LESSON FOUR: Writing a Letter of Recommendation
LESSON DESCRIPTION In this lesson, students write a letter of recommendation. GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS ADDRESSED R3C Use details from the text(s) to analyze and evaluate the author's use of information and logic to express his or her ideas through word choice. W2F In composing text, use a variety of sentence structures. W3E Compose texts for a variety of career and workplace communications (e.g., job application, resume, cover letter, college application essay, thank-you note, follow-up note, forms, project proposal, brochure, and/or concise directions) for various audiences and purposes, selecting and applying appropriate format, style, tone and point of view LESSON MATERIALS Materials o The English Teacher’s Companion excerpts included in the lesson o The Writer’s Workout Book, Art Peterson, 1996 o Sample recommendation letters can be obtained from: www.jobs-matrix.com. On this site, go to Recommendation Letters. It is suggested that letters of recommendation be published works; therefore, use of a computer lab is suggested. o The Communication Arts Glossary is located on-line at: Handouts provided o Formative Assessment Letter Scoring Guide o Sentence Structure Practice Worksheet o Sample Letter of Recommendation
LEARNING ACTIVITIES 1. As a group, students review the elements and format of a letter, using a Sample Letter of Recommendation. Students discuss whom they might ask to write a favorable letter of recommendation. Discuss the following: a. Are there certain individuals whom you would prefer or not prefer to write letters of recommendation for you? Individually, students generate a list of five people they might ask to write a personal letter of recommendation. b. What is the difference between promoting personal accomplishments and bragging? Using the following excerpts from Jim Burke’s The English Teacher’s Companion, consider the differences between literary style and “technical” style. Technical: The brown wooden bookcase held over 300 books, approximately 200 small paperback books, 70 medium size hard-back books, and 50 tall coffee-table books. The five shelves, approximately three feet long, rested in a frame three feet wide by six feet high. Literary: The bookcase groaned under the burden of the heavy, hardbound books lining its shelves. Creaking like an old man arising from his rocker, the old shelves gave up centuries of knowledge as a borrower lightened its load by removing a volume of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. (Work is referenced from The Art of Workplace English: A Curriculum for All Students, Carolyn Boiarsky 1997.) Using the Sample Letter of Recommendation, students select sentences from the letter to analyze and evaluate for sentence structure and lengths for stylistic effects. Reference The Writer’s Workout Book, Art Peterson, 1996 and Jim Burke’s The English Teacher’s Companion for instructional support. Use
2.
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Comparing Stylistic Effects and Sentence Structure in Workplace Writing both as a student handout and overhead example to help revise and experiment with sentence styles and structures. Create as many panels as you find necessary. 3. Discuss with students the following: a. If you asked that a letter of recommendation be written for you, what would you want the writer to say about you? b. Would the type of job for which you applied influence the language or contents of a letter of recommendation? c. Ask students to focus on logic, reasonableness, faulty reasoning, and unfounded inferences. When discussing style with students, use the Communication Arts Glossary of Terms, 1. The characteristics of a work that reflect its author’s distinctive way of writing; 2. The author’s use of language, its effects, and its appropriateness to the author’s intent and theme. Optional: Students write letters of recommendations for one another. Using cooperative grouping, students create a checklist of information that could be included in a letter of recommendation for a job. Using the checklist, students compile personal information for someone to write a letter of recommendation for them. The teacher monitors student checklists to ensure appropriate details are included. Students save this formative assessment artifact for their student job portfolio to be used in the summative assessment.
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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Pretending to be a teacher or former employer, students write their own letter of recommendation for a job, based on the interest inventory and job research completed earlier in the unit. Students should consider word choice and sentence structure. The letter would be included with a job application. Save this artifact for the summative assessment.
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Lesson 4—Comparing Stylistic Effects and Sentence Structure in Workplace Writing Using the following excerpts from Jim Burke’s The English Teacher’s Companion, consider the differences between literary style and “technical” style. Technical: The brown wooden bookcase held over 300 books, approximately 200 small paperback books, 70 medium size hard-back books, and 50 tall coffee-table books. The five shelves, approximately three feet long, rested in a frame three feet wide by six feet high. Literary: The bookcase groaned under the burden of the heavy, hardbound books lining its shelves. Creaking like an old man arising from his rocker, the old shelves gave up centuries of knowledge as a borrower lightened its load by removing a volume of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. (Work is referenced from The Art of Workplace English: A Curriculum for All Students, Carolyn Boiarsky 1997.) Using the sample Letter of Recommendation, students select sentences from the letter to analyze and evaluate for sentence structure and lengths for stylistic effects. Reference The Writer’s Workout Book, Art Peterson, 1996 and Jim Burke’s The English Teacher’s Companion for instructional support. Use the Comparing Stylistic Effects and Sentence Structure graphic organizer to help revise and experiment with sentence styles and structures. Create as many panels as needed.
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Select a sentence or set of sentences from the sample Letter of Recommendation that allow you to focus on sentence structure: noun/verb choice (specifics), consistent tone/details, concise writing (simple/direct).
Sentence Structure Practice
Original Text
Revised Text
Select a sentence or set of sentences that allow you to focus on stylistic effect of workplace writing: bullets, short paragraphs, concise sentences, business letter formatting, and detail selections.
Stylistic Effect Practice
Original Text
Revised Text
Select a sentence or set of sentences from the sample Letter of Recommendation that allow you to focus on sentence structure: noun/verb choice (specifics), consistent tone/details, concise writing (simple/direct).
Sentence Structure Practice
Original Text
Revised Text
Select a sentence or set of sentences that allow you to focus on stylistic effect of workplace writing: bullets, short paragraphs, concise sentences, business letter formatting, and detail selections.
Stylistic Effect Practice
Original Text Revised Text
4.4
Select a sentence or set of sentences from the sample Letter of Recommendation that allow you to focus on sentence structure: noun/verb choice (specifics), consistent tone/details, concise writing (simple/direct).
Sentence Structure Practice
Original Text
Revised Text
Select a sentence or set of sentences that allow you to focus on stylistic effect of workplace writing: bullets, short paragraphs, concise sentences, business letter formatting, and detail selections.
Stylistic Effect Practice
Original Text
Revised Text
Select a sentence or set of sentences from the sample Letter of Recommendation that allow you to focus on sentence structure: noun/verb choice (specifics), consistent tone/details, concise writing (simple/direct).
Sentence Structure Practice
Original Text
Revised Text
Select a sentence or set of sentences that allow you to focus on stylistic effect of workplace writing: bullets, short paragraphs, concise sentences, business letter formatting, and detail selections.
Stylistic Effect Practice
Original Text
Revised Text
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Lesson Four - Five—Formative Assessment Letter Scoring Guide
Criteria Letter Format: proper heading salutation signature closing paragraph indention correct person W3E, CA4, 2.1, 2.6) 3 points Correctly uses all components of letter format. 2 points Correctly uses five to six components of letter format. 1 point Correctly uses three to four components of letter format. 0 points Fewer than three components used correctly.
Use of student created checklist
(W3E, CA4, 1.8, 2.1, 2.6, 4.8)
Student includes pertinent personal and business related information in the letter.
Student includes some personal and professional information, but may need more development in this area.
Student includes little relevant information. May include irrelevant information.
Letter is incomplete.
Tone
Tone is appropriate for the type of letter.
(W3E, CA4, 2.1, 2.6, 4.8) Sentence Structure Sentence structure is appropriate for the type of letter.
Some effort has been made to establish a proper tone for the letter. The tone may be inconsistent at times.
Little attention has been paid to tone. Tone may be relatively conversational or inconsistent.
Tone is completely inappropriate. Student demonstrates a lack of understanding of the assignment.
Some effort has been made to structure sentences appropriately.
(W2F, CA1, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2)
Little attention has been paid to sentence structure. Sentences are structured in nearly all the same fashion.
Sentence structure is completely inappropriate. Student demonstrates a lack of understanding of the assignment
John Smith
14 Church Street · Everytown, MN 80511 · 555-555-5555 · johnsmith@monster.com
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May 15, 2006
Mary Jones General Manager Happy Hollow Grocery Store 789 Oak Street Everytown, Minnesota 80511 Dear Ms. Jones: I am pleased to write to you on behalf of John Doe, who is applying for a job to work at your grocery store. I have known John for two years. He did yard work for me for two summers. More recently, John worked for me at the Corner Drug Store. John was an energetic yard worker and a great employee at the Corner Drug Store. He was always on time, cheerful, and friendly to the customers. He helped to stock the shelves and assisted me at the checkout station. John was a loyal and hard worker. For example, he stayed past his regular closing time several times to help sweep the floor. John can use the valuable skills he learned at the Corner Drug Store in the job that he is applying for at your store. In addition, he is eager to learn new skills that will build on those he learned at the Corner Drug Store. In my view, as someone who has supervised John, he would be a valuable employee for your store. John is an independent self-starter. While he has no trouble working in groups, or interacting with others, he can also work well on his own. Furthermore, he is mature and personable. I would expect him to perform well in any retail environment. In fact, his personality and skills should take him a long way in his career. I strongly hope that you will consider his application. Sincerely,
John Smith Store Manager Corner Drug Store
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