Writing Across Genres

Question 1

A seventh‑grade student is writing a letter to the school principal to persuade the administration to start a new recycling program. Which revision would make the letter most clear, coherent, and appropriate for the task, purpose, and audience?

Accepted Answer

Replace the informal greeting with a formal salutation, and add specific statistics about how much waste could be reduced each year.

Answer

Shorten the entire letter to a single sentence that says, “Please start recycling.”

Answer

Begin the letter with a personal story about the student’s favorite video game.

Answer

Insert the slang phrase “That’s totally rad!” to describe the recycling bins.

Question 2

A seventh‑grade student has drafted the following persuasive letter to the school principal requesting that the lunch period be extended by 20 minutes: "Mr. Principal, I think we should have longer lunches. It would be better for us. Thank you." Which revision would most improve the letter so that its development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience?

Accepted Answer

Add a clear thesis statement in the opening paragraph that states the request and its main reason.

Answer

Use informal slang and emojis to make the letter sound more personal.

Answer

Add a friendly greeting and a polite sign‑off to make the tone more courteous.

Answer

Include a detailed description of the cafeteria menu to show what is served each day.

Question 3

The following paragraph is part of a letter a seventh‑grader is writing to the school principal to ask for a longer lunch break: "I think we should have a longer lunch because I get hungry and want more time to eat with my friends." Which revision would most improve the paragraph so that the development, organization, and style are appropriate for the task, purpose, and audience?

Accepted Answer

I respectfully request that the school consider extending the lunch period to allow students adequate time to eat and recharge for the afternoon.

Answer

Honestly, I get super hungry and sometimes I even dream about pizza, so longer lunch would be awesome!

Answer

Did you know that schools with longer lunches have a 15% increase in test scores?

Answer

I think we should add video games to the cafeteria so students have fun during lunch.

Try three questions

A seventh‑grade student is writing a letter to the school principal to persuade the administration to start a new recycling program. Which revision would make the letter most clear, coherent, and appropriate for the task, purpose, and audience?

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