Dear Ms. Cowley,
I am glad that we are taking time in our writing class to take to see how well we can write a persuasive letter, what a delicate letter it is! In a letter, you have no power to gauge how the person you are writing to is receiving your efforts (which would allow you to adjust how you continue), so the letter must be very clear and well thought out. It also might require a little more intimacy with the person to write an effective letter, because the better you know them the better you can persuade them.
For this assignment, I would write about something I really care about, especially since it is part of the assignment to actually send it. How could I try to persuade someone to do something that I care nothing about? Most likely, it would be addressing something that bothers me. Since I'd probably be asking the person to fix something that I don't appreciate I would want to allow them as much privacy as possible so they wouldn't feel like they were forced into whatever they decide. What I mean is, I wouldn't want them to feel pressure from others, or feel that I had aired a sensitive matter for the whole world to see. Because of this, I would not feel at all comfortable posting such a letter on a public blog where it would not only be read but also read with the specific design of being critiqued and analyzed by many people not previously concerned with the matter. I would really feel like I had violated their right to privacy.
Since this all goes back to concern for the privacy of both parties, and most particularly the privacy of the person being persuaded, I hoped that you would be comfortable with my using my reservations as the subject for this assignment. Honestly, even with this letter I would have preferred to just send it to you, express my problem and then ask if it would be okay for me to post it.
I agree that it is healthy for me to put my writing on the blog where the whole class can critique it, but in this case I don't feel like there is a way for them to analyze my writing while ignoring what my writing is trying to achieve, something that is between me and the person I am writing to.
Yours Sincerely,
Jessica Groberg
Whether or not you were trying to be different in your style of writing, it definitely was different and it caught my eye. Sometimes different can be a risk that blows up in our faces, however this was well done.
ReplyDeleteSkyler's right: this was genius. I had fun reading it, and it actually flowed really well.
ReplyDeleteWow, not bad. Risky and it came with a reward. I like the irony. Very entertaining to read.
ReplyDeleteValid, but yet again that's why all of the prompts have been left open to interpretation. I think that anyone can find topics to write about that they care about and that respect the privacy of others. I also have concerns about using writing when face to face discussion is convenient, but I will refrain. (Which is really difficult for me.)
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