Back to Letters to Authors Page
Rubric for Your Letter to an Author
Check Point
|
Wow, you did a great job!
|
Hey, pretty good. You should be proud. |
Oops! You need to do some more work! |
Letter format |
Your letter has all key parts. |
Your letter has most key parts. |
Your letter is missing some important parts. |
Letter content:
theme and expression
|
Your letter explains how a book changed your view of the world or self. You use interesting language to make your point. |
Your letter tells the author how you reacted when reading the book. Your language is good but could be stronger or more clearly stated. |
Your letter is more like a fan letter or a summary of the book's action. Your language is sometimes confusing. |
organization and grammar |
Your letter has a beginning, middle, and end. You have no errors. |
Your letter is missing one of the key parts: beginning, middle, or end. You have some spelling and sentence mistakes. |
Your letter is missing two of the three key parts: beginning, middle, or end. You have many spelling and sentence mistakes. |
|
|
|
|
These are the parts of a letter that you need:
- return address at the upper right (your name and school address)
- salutation or greeting
- opening or lead paragraph
- body of supporting details
- closing or concluding paragraph
- complimentary close and signature
Checklist for Author Letters
adapted from teaching materials at http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org/lesson_plans
I. . Content
- Purpose: Does the letter address the essay's theme -- describing how a work of literature somehow changed the reader's view of the world or self?
- Audience: Does the reader demonstrate a knowledge of his or her audience? In other words, is the writer addressing the author and not the teacher or others?
- Supporting Details: Does the letter provide explanations or examples, anecdotes, or other specific details to support the reader's point of view?
II. Reader Response/Originallity and Expression
- Does the reader dialogue wit the author rather than summarizing the book's plot or analyzing literary elements within the book?
- Does the reader correspond with the author rather than compliment?
- Is vocabulary smooth and natural rather than "tongue-tied" or showy?
III. Organization and Grammatical Correctness
- Does the reader present ideas in a logical, organized manner without unnecessary repetition?
- What organizational strategy (internal text structure) does the writer use?
- chronological order if relating a story
- cause-and-effect
- compare/contrast
- steps in a process
- other: _____________________________________
- Does the essay have bookends -- an introduction or lead paragraph that hooks the reader plus a concluding paragraph that may or may not mirror the opening paragraph?
- Has the reader proofread the letter for errors of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation?
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.