Select a problem in your community or your school that you feel passionately about (students
talking on cell phones in the classroom, the need for more recreational centers in your city,
etc.) and write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. (For tips on writing a strong
opinion letter, visit http://www.ccmc.org/node/16090)
You do not need to format this assignment like a formal business letter, but do start your letter
with the phrase “Dear Editor:”
In the body of your letter, explain the problem (suggested for body paragraph 1), express your
views on it such as the potentially negative effects (suggested for body paragraph 2), and then
offer a solution to it (suggested for body paragraph 3). In order to effectively persuade your
audience—the newspaper’s readers—to agree with you and to act on your solution, you will
need to fully understand the problem and understand your audience. In addition, you will need
to be able to describe the problem detail, to clearly explain your position on it using a
persuasive tone, and to provide strong, concrete examples to back up your claims.
Sample Thesis Statement: “Valley Community College has (add problem), which (add your
stance/potentially negative impacts); therefore, (add solution).”

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT

A persuasive researched-based proposal addressed to a specific, named decision maker, stating a real problem in your workplace, school, church, or volunteer organization and offering a solution to the decision-maker, in at least 3,500 but no more than 5,000 words (for the aggregate “package” — which includes the proposal in Paper 2, and the Executive Summary in Paper 6), including, in this order:

Letter of Transmittal (external) or Routing Slip (internal) to the decision maker
Title Page (listing the decision maker’s name and title, the title of your proposal, your name and position, and the date)
Executive Summary
Table of Contents (listing every section and beginning page number for each)
List of Illustrations (only the illustration titles and page numbers where your illustrations appear)
Introduction
A series of Text sections separated by specific headings and including at least two integrated and sourced graphic aids (that is, incorporated on the same pages that discuss each) and in-text MLA format citations reporting at least eight external references, including the graphics’ sources
Conclusion(s)
Recommendations – a series of step-by-step actions for the decision maker to take to implement your proposed solution
A Works Cited Page (so titled) with at least eight references in MLA format (must follow MLA format guidelines and must consist of at least three different TYPES of sources – no more than three of any given type, except no more than two personal interviews). ALL references MUST be used in in-text MLA-style citations in the body of the report. In-text citations contain the first word of the Works Cited entry and the page number, in parentheses.
Graphics MUST NOT be on stand-alone pages, only on the page with text that refers to them specifically. NO “clip art” will be counted against this requirement; graphics must contribute something not explained by text alone. Graphics created by you should be labeled (Author); those created by you from another source, such as statistics you found in an article, should be labeled (example): (Author, derived from Jones 3).

At least THREE different types of sources must be used (for example, newspapers, magazines, internet, interviews, books, journals). No more than three of any type other than interviews may count toward the eight required and no more than TWO interviews may count (more of any kind of reference can be used, if necessary – they just don’t count toward the eight total).

“Internet” sources are references found ONLY on the Internet; a newspaper article obtained from the paper’s website counts as a newspaper article, not as an Internet reference. Works Cited Internet sources MUST include the section title, the home page title, the author (if available), and the date of your access, the date of publication, in addition to the URL (in the order specified by the MLA guidelines).

PAGINATION:

Neither the Letter of Transmittal (or Routing Slip) or Title page contain page numbers.

The Executive Summary through the List of Illustrations are lower case Roman numerals.

The first page of the report is not numbered.

Page two of the report through the end of the document are labeled with Arabic numerals. Location on the page is up to the writer but should be consistent. If the pagination feature of your word processor proves too troublesome, simply insert the page numbers manually (followed by a hard page return to assure they appear where they should).

PEER REVIEW of this project will be accomplished by your drafting an Executive Summary in advance of creating this report and sharing it in the corresponding Discussion Forum.

Grading Criteria:

Begins with a letter of transmittal (if to an external decision maker) or Routing Slip (internal recipient) containing the appropriate routing (with names and positions), a brief description and what is expected, and the author’s name, title, and contact information
Contents are in the prescribed order
Executive Summary addresses purpose (to address a problem), the problem, the impact, the proposed solution, and the steps necessary for the decision maker to take to implement the solution
Pagination is as specified
Core contents have section header
Proposal includes at least two sourced graphics and MLA-style in-text citations from at least eight different sources (including the graphics)
Works Cited page is alphabetic and in MLA format
Appropriate spelling, grammar, construction and focus throughout
Please submit your assignment as a Word .doc, .docx or .rtf attachment to your Assignment folder using the link below or through the Assignments gateway in the blue navbar. Your completed work is due by 11:59 p.m. ET Sunday, Week 8.