Writing the Opening Part

In the first part of your letter, you should do two things.

• Identify the position that you are applying for.

  I am interested in going to SeaScapes Scuba Camp this summer.

• Tell what you know about the organization, such as where you learned about it.

I read about your camp in the most recent issue of Scuba Kidz magazine. I understand that your camp is for kids aged 10 to 16 with all different levels of experience.

Opening Paragraph

Writing the Middle Part

Prewriting to Find the Right Opportunity

Editing In-Text Citations

Always place in-text citations in parenthesis at the end of a sentence but before the end punctuation. In a direct quote, citations come after the closing quotation mark but before the end punctuation.

• Correct: Ride wished the science part of her mission got more attention (Hurwitz 28).

• Incorrect: Ride wished the science part of her mission got more attention. (Hurwitz 28)

• Correct: “She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars” (Macy 5).

• Incorrect: “She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars (Macy 5).”

1. Thurgood Marshall changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement. (Smith 18)

Thurgood Marshall changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement (Smith 18).

2. Marshall believed in justice for all people. (Smith 24)
3. “Every day we live with the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall.” (Feldman 45)
4. In grade school, he had to memorize the Constitution as a punishment for goofing around. (“Biography”)

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

1. Ask a question about the topic.

Did you know women couldn’t become astronauts for almost the first three decades of the space program?

2. Start with a surprising fact or detail about the topic.

Before Sally Ride, space travel was mostly a club for men.

3. Tell a little story about the person.

Sally Ride didn’t always want to be an astronaut. When she was young, going to space was not a realistic aspiration for girls.

Prewriting to Select a Topic

For your report, you will research an important person from the past or present. As you consider topic choices, note people who truly interest you, because you will be spending a lot of time learning about them.

Other Ways to Discover Topic Ideas

Search online or scan your school books for influential figures. Also try freewriting for topics.

Prewriting for Research Questions

Now that you have decided on a topic for your report, you need to find out what you already know about the person and what you want to learn.

Editing for Pronoun Agreement

A pronoun is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The word that the pronoun refers to is called an antecedent. Pronouns and antecedents must agree. This means that they must both be singular or they must both be plural. It also means that the gender should match. Here are some examples.

1. That linebacker should pay more attention to their diet. That linebacker should pay more attention to his diet.
2. Teenagers think that he or she can eat poorly and not get sick. Teenagers think that they can eat poorly and not get sick.
3. My friends believe they can eat chips for breakfast and lunch. My friends believe they can eat chips for breakfast and lunch.
4. Tess knows junk food affects their health. Tess knows junk food affects her health.
5. Sickly people may get well just by changing his or her diet. Sickly people may get well just by changing their diet.
6. Doctors tell patients to put fruits and vegetables on their plates every day. Doctors tell patients to put fruits and vegetables on their plates every day.
7. Those boys put too much food on his plates. Those boys put too much food on their plates.
8. Bev trusted his own diet plan. Bev trusted her own diet plan.
9. Many people try to watch his weight. Many people try to watch their weight.
10. Charlie always eats the food he takes. Charlie always eats the food he takes.

Revising to Appeal to Readers

You can't convince people to buy your product by showing how it will help you. You must convince them by showing how your product helps them. To do so effectively, you need to think about the needs of your audience.

The American psychologist Abraham Maslow created a pyramid that showed different levels of human need. At the bottom, you'll find basic needs: air, water, food, and so on. On the next level, you'll find needs that build on those, and so on, going up to morality, creativity, and problem solving at the top. You can use this pyramid to connect your product to the needs of your readers.

1. How does your product connect with readers' basic needs (bottom-level)?
2. How does your product connect with readers' intermediate needs (middle three levels)?
3. How does your product connect with readers' upper-level needs (top triangle)?
4. Choose three needs from the list above. For each one, write a sentence that appeals to your reader, showing how the person benefits from the product.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The first sentence is the lead. It should capture your reader’s interest, getting people interested in your product.

1. Ask the reader a question.

   What weighs less than a pound and could save your life?

2. Start with a story.

   After school, you walk out the door and throw on your backpack. You unlock your bike from the bike rack. Then you hop on and ride off. What’s missing from this picture?

3. Begin with an important quotation.

   "Wear a helmet now. Finish living later." That's just one slogan of many submitted to the recent Bicycle Helmet Safety Slogan Contest.

4. Make a surprising statement.

   When bike fatalaties occur, 97 percent of the time, the rider had no helmet.

Lead Sentence

Detail Sentences

Opinion Statement

Editing for Subject-Verb Agreement

The two past-tense forms of the “be” verb (was and were) often cause problems when it comes to subject-verb agreement. (Was is singular, and were is plural.)

Note: Always use the plural verb “were” with the subject “you,” whether “you” is singular or plural in number.