Persuasive+Letter

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Return to Term Two Writing Assignments = = =Assignment Sheet:=

Write a business letter persuading someone to allow something to occur or to make a change. The letter will be mailed to that individual, so you will also address an envelope.
 * Assignment Description:**


 * Assignment Requirements:**


 * Written in business letter form—you must follow all business letter conventions
 * If typed, it must be 12 point font, times new roman, double spaced. If handwritten, it must be your best work.
 * Addressed envelope with your return address in the corner and his or her address in the center.


 * Assignment Components**

**Pre-Write:** Use any graphic organizer or outline template found in the file cabinet or online. You may want to use the topic ideas listed below. **1st Draft:** Review the requirements before you write this. Conference with others while writing this. **Self-Edit:** Use the markers, to make changes to your paper **2nd Draft:** Conference with me **Final:** Turn this in with 2nd draft stapled to it. **Publication:** Mail your letter. Give Ms. Madsen the receipt as prove that you mailed it. If you need a stamp, I will give you one.

=Topic Ideas=

1. [School Uniforms] There has been a problem in local schools with discipline and violence. Your school board has decided to institute a school uniform policy in order to cut down on these problems, based on the positive examples that they have seen at other schools. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the school board stating your position on this issue and supporting it with convincing reasons.

2. [Locker Searches/Personal Searches] The principal at your school has instituted random locker and backpack/bookbag searches to check for guns, knives, and other weapons. Anyone caught with these weapons will be immediately suspended. The principal argues that the random searches will not only guard against illegal weapons at school but will also will help students feel safer. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the principal stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

3. [Too Much Homework] Some of the parents at your school have started a campaign to limit the homework that teachers can assign to students. Teachers at your school have argued that the homework is necessary. What is your position? Write a letter to your teacher stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

4. [Censorship] Your local public library has come under criticism for allowing patrons under the age of 18 to check out books that are unacceptable. The books are either explicit, describe graphic violence, or use questionable language. Most recently, a high school senior checked out James Joyce's Ulysses. The student's parents did not approve of the student reading the book and complained to the town council. As a result, the council is considering removing all questionable books from the library. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

5. [Litter] A litter problem has developed on your school's campus. Students are throwing trash on the ground, leaving empty soda cans and bottles outside on benches, and dropping napkins and other trash on the cafeteria floor rather than carrying them to the trash can. Your principal has asked students to take more care, but the litter problem persists. The principal has reacted by canceling all after-school activities until the problem is taken care of. What is your position on this issue? Write a letter to the school board stating your position and supporting it with convincing reasons.

6. [Ipods] You feel you concentrate better by listening to music while you work; however, all ipods have been banned from school property. Write a letter to the principal convincing him or her that ipods should be allowed during quizzes or in-class work time.

=Pre-Write Templates=



=Rubric & Checklist=



= Madsen Example=

848 North Horne Mesa, Arizona 85210

January 27th 2010

Cherry Call Parent Liason at Kino Junior High 848 North Horne Mesa, Arizona 85210

Dear Mrs. Call:

“Mom, I need a cell phone. Mom, please get me a cell phone—all my friends have one. Mom, I will be a responsible please…. Ugh you are ruining my life. ” whine the teenagers across the country who do not have a cell phone, but do they really need one? The first cell phone was created in 1973, but they were not commercially available until 1983; the first text message was sent in 1989, but cell phones did not really take off until 2000; therefore, teenagers survived years without cell phones even when they existed. Young teenagers should not have cell phones because they do not need them, it distracts them from what is important, and they learn poor communication skills.

Teenagers do not need cell phones since they have other ways to contact people. At this age, their friends live near them, and they can easily communicate at school or walk to their friend’s house. Teenagers like to get together and party, and they often say they need their cell phone to spread the word, but since they see everyone at school, they can distribute flyers or just simply spread the word in the halls. Since the majority of their friends live within walking distance, a cell phone, which is handy for long distance, is not needed. Granted not all communication can take place at school, and it is not feasible to walk to a friend’s house just to ask a question, but most teenagers have access to email, online chat forums, and home phones. According to Lance Whitney, a noted journalist and computer programmer, 68% of all households have internet access, and the San Francisco __The Economist__ journal states 75% of all households in America contain land lines. If a teenager needs to ask their friend a question, any of these modes are available. When I was a teenager, I used the home phone to call my friends and arrange plans. This was not an inconvenience; it was quite easy to do. Sometimes they don’t have time to hang out with friends, but they still want to talk. This is the strongest reason for a cell phone. Kids claim they need a cell phone, so they can text and have interaction with their friends when they are unable to hang out. Well, this is when they can use email, facebook chat, or myspace. If they don’t have internet, then they can go without. I certainly did not have these chatting means available to me as a kid, and I survived. Wanting to chat with friends all the time is a want not a need.

Even if you do formulate a reason a young teenager would need a cell phone---i.e. for emergencies---the negative effects of cell phones for teenagers overshadow any reason. One negative effect is it distracts them from gaining a valuable education. Many parents report their teen’s grades are suffering because of cell phone usage. On a parent website entitled ask the experts, several of the questions posed in the past year deal with a decrease in grades and lack of responsibility because of cell phones. Though I would say that friends and establishing healthy social patterns is more important than education and knowledge in the end, seeking earnestly after a solid education is more important than constantly interacting with friends. Encouraging your child to socialize and learn how to maintain friendships is crucial to a healthy life, but teens these days are taking it to the extreme feeling the constant need to talk to friends and pushing out everything else. Students text in-class instead of paying attention, students text at home instead of doing homework, students text late into the night instead of sleeping. In a survey distributed to students in Fresno in varying class levels, 84% of all students had access to text messaging, and of those 84%, 70% admitted to texting in class. Some classes may be boring, but that’s not an excuse to abandon all efforts at paying attention. Students’ lives outside of school are busy, but the need to communicate with friends and family should not trump the responsibility of listening during class. And, yes, I use the word responsibility; it is their responsibility to seek earnestly after knowledge, to desire to grow as an individual, and to put forth their best effort. As a teacher, I see this problem clearly. Granted, cell phone usage alone is not the only thing deterring students from putting forth their best effort in school, but is certainly part of the problem. Why give your child one more distraction?

Not only does it distract them from seeking after knowledge and putting forth their best effort in school, it also distracts them from building relationships with family. At a recent family party, my aunt said she would take the child phone away from the next child who took it out. We were playing a game and many of my cousins were so busy texting that they were not focused on the game nor my aunt. The message was clear: I care more about my friends than you. Teenagers usually already have the mentality that friends are more important than family, so why give them a device that will feed on that idea; that will make it easier for your teen to ignore any family time? One principal of a local high school noticed this problem with texting and sent out an article warning parents of the negative effects: “Is it appropriate–or respectful–for someone to carry on an entirely different conversation, simultaneously, over texts, while giving the present conversation only half of their attention? . . . the “texter” is acting as if he or she has better things to do, and better people to talk to. Our generation needs to stay grounded in the moment.” Does your child know how to stay grounded in the moment? Or is it all about what is going on in a virtual exchange? This constant texting distracts teenagers from important matters while teaching them poor communication skills. In an article, written by a 17 year old girl, texting has been branded the new form of communication, which is “so instantaneous and yet totally roundabout…[and] often mars teens’ relationships” This instantaneous conversation often leaves teenagers with poor attention spans and an inability to think before they speak, but the worst effect is the way teenagers can so casually send harsh messages since they do not have to face the consequences directly. People become braver when they do not have to see a person’s face, so they will throw out harsh words instead of learning how to solve conflicts face to face with thorough explanations and an examination of the problem. No, the problem can be avoided all together. Psychologist Cecilia Holguin of the University Counseling Center at the University of Texas at El Paso reports the effects of texting on a person’s communication skills: “It does seem people are more comfortable text messaging rather than actually talking with another human,” Holguin said. “There is no awkwardness or vocal response involved when texting. Young people could virtually say anything through texts and don’t have to commit to engaging into the effects through a vocal conversation.” Since most communication takes place non-verbally or through verbal intonation, youth struggle effectively communicating in person and really building those meaningful relationships.

Since texting effectively facilitates multi-tasking, youth easily become bored with conversation. One teenager said, “The thing I like most about texting is that unlike the phone where you have to sit and concentrate into a long, boring conversation with one person, you can be watching TV, surfing the web, playing videogames, and talking to as much people as you want all at once.” This also reverts back to education. Students don’t pay attention in school because they are use to be over-stimulated. They can’t carry a meaningful conversation in the here and now because their mind can not focus on just one task.

So they are not learning how to effectively communicate and they can not focus on meaningful conversation. But verbal communication is not the only thing suffering, texting is destroying written communication. In __USA Today__, several noted linguists discussed the damaging effects of texting. Those teenagers, hampered by limited space and the difficulty of writing words on numeric phone keypads, have helped create the text-messaging lingo: words are abbreviated and common phrases change to acronyms. Noted linguist, Sheidlower, said, “As text messengers discover and share new abbreviations and acronyms, the language becomes familiar to a growing population of cell phone users. And as more people use the lingo for text messaging, it is more likely to spill into speech or writing.” As an English teacher, I have witnessed students use the letter u for the word you in a standard, formal paper. Students write IDK on quizzes when they do not know the answer.

Even worse than the butchering of the English language is the lack of concern for grammar and mechanics. Who has time to scroll through the punctuation symbols to insert a comma, semi-colon, dash, or colon into a text message? I, myself, do not correctly punctuate my texts as it is a pain to do so; however, I did not grow up texting, so I learned grammar and mechanics. Youth today are growing up texting, and are now use to writing without any thought given to punctuation. Incorrect of lack of punctuation hinders a person’s ability to communicate effectively through writing.

Psychology major Dania Diaz said that text messaging can be negative, “text messaging is dangerous, not only does it ruin social interaction between humans, writing skills and expression, everything becomes so impersonal and simple.”

This is not to say I am against texting or cell phones; no, I am not. I, myself, am an avid texter. I am just against giving a young teenager a cell phone as they do not need them in the way adults with friends scattered everywhere do. A child will eventually need a cell phone. A cell phone is an amazing piece of technology and an integral part of our society. However, I, personally, would not give a child a cell phone until they have learned to make school and family a priority and have learned effective communication skills, which would definitely not be until the child is in high school or college.

If you must give a middle school child a cell phone, I urge you to place limitations: issue consequences for a cell phone being used during classroom hours, cell phone usage during family gatherings, and cell phone usage prohibiting completion of homework. Limit the amount of texts your child can send, or better yet, do not even pay for the text messaging feature and have them use their cell phone only for calling. At the very least, set priorities with your child. Help them to see that cell phones can never replace in-person interaction and that education and family should come first. And don’t let your teen fool you into thinking you are the only parent that won’t give them a cell phone because in a poll conducted online with 532 votes, 24% of parents do not give their cell a phone until college, and 22 % wait until they are 16; while only 11 % give them to 13 year olds, and 22 % to 14 year olds.

Sincerely,

Katie Madsen