Page 131 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade7_Flipbook

Writing Workshop 10 (continued)
ACTIVITY 3
Writing a Business Letter with Peers
WRITING PROMPT: Imagine that your principal just received funding from the school board to take the entire school on a field trip. You know that the funding must be spent on a trip that is educational, but you do not know whether other criteria apply to the use of funding. Write a formal letter to the principal, suggesting a destination or activity to be considered for the field trip. Refer to the Scoring Guide for this writing task to help you understand where to focus your attention and efforts. This letter should meet the requirements listed in the learning targets for formal/business letters.
Be sure to:
• Reflect an opinion, register a complaint, or make a request. • Communicate the purpose clearly.
• Maintain a professional tone.
• Demonstrate a business context.
• Follow the prescribed format.
• Use appropriate conventions.
Prewriting/Drafting
1. In groups, review the writing steps from the class-constructed letter to the principal and apply them to your peer-constructed letter.
a. Brainstorm a list of ideas for the field trip, and the educational merits of each.
b. Create a list of any questions you have about the funding and/or the field trip.
c. Decide which of these details to use, and outline the order in which to use them.
d. Draft the letter based on the outline.
e. Create a sense of closure in the last paragraph.
f. Read the letter together, making revisions as necessary. Keep in mind
your purpose and audience when considering the tone and level of
formality.
g. Add the elements of a formal or business letter and edit for mistakes,
including commas for coordinate adjectives.
Peer Review
2. Upon completing your letter, you will evaluate and provide feedback
for another group’s letter, based on criteria established in the learning targets and the Scoring Guide. Use the steps below to guide your revision of the group’s letter. Prepare to share your thoughts with the authors of the letter.
a. Circle the audience of the letter. Is the word choice used in the letter appropriate for that audience? For example, are slang words and familiar terms avoided? Circle any inappropriate examples of word choice.
8 SpringBoard® Writing Workshop with Grammar Activities Grade 7
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.