SAMPLE FRIENDLY LETTER AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITING THE LETTER
1730 Mears Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45230 September 4, 2003
Dear Class,
This is an example of the way a friendly letter should be written. Notice that the heading of my letter is the school address and the date. The greeting is “dear class”. The next six paragraphs are called the body of the letter. At the end of the letter, you will see a closing that says “Sincerely”, and then you will see my signature. This letter that you will write to me over Your Book will contain all of these parts. You will get one point for each part you do correctly. You will also have to include an opening paragraph that lists the title of your book, and the author. Remember to underline the title. Tell me how many pages are in your book and what page you are currently on. The next paragraph should be a brief summary of the book. Be sure that you put the summary into your own words. Please do not think that copying the back of the book will work. For one thing, I will know, and also, you usually don’t have to write that much. This paragraph must be at least five sentences long and is worth five points. Your next five paragraphs should each address a different question from the reading letter question list found on the other side of this sheet. Each of the paragraphs is worth five points. First, make sure you choose a question that you can answer thoughtfully; no simple yes and no answers. Make sure that your answers are written as statements that would seem natural in a letter. Also, make sure that you use examples from the book to justify your answers (cite these examples with quotes and page numbers). Remember I want evidence that you have read this book and understand it. This is the most important part of your grade for this letter. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, three examples and a summary statement (TS+3EX+SS). You will then need to write me a closing paragraph that includes your general feelings toward the book, and a recommendation either for or against my reading the book. The recommendation should include why you feel this way. Remember to again use examples from the book to justify your opinion. By the time you are finished, you will have a total of eight paragraphs in your letter. You should have at least one full page written. Remember, a paragraph is NOT just one or two short sentences. Also, remember that neatness counts. Letters must be written neatly in cursive handwriting and in BLUE or BLACK ink. Please take this assignment seriously. You are expected to do this, and the letter is a writing grade. I hope this letter will serve as a guide to you as you work on your end of the book assignment. Good luck! If you lose this letter, your example questions, or check sheet, please ask for a new one. In order to do your letters correctly, you will need these items. Sincerely,
Ms. R. Swantko
READING LETTER QUESTIONS KEEP THIS PAPER IN YOUR NOTEBOOK You may pick from this list of questions to help you write a response to your reading.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.
What character(s) was/were your favorite? Why? What character(s) did you dislike? Why? Does anyone in this work remind you of anyone you know? Explain. Are you like any character in this work? Explain. If you could be any character in this work, who would you be? Explain. What quality(ies) of which character strikes you as a good characteristic to develop within yourself over the years? Why? How does the character demonstrate this quality? Overall, what kind of feeling did you have after reading a few paragraphs of this work? Midway? After finishing the work? Do any incidents, ideas, or actions in this work remind you of your own life or something that happened to you? Explain. Do you like this piece? Why or why not? Are there any parts of this work that were confusing to you? Which parts? Why do you think you got confused? Do you feel there is an opinion expressed by the author through this work? What is it? How do you know this? Do you agree? Why or why not? Do you think the title of this work is appropriate? Is it significant? Explain. What do you think the title means? Would you change the ending of this story in any way? Tell your new ending? Why would you change it? What kind of person do you feel the author is? What makes you feel this way? How did this work make you feel? Explain. Do you share any of the feelings of the characters in this work? Explain. Sometimes works leave you with the feeling that there is more to tell. Did this work do this? What do you think might happen? Would you like to read something else by this author? Why or why not? What do you feel is the most important word, phrase, passage or paragraph in this work? Explain why it is important? Would you ever want to read this book again? Why or why not? What are the best parts of this section? Why? What are the worst parts of this section? Why? What parts of this book seem most believable? Why? What parts seem unbelievable? Why? What would you and your favorite character talk about if you were to meet? What questions might you ask? Why those questions?
READING LETTER CHECK SHEET POINTS POSSIBLE POINTS EARNED 1 point possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 5 points possible 5 points possible 5 points possible 5 points possible 5 points possible 5 points possible 5 points possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 1 point possible 2 points possible 50 POINTS
CATEGORY Heading Greeting Title-1st paragraph Title Underlined-1st paragraph Author listed-1st paragraph Pages in Book-1st paragraph Pages Read this week-1st paragraph 2nd Paragraph-Brief Summary 3rd Paragraph- 1st question addressed 4th Paragraph- 2nd question addressed 5th Paragraph- 3rd question addressed 6th Paragraph- 4th question addressed 7th Paragraph- 5th question addressed 8th Paragraph – Closing paragraph Closing Signature Minimum One page Overall Appearance Examples cited TOTAL POINTS