Research Letter Due April 5 to April 12

Individual Persuasive Letter Based on Research

Assignment

To demonstrate your understanding of the research process and to engage in a thoughtful analysis of a meaningful contemporary issue, you will write a letter to a publication, person, corporation or organization that persuades them on a specific ethical issue. For your research, examine a contemporary ethical issue tied to current corporate and consumer practices. Although you may research and write about a food-related issue, do not write about the same topic that your group did after watching Food Inc.

Letter Paragraph Organization

Your persuasive letter paragraphs do not need to follow the PIE format of literary analysis. In fact, business letters are brief, rarely do they go beyond one page of single-spaced type. Click here to see a business letter format for typing. Your letter should follow this organizational plan:

• Introduction—creative attention device and specific ethical thesis—the point you want to prove. (2 sentences)

• The basic arguments on both sides of the ethical question. Consider the consequences, pros and cons of each position. You may need to include some brief background information. Information in these paragraphs will be supported with in-text citations. Using “according to” or other signal phrases works well in a business letter; however, you may use parenthetical, in-text citations. (2 – 3 paragraphs)

• Conclusion—Based on your research, what is the best ethical response to your issue? In other words, what’s your call to action? What do you want people to do? Why? (1-2 sentences)

Note Taking
Complete some type of note-taking that ensures you are properly paraphrasing and correctly using direct quotations so that you do not plagiarize. Annotating printouts works well for note taking. Alternatively, you use paper or note cards to capture information without printing it. Just be careful to use quotation marks when you are copying lines exactly.

Research
As you research, remember that you must reference a minimum of three credible sources.
• Credible web sites have a known author (usually one that can be contacted), links that work, few grammatical errors, and listed resources.
• If you use articles from the school’s on-line databases, you are assured that they are credible.
• If you use a source not from the school’s database, create a flow map that shows why you determine the source was credible. See the flow map glued in your notebook.

Final Products
1. One-page letter (typed, single spaced block formatting, 12-point font, one-inch margins)
2. A properly formatted MLA works cited page
3. Flow maps that trace the credibility of Internet sources not found on school databases.
4. Some evidence of notetaking, probably annotated Internet printouts.

Help Available
Remember that The Writing Center is open before school and during lunch to assist you. Also, check out the teacher’s blog for links to citing sources and formatting a business letter.

Due Date
Your letter is due anytime between Monday, April 5 and Monday, April 12. You will not receive late points if you turn in the paper by Monday, April 12 at 3:10 p.m.--the last day of the due date window. I will grade the papers on "a first in, first graded" basis in case you want to take that into consideration when planning your due date.

Nectar Reading Schedule and Test

The final exam for Nectar in a Sieve is on Friday, March 19. That test will also include vocabulary words from the Carlito song.

Here is the reading schedule for Nectar:

The date indicates the night you should read the assigned pages as homework:

March 2: Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 3-17
March 3: Chapters 3 & 4, pp. 18-30
March 4: Chapters 5 to 7, pp. 31-45
March 5: Chapters 8 to 10, pp. 46-57
March 8: Chapters 11 to 13, pp. 58-77
March 9: Chapters 14 & 15, pp. 78-91
March 10: Chapters 16 & 17, pp. 92-102
March 11: Chapters 18 to 21, pp. 103-123
March 12: Chapters 22 to 24, pp. 124-149
March 15: Chapters 25 & 26, pp. 150-164
March 16: Chapter 27, pp. 165-176
March 17: Chapters 28 to 30, pp. 177-186

Tribal Scars Extra Credit

Another 3rd quarter extra credit opportunity is to read the short story "Tribal Scars" that is available in class. Read the story and answer the 13 questions in the packet for 5 points of extra credit by Monday,

Extra Credit Memorization for Quarter 3

You may memorize "Work Without Hope" to recite in front of the class for five points of extra credit. You must recite the poem on or before Thursday, March 18.

Work Without Hope
A Sonnet by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1825

All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair –
The bees are stirring – birds are on the wing –
And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
And I, the while, the sole unbusy thing,
Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.
Yet well I ken the banks where amaranths blow,
Have traced the fount whence streams of nectar flow.

Bloom, O ye amaranths! bloom for whom ye may,
For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away!
With lips unbrighten’d, wreathless brow, I stroll:
And would you learn the spells that drowse my soul?
Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And Hope without an object cannot live.

Did you know? My Top 5 Reasons for Reading World Literature

#1 Because the people of the world are becoming more and more connected culturally and economically, my students need to experience other cultures through reading. (Dependent clause/comma/independent clause)

#2 I enjoy easy-to-read, escapist books like Twilight; however, I also know that intellectual stimulation and critical analysis requires more difficult texts that my students would most likely not read on their own. (indenpendent clause/semicolon/conjunctive adverb/comma/independent clause)

#3 Since the Minnesota State Language Arts Standards require students to read literature beyond the United States and the United Kingdom, Edina Public Schools has placed an emphasis on World Literature in the sophomore year. (Dependent clause/comma/independent clause)

#4 I believe that being fully human requires an understanding of the world beyond our backyards, so I attempt to bring the world to the pages my students read in English 10.(independent clause/comma/coordinating conjuction/independent clause)

#5 I know that my students may still not agree with me that the world is getting smaller and reading can help bridge culturally understanding; nevertheless, English 10 will continue to have a world literature focus because citizens of the U.S. need to be in the "know," so I want my students to watch the short video "Did you know?"
(Dependent clause/semicolon/conjunctive adverb/comma/independent clause/dependent clause/comma/coordinating conjunction/independent clause)