English 10 and 10H -- Letter of Complaint (as Holden Caulfield)

Assignment for March 14, 2007

Think of something that has made you angry enough to write a letter that would hopefully change whatever is wrong.

For example, if ABC has just aired your favorite movie, but made a lot of cuts that pretty much ruined it, you should write to the president of ABC and speak your mind. Or if you bought a bag of chips that was advertised “so hot, your eyes will tear up” and yet it was as mild as oatmeal, write to Nabisco and let then know what is wrong with their product. You can write a letter about almost anything these days; the newspaper you read, the clothes you buy, the roads you drive on, the music the radio DJs pick to play most often, a software program

BUT DON’T JUST COMPLAIN – write persuasively to try and get whoever is responsible to change their ways.

And now – for all you reality show fans – here’s the twist: You must write in the voice of Holden Caulfield.

Your letter should be one full page in length, in regular business letter format. The paragraphs should have single spaced lines, but with a double space between each paragraph (like this document).

Use this worksheet to write your letter – you can do the worksheet before or after the letter, but make sure it is filled out.

Letter of Complaint

Organizational worksheet

I am going to complain about

This is a (circle one):

• Product
• Service
• Political issue
• Other

What is wrong with this thing or idea?

What would make this right?

What are THREE good reasons that would motivate the person to whom you’re writing to make these changes?

1.

2.

3.

Catcher in the Rye Reading Schedule

On this day	You need to be finished with these chapters
Tuesday, March 6	1-3
Thursday, March 8	4 and 5
Monday, March 12	6 and 7
Wednesday, March 14	8, 9 and 10
Friday, March 16	11 and 12
Tuesday, March 20	13, 14 and 15
Thursday, March 22	16 and 17
April	18 through 26 (end)

Animal Farm Reading Schedule

Chapter I (25 to 34) was read in class on February 27.

On this day	You need to be finished with these chapters	Plan out your per-day reading schedule.
Tuesday, March 6	II and III (35 to 53)	You have 6 days to read 18 pages
Thursday, March 8	IV (54 to 60)	You have 2 days to read 7 pages
Monday, March 12	V, VI and VII (61-97)	You have 4 days to read 36 pages
Wednesday, March 14	VIII (98-113)	You have 2 days to read 15 pages
Friday, March 16	XI (114-126)	You have 2 days to read 12 pages
Tuesday, March 20	X (126-135)	You have 4 days to read 9 pages

Classwork for Friday, 3/9 and Tuesday 3/13

Write a confessional, in the style of a reality TV show, for one character from Animal Farm. Only refer to events that take place between chapters I and VII.

Requirements

• You must refer to at least two things the character said or did in the book up to Chapter VII. (Like a concrete detail)
• The character must tell us why he or she did or said these things (like a commentary, because it is more of an interpretation than a fact)
• The character must speak in a way appropriate to the personality that has been described (unless of course he/she has been faking an on-air personality and saves his/her real self for the confessional)
• Have fun with it – this is a creative writing assignment.

Shaper

For those of you who need a reminder of how the SHAPER works, here's the form. Remember, the sentences go in this order:

1. Topic Sentence
2. Concrete Detail
3. Commentary,
4. Commentary
5. Concrete Detail
6. Commentary
7. Commentary
8. Concluding Sentence.

Body Paragraph #______________

Paragraph Topic: ______________________________________________

TOPIC SENTENCE
CONCRETE DETAIL 1	COMMENTARY
	COMMENTARY
CONCRETE DETAIL 2	COMMENTARY
	COMMENTARY
CONCLUSION

English 10 Essay due Feb 26 - 27

The Assignment

According to writer Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation and Chew on This) and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) Americans are suffering from the increasing presence of fast food. Customers who eat the food and employees who sell it are being victimized, according to the book and the film.

Many would argue that it is up to the individual where he/she chooses to eat or to work. Yet, billions of people still eat this food, and millions work for these companies, and it probably isn’t because they like being overweight or underpaid.

Do you think these problems are entirely the fault of the individual, or should the companies take more responsibility for solving them?

Write a multi-paragraph essay (minimum four paragraphs) expressing your thoughts on this subject. You may focus on the food itself, and its nutritional value, or the way the employees are treated, or both. (Employees can mean restaurant workers or the workers in the slaughterhouse.)

Structure

Your first paragraph must be an introduction containing a topic and a thesis statement. Remember, the thesis statement is the most important statement in your essay; this is where you tell the reader what it is you are going to prove.

Your last paragraph must be a conclusion with a restatement of the thesis, but not an identical sentence to the one in the introduction.

In between the first and last paragraphs are your body paragraphs. You may write these any way you want, but you also have the option of using the shaper (attached) to make sure you have the right balance of concrete details and commentaries. If you use the shaper correctly, it will guarantee you a passing grade.

If you do not use the shaper, just make sure each paragraph contains both facts and opinions based on these backs. You don’t have to follow the exact ratio (1 CD with 2 CMs) and it doesn’t matter if the opinion comes before or after the fact – a fact and an opinion can even be in the same sentence.

But all facts and opinions should also connect in some way to the thesis statement from your first paragraph.

Due dates

The rough draft is due on Monday, February 26 (for block 3) and Tuesday, February 27 (for block 5)

The final draft – which must be typed and properly formatted – is due Friday, March 2 for both blocks (block 5 does not meet that day, so be sure to email it by 5:00 p.m.).

English 9 writing assignment, due 2/26

Writing Assignment for English 9

Letter about Colin Singleton

Pretend you are someone who is well acquainted with Colin Singleton, the protagonist of John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines. You can be Hassan or Lindsey, or you can simply be yourself and imagine that Colin is your good friend.

Colin has applied for a job at a library, but he needs a character reference from you (which is basically a letter of recommendation).

You need to write a letter to Ms. Patricia Penciltip, the head of the library, telling her true things about Colin that you think will help him get hired.

· Be sure to use events and ideas from the book to make your point as you try to persuade Ms. Penciltip to hire Colin.

· Use proper formatting, with your address and Ms. Penciltip’s address (make it up) in the appropriate positions on the page.

· This letter must be at least one FULL page, typed, double spaced. If you handwrite it, it must be TWO pages, single spaced.

This is due on Monday, February 26 – so you have 12 days! There will probably not be any class time reserved for this assignment; it is a homework project. Still, if you have trouble getting started, please bring it up in class and I will set aside some time to work with you.

Good luck!

Terry