Persuasive Letter (80 points)
Your assignment: A typed, 450-750 word persuasive letter. Due on MONDAY, APRIL 8th. We will
be going to the computer lab on Friday, April 5th and Monday, April 8th. Letters turned in on the due
date (4/8) by 3:00 p.m. will receive full credit and full feedback (these letters will also be eligible for
extra credit, should the letter writer wish to actually send the letter). Letters turned in after 4/8, but
by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12th,will receive full credit but no feedback (and no extra credit
eligibility). Letters turned in after Friday, April 12th will receive a maximum of 70% of the possible
points (with no feedback and no eligibility).
Assignment Guidelines—Your persuasive letter is:
1) Written to an actual person.
2) About a subject that has been approved by Mr. R. AHEAD OF TIME. You must hand
Rubenstein the “I will be writing to ______________ to ask him/her to ____________ “
sheet before you begin writing.
3) Your topic allows the potential for a research component, but this is not a “research paper.”
ONE of the persuasive strategies REQUIRED is the inclusion of some data or statistics,
however, your letter will not be driven by research.
In this letter, you will use the art of persuasive writing to convince a person in a position of power to
change their rule or position on a certain issue. This is a REAL issue that has REAL significance to
your life. It can relate to your home life (Dear Mom and Dad, please change my curfew), your
school life (Dear Principal Legace, please change to a five period day), your life outside of school
(Dear Boss, please give me a raise), or a bigger-picture social/political issue (Dear President
Obama, please send more troops to Afghanistan). You are being graded on: 1) Your ability to use
persuasive strategies to make a convincing argument, and 2) Your technical writing skills (including
your ability to follow business letter format).
Letter Grading:
Ideas/Content: This portion of your grade (35%) is determined by your ability to use the persuasive
strategies to build a strong case. An A letter is well-written, engaging, and convincing. It will make
your reader want to follow your recommendation. This is the single most important thing. To get all
points, you need to successfully (convincingly) and correctly use as many of the 13 persuasive
strategies as possible.
Organization: This portion of your grade (15%) is determined by two different things: 1) The
formatting of your letter. Please see Mr. Rubenstein’s handout with an example of perfect BUSINESS
LETTER FORMAT. 2) Your letter’s organization should be fluid and easy to follow. This includes
having a clear transitions and an excellent, logical flow. Be sure to begin with strategies 1,2, and 3
(only) in your first paragraph. After that, there is no set order for the use of the strategies.
Sentence Fluency: This portion of your grade (15%) is determined by clear, purposeful writing on a
sentence level. If your reader can read the letter without having to pause or stop, this is a good sign.
Conventions: This part of your grade (35%) is based on your mastery of the writing conventions we’ve
been working on in class. In particular, you will be assessed on: commas, apostrophes, its vs. it’s,
capitalization, semicolons, and spelling.
1236 NE Hill St.
Bend, OR 97701
December 21, 2013
Mr. Robert Sandoval
4151 SE Snowberry Ln.
Bend, OR 97701
This sample letter illustrates perfect business letter format (with a few exceptions made so that it would fit on this page). Yours should be spaced at 1.5 with “normal” 1” margins on both sides. Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Dear Dad,
Even though I have accused you of being too strict sometimes, I know that you are just protecting me and looking out
for my well-being. While I don’t agree with your decisions 100% of the time, I do know that your actions come from a
place of love, not meanness, and I really, truly appreciate that. As you know, I am not allowed to read the Harry Potter
book series, and you grounded me for a week when you found the Sorcerer’s Stone in my room last year. I accepted the
punishment, and I fully respect how you feel about this, but I just don’t agree. I would like you to hear my side of
things, and hopefully, you will change your mind and let me read these books.
First off, I know that you are going to say that the books go against the word of God by promoting witchcraft and the
occult. However, this is simply not true. These are fantasy books, and while, yes, witchcraft is a part of the fantasy
world, it is not what is being promoted. The main characters are students who do good things and fight against the
forces of evil. The books don’t promote witchcraft; they promote kindness, compassion, and accepting your fellow
man. Is that so different than what the bible promotes? C.S. Lewis, a famous Christian philosopher and writer said,
“books do not cause trouble; people do. If literature brings up uncomfortable topics, let us read the books, discuss them,
and learn from them.” Like Mr. Lewis says, how can we expect become better people if we avoid things like literature?
And like you always say, “we should face our fears rather than hide from them.”
Dad, all of my friends have read Harry Potter. When a new book comes out, I am always the only kid who is not
allowed to read it. When a new Harry Potter movie comes out, I am always the only kid who is not allowed to see it.
Do you really want me to be the outcast among my group of friends--the one who sits there silently twiddling her
thumbs while her friends are having intellectual conversations about literature?
Rachel, Elissa, and Dana, my three best friends, all have read all of the books. You know that all of their parents are
good, religious people, but they know that just because their daughters are reading about witchcraft doesn’t mean that
they are going to try to cast spells and join forces with Satan. Do you think that hundreds of millions of readers would
love these books if there was really anything dangerous here? I mean, come on dad, we are talking about READING
here—not doing drugs or shoplifting. Did you know that, according to Newsweek.com, high school students who read
regularly for pleasure are twice as likely to graduate than those who don’t. Furthermore, once they move on to the
workplace, regular readers, on average, will make $22,000 more per year than non-readers. Do you really want to cut
me off from this kind of success and opportunity?
If you are still considering not letting me read the series, how about letting me just read the first book. If you notice any
small change in my behavior (for the worse), I will stop immediately and never bug you again. If you are not even
willing to do this, then how about you read the first book and see for yourself how inoffensive it is.
If you let me read these books, I know that nothing bad is going to happen. In fact, only good things will happen: I will
spend my free time reading instead of watching video games. More importantly, if you agree to my request, I will feel
that you respect me as a young adult, and I too will respect you more in turn. For these, and all of the other reasons I
have given, please allow me to read the Harry Potter book series.
Love your (not any longer a) baby girl,
Jessica Sandoval
Jessica Sandoval