ASSIGNMENT # 11 Letter of Concern

There is a strong likelihood that in your life you will want to express a concern to someone through the medium of a letter or e-mail. In order to present your ideas effectively, your diction and tone is extremely important. You want to make certain that your target audience will consider your ideas. If the tone of your correspondence is overly aggressive, sarcastic or not specific, your letter may be ineffectual.

Consider the following strategies:

• Introduce yourself.
• Summarize the situation of concern.
• Consider pointing out that you are aware of the other person’s point of view and the difficulties that person may be dealing with.
• Avoid language that will make the reader angry.
• Avoid referring to second hand accounts.
• Offer solutions.
• Request some sort of response


Assignment

You are a summer student working for “ Student Pro Painters” One of your co-workers, Joe Talksalot, is not doing his share of the work. You feel it is unfair to other workers and the customers. You’re concerned about the company’s reputation. Joe is the nephew of the company manager. The manager seldom comes to check on the workers. When she does, she seems to ignore his laziness. Write a letter to your manager, Jane Watchingu, at 123 Main St. Penticton ,B.C., V2A 3W8, outling the following concerns.

• Joe often arrives late
• He takes extra breaks to smoke and leaves butts around
• He works very inefficiently
• Joe never helps with clean up
• He is confrontational with other workers
• Sometimes Joe leaves early

USE PROPER FORMAL BUSINESS LETTER FORMAT

ASSIGNMENT # 10 A moral Dilemma

You are in Paris visiting the Louvre, the most famous art museum in the world. As you spend time looking at the Mona Lisa, you strike up a conversation with an elderly lady standing next to you.

Ada Artlover is 92 years old. She recently lost her husband, but she has two daughters and many grandchildren. She has a wide circle of friends and a variety of interests. Ada uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. She lives in an assisted care facility for elderly people.

Suddenly a fire breaks out. You can save Mrs. Artlover or you can save the Mona Lisa, but you CAN NOT SAVE BOTH. Make the decision and save one or the other.

Later the police have brought you in for questioning. You have been asked to write a one paragraph detailed explanation of your decision. Provide four or five reasons to support your course of action.

Before you write your letter, however, you will be assigned to a group. Your group must generate powerful questions that explore the advantages and disadvantages for both sides of the argument. As you pose questions, discuss what makes some questions powerful as opposed to superficial or irrelevant.

ASSIGNMENT # 9 Dead Poets' Society

The film Dead Poets' Society deals with a number of issues: peer pressure, the power of authority, non-conformity, leadership, education, literature, the Carpe Diem philosophy... to name a few.

Your task is to choose three specific themes that Peter Weir, the director, presents. Write a 5 paragraph essay that explains those themes.

Follow standard essay format. Your first paragraph should have a dynamic introduction, the title of the film and the director's name, Peter Weir, some plot summary, and a clear thesis statement, (a sentence that outlines your three main ideas).

You do not have a text, so your support for each of your three main ideas will be in the form of indirect references as opposed to direct quotes. In otherwords, you will describe what happened in the film to suport the theme that you are exploring.

Finally, make sure your concluding paragraph not only summarizes but also adds a creative conclusion.

Since you will have two periods to work on this, my expectation is that your essay will be detailed and polished.

ASSIGNMENT # 8 Writing Dialogue

In this blog assignment you will practice writing dialogue, conversation. It's important to be aware of a few basic rules. Whenever you have a new speaker, make sure you indent 5 spaces. There are 4 ways to introduce dialogue.

1. Mr. Van Camp exclaimed, "Writing dialogue is fun!"

2. "Writing dialogue is fun," stated Mr. Van Camp

3. "Writing dialogue," remarked Mr. Van Camp, "is fun."

4. "Writing dialogue is fun."


Note that sometimes, as in example 4, you do not need to indicate who said something because you have shown that it is the other speaker by indenting.


Finish the conversation below. The dialogue should be interactive rather than just a long story on your part. Use each of the above methods at least twice. Take note that I have NOT used the word "said" in my example. I want you to choose words that more precisely convey the manner in which each character is speaking. Make certain that your punctuation is precise.




Homework Blues


As I shuffled into the classroom, I knew that Mr. Van Camp would never believe me. I looked at my scuffed shoes and mumbled, " My homework is not done, Sir. I do have a good excuse though."

" This is not the first time your homework has not been completed. Perhaps," Mr. Van Camp suggested, "it's time to speak with your parents."

"Please, you have no idea what will happen to me if you phone my home," I moaned.

"Well, let's hear your excuse. It better be good."