For this project you will first read an opinion based text (you can also watch a video or listen to audio)

For this project you will first read an opinion based text (you can also watch a video or listen to audio). Next, you will respond to what that person/group has said by writing a letter. Your letter will seek to persuade the person/group that you are responding to. By persuade, I mean that you must present an idea of your own and demonstrate why that particular audience should accept it.
Your stances do not have to be political and contrary, like King. Jr.’s; you may want to write a letter that is either civic minded or business minded. What you must do though, is find something specific to respond to. Because of this, your letter will need to be accompanied by a “statement” of sorts that you are addressing, and a personal reflection that explains the rhetorical strategies you use in your letter.
 

Project Parts and Requirements:

1. A Statement You Will Respond to from a Person/ Group: for example: a Mission Statement from a non-profit, a speech from a senator, or a Business Plan from a company. This should be the first page of your Final Draft.
2. Your Response Letter (2-4 pages): From you to a specific audience (formatting requirements listed below)
3. Rhetorical Analysis of Your Letter and a Reflection Statement (2 pages minimum): Included on a separate page after your letter.

Outline for Correspondence Project:

Part One: The Statement You Are Responding To

• This is the statement your letter will be responding to. You’ll post the text on the page/s before you begin your letter.

o It could be a brief statement made by someone

o An op-ed you’re responding to

o A mission statement for a company

o Note: if you use a statement from a video—you’ll need to print out a transcript.

In order to prepare for your response letter, you need to analyze the rhetoric of the source you'll be responding to, and you will need to map out how you will respond in your letter.

To do this, I'd like you to fill out an argument map. This is similar to the other's we've worked with, except it'll have you fill out a section (claim, evidence, strategy audience) for the source you're responding to, then it will have you fill out a section (claim, evidence, strategy, audience) in response to that particular claim.

So you're going to look for at least three claims from the source you're responding to, and then you're going to make three claims in response. You're primary audience will be the person/group you're responding to, but you can also include a description of secondary audiences.