Assignment 1 (Submission: Week 8)

Task:
You will write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper/magazine based on a recent (from
September 2012 onwards) news report/article from the same newspaper/magazine that you
have read. You may write on any issue or aspect related to the news report/article/ editorial.
Your letter should be between 180 to 250 words typed in the format shown in this module (refer
to the topic Writing Letters to the Editor).

Portfolio content:
Include the following items:
1. Cover page
2. The newspaper/magazine article/editorial. State information eg. name of source, date of
publication.
3. Paragraph outline
4. First draft
5. Peer-editing Form 1
6. Second draft
7. Self-editing Form 1
8. Final draft
Marks will be deducted if the portfolio is incomplete.
All the items (refer above) in the portfolio must be clearly labeled at the top of the page e.g.:

Outline

Peer-editing
Form 1

Final Draft

Writing Assignment 1: The Writing Process

I.

Pre-writing
To help you decide what to include in your letter, ask yourself these questions:
a. What is the name of the newspaper/magazine from which you have taken your
article/report? What is the date of publication of your article/report/editorial? What
section? Etc. To the left of the line, list important events in the order that they
happened.
b. What is the address to which the letter should be sent to?
c. What is the topic of the news report/article/editorial?
d. What aspect of the news do you intend to focus on?
e. Why is this particular aspect interesting/important to you?
f.

What is the issue that you want to highlight in the newspaper/magazine?

g. What is your stand/attitude towards the issue?

h. Why do you think the public/magazines readers would be interested to read your
letter?
i.

What details/explanations/reasons/descriptions can you offer to interest/convince the

readers?

j.

What action do you want the readers to take after reading your letter?

II.

Prepare an outline
Your letter may be organized into two or three paragraphs.

Opening sentence:
______________________________________________________
Topic sentence:
________________________________________________
Supporting detail 1:
________________________________________________
Supporting detail 2:
________________________________________________
Supporting detail 3:
________________________________________________
Conclusion/call for action:
________________________________________________

Present an oral summary of the news report/article and your paragraph outline to the class,
as required by your instructor.

III.

Drafting and feedback

a. Write the first draft
Using the outline you have prepared, draft your letter. Connect your ideas in the
outline into coherent sentences (sentences that make sense).
Expand the
sentences to include specific details. Use appropriate transitional words.
Read your letter to your partner. Your partner asks questions for clarification on the
part of the writing that is unclear or lacking development using wh-questions such as
why, who, where, what, when, whose and how. Most importantly, ask questions
relating the supporting details with the topic sentence. Make notes/changes on the
draft as you answer your partners questions.
Hand the draft to your partner (your instructor may appoint a different partner for you
at each stage of the writing process). Your partner reads your letter and fills in the
Peer Feedback Form 1. This completed feedback form is one of the items to be
included in your portfolio for submission.
b. Write the second draft of your paragraph
Using the feedback given in the Peer Feedback Form 1 as a guide, write your
second draft.
Then, edit your letter using the Self-editing Worksheet 1. At this point, your instructor
may query you about your writing and give general feedback for further improvement
in terms of coherence, relevance, development and language use.
c. Write the final draft of your paragraph
Write the final draft of your letter and submit it together with all the items required in
the Writing Assignment 1 portfolio.