Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Grab bag
Today we talked about “takeaways” from English 101—what you will take with you from this class as you write for other classes in college and other purposes in a variety of settings. Note the changes in tone (formal or informal), person (first, second, or third person), and objectivity (rational or emotional) that these different writing tasks require:
1) Write a rejection letter on behalf of Harvard University admissions informing a qualified applicant that she will not be admitted.
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you admission for the 2005-2006 school year. We are sorry that we do not have better news for you. This year we received an overwhelming amount of applications, most of which were well-qualified. The decision was very hard to make. Good luck on your future college plans.
-Drew K
2) Write a letter to a congregation that voted you in as their pastor by a narrow margin, thanking them for their vote and informing them that you will begin leading worship next week.
To The Congregation:
It is with my whole heart that I accept the position as the pastor of your church. I feel it is God’s calling to be at your church in this time in my life and thank God for the answer to my prayers. I will begin preaching next Sunday and gladly accept any comments or questions you may have for me. I look forward to serving you.
In Christ,
Senior Pastor _____-Jamie H
3) Write a request for grant funding from the National Science Foundation to support research on the benefits of eating wheat bread to fight cancer (editor’s note: we’re just making all this up):
Elementary research of wheat bread has shown a substantial reduction of cancer in 60% of our test subjects. However, to continue with research and development, there is still the need of $10 million dollars to expand the labs, testing equipment, and staff.
-Amanda P
4) Write a note to the buyers of the house you lived in for 30 years:
We want to wish you the best as you move into this new home. For the past 30 years we have seen our children grow up in this house and it has brought us a lot of memories. We hope that this home will bring you just as many memories and just as much happiness as it has brought us and our family. We want to wish you the best of luck!
-Megan W
5) Write an announcement to the Calvin community informing them that President Bush will be speaking at commencement, and acknowledge the fact that not everyone supports his policies.
Read what President Byker said in a press release
6) Write a caption for a cartoon that shows a squid serving sushi.
Read the winning caption in a New Yorker contest
7) Write the rest of the dialogue in this climactic scene from Return of the Jedi:
VADER
Obi-Wan has taught you well.LUKE
I will not fight you, father.
Here’s the script for the rest of the scene: