has to get a stranger to read something and reply: founders doing outbound, students emailing for a reference or a chance at a role, anyone tired of writing "I hope this finds you well" and meaning none of it. No prior coursework is assumed. What's assumed is that you've sent an email that never got a reply and would like to know why.
Where to go next
Lectures
The full teaching content, week by week.
Weekly Syncs
The tutor-led hour and exercises attached to each week's lecture.
Assessment
What is marked, what it is worth, and when it is due.
Policies
Extensions, academic integrity and the rest of the fine print.
People
Who teaches the course and how to reach them.
Students' Union
Independent help with academic integrity issues and anything you'd rather not raise with us directly.