Letter Writing

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LETTER WRITING
Performance Standard 3C.I
Each student will write two letters, one an informal letter to a friend, one a business letter to complain about a
problem he/she has encountered. The two letters will be evaluated for format and content accordingly:
Business Letter
Formatting the letter: include the components of the business letter (i.e., return address, date, inside
address, salutation, body, closing, signature); place components (e.g., margins, spacing, paragraphing,
sequence of components) on the page; punctuate components.
Organizing content – Message and Tone: include five required parts of the message (i.e., person addressed,
nature of the problem, how it was discovered, what will satisfy the writer, how to reach writer) in the body;
use formal tone; use appropriate language.
Informal (Friendly) Letter
Formatting the letter: include components of the friendly letter (i.e., date, salutation, body, closing,
signature); place components (e.g., margins, spacing, paragraphing, sequence of components) on the page;
punctuate components.
Organizing content – Message and Tone: include in the body, the parts of the message recorded in the
business letter; use informal tone.
Procedures
1. In order to communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes (3C), students should experience
sufficient learning opportunities to develop the following:
Compose informational writing that supports a topic or thesis statement with well-articulated evidence.
Adjust voice, tone, vocabulary, and grammatical conventions according to both purpose and audience.
Demonstrate the proper format/conventions for business letters.
Convert a formal letter into an informal one (or vice versa).
Use available technology to draft, design, produce, revise, and present compositions and multimedia works
for specified audiences.
2. Have students review and discuss the assessment task and how the rubric will be used to evaluate their work.
3. Students will be familiar with the elements (format, language, style) of an informal (friendly) and a formal
(business) letter.
4. Students will have written several informal and formal letters prior to the assessment.
5. Each student will complete “Letter of Complaint Planning Sheet”.
6. Each student writes a letter of complaint to a company, using a standard business letter format. The letter should
include the description of the problem, how the writer became aware of the problem, and the action which the
writer wants the company to take to solve the problem.
7. Each student then writes an informal (friendly) letter to a friend, telling the friend about the same problem with
the company and explaining what he/she expects the company to do to fix it.
8. Evaluate both letters for proper formatting (i.e., formal (business) style and informal (friendly) style) and for
content appropriate to the perceived audiences.
9. Evaluate each student’s performance using the rubric. Add each student’s scores to determine the performance
level.
Examples of Student Work follow
Resources
Writing materials, including available
technology
Copies of the writing assignment
Time Requirements
Letter Writing Rubric
One to two class periods
ASSESSMENT 3C.I

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