Letter to the Future

Your last writing assignment for this class is to write a letter to the students who will be in my class next year. Having survived the last nine months in the Den of the Ogre (or the Classroom of the Clown...some of you know what that means....), you are in the unique position of being able to tell others how to make the most of their year here. Your letter does not have to be a five-paragraph argumentative essay, but there are certain topics you must cover. And, of course, specific details and examples from your own experience will make your suggestions more meaningful and believable. So, even though it is not an argumentative essay, you are going to make some claims about the class and support them with specific stories from your time here. It's like a combination of an argument and a first-person narrative, get it? It's your story about the time in this class. In other words, it should very long because it has to meet lots of different requirements! [Anyone who asks "How long does it have to be?" will be required to write at least 2,000 words to get credit! If you have to ask, that's the answer!] Your letter will be evaluated using a standard six-trait rubric and, yes, it will be delivered to a random student (or multiple random students if it is popular with the first one who sees it) on the first day of school in August. You have a real audience, a noble purpose, and all the resources you could possibly need right here on this web site. Review the year and get started! (The links to each term are in the navigation column on the left edge of the homepage. You might need to scroll down a bit.)

Here is how to format a letter.

Here is what you should include in your letter:

Lest you haven't figured it out by now, this letter not only will introduce new students to my class, but it is also an opportunity for you to reflect on the time you have spent here. Please give it some thought and make it a true reflection of what you have learned and how you feel about that learning.

You will have at least 60 minutes in the lab to complete this assignment, but for those of you who looked it up ahead of time, you are free to complete it before then. It should represent your absolute best writing, and it will count for a significant percentage of your final term grade. The students next year will thank you for your suggestions and advice, and I will enjoy hearing what you thought of our time together.