S’MORE WRITING The Right Voice: Task, Purpose, and Audience
LESSON OBJECTIVE LitCampers will consider task, purpose, and audience as they write sentences appropriate for casual, somewhat formal, and very formal occasions.
MATERIALS • Writing paper, pens, pencils
• Copy of the You’ve Got Style chart (p. 3) to model; copy of the You’ve Got Style A&B charts (p. 4) for each camper.
examples, and to respond with “casual,” “somewhat formal,” or “very formal”: Say: Let’s say you need to text (task) a friend (audience) about homework (purpose). What’s your style? (casual) What if you need to email (task) a teacher (audience) about an assignment (purpose) ? What’s the style? (somewhat formal) And what if there’s a community issue that’s important to you (purpose) , so you write a letter (task) to the editor of your local paper (audience) ? Style? (very formal). You’ve got it! Now let’s practice a few sentences together. Model using the You’ve Got Style chart. Note that the tasks and purposes for writing are the same in both examples, but that the audiences are different. As you model the first one, say: These are text messages from someone who needs to let different people know that she missed the bus. So, I know the writer’s task is a text, and the purpose is to tell people she missed the bus. In the first example, the writer texts her sister . Here, her style is casual. In the next example, she texts her friend’s mom. Here, her style is more formal. And in the third example, she texts her employer. Now her style is quite formal. Invite campers to point out how the messages are similar (they all say that the writer missed the bus) and how they are different (the way she addresses each person; the amount of detail she gives to explain why she missed the bus). Follow the same routine for the second example. Help campers see that the greeting, word choice, level of politeness, punctuation, and depth of explanation vary in each message.
INTRODUCE LESSON: Explain to campers that this lesson focuses on understanding the task (what you’re writing), purpose (why you’re writing), and audience (to whom you’re writing) to determine how to style your writing—how casual or formal it needs to be. TEACH: Say: Campers, today were going to talk about how to style our writing—how casual or formal it should be. Picture a formal occasion, such as a wedding or a school concert. You’re dressed in your best shoes and clothes, and you’ve paid some attention to the way your hair looks. In other words, you’re showing your fanciest self. You’re probably also quieter than usual. That’s because you’re showing respect and how serious you can be. Next, picture yourself at home or with close friends. You’re probably very casual in the way you dress, behave, and speak. But what if you were with your friends’ parents or your teachers? You would probably be somewhere between casual and formal. Your writing is like that, too. Depending on the situation, you might be formal—dressing up your words and taking a more serious tone—or casual—using slang and not worrying about punctuation. To figure out how casual or formal your writing needs to be, you need to ask yourself: What am I writing? Why am I writing? and To whom am I writing? In other words, you need to understand your task, purpose, and audience. Ask campers to identify the task, purpose, and audience in each of the following
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of formality. Allow campers to work with partners to brainstorm ideas and craft their sentences. CLARIFY: Say: There can be more than one way to say the same thing. Based on the level of formality that a situation requires, you might adjust the way you contact someone, the way you greet them and close the communication (or don’t), and many other things, like punctuation, word choice, and tone. You might have to provide more information to someone who knows less about a situation or someone you don’t know well.
TRY: Say: Campers, let’s see what you can do. On the You’ve Got Style—A chart, your task is to write a couple of sentences. The purpose of the sentences is to thank supporters for helping with a fundraiser. You will write to a close friend, a familiar neighbor, and the owner of a local business. Remember to consider your word choice, tone, punctuation, and the depth of explanation required for each audience. Next, on the You’ve Got Style—B chart, come up with your own task and purpose, then write to three different people using different levels
ML SUPPORT Have students practice different levels of formality for a task in their first language, to internalize the concept, and then have them translate and share their ideas in English.
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You’ve Got Style
Audience: sibling Style: casual
Audience: friend’s dad Style: somewhat formal
Audience: your employer Style: very formal
Task: what you’re writing
Purpose: reason for writing
A text
Let someone know you missed the bus.
Ugh! Missed the bus. Pick me up?!?!
Hi Mr. B., T and I goofed around at the mall too long and missed the bus. Could you please come get us and bring us home? Thx., C.
Dear Ms. Miles, I’m very sorry, but I will be 30 minutes late to work today. I had to finish a school project, and I missed the bus. I will make up the time. Thank you, Chippy
Audience: friend
Audience: a teacher Style: somewhat formal
Audience: the principal Style: very formal
Task
Purpose
Style: casual
Write an email
Explain that you will miss class tomorrow.
Hey, I’m gone tomorrow. Take notes for me in math, ok??
Hi Mr. T., I have a dentist appointment tomorrow so I’m going to miss your class. Will you let me make up the test? I sure hope so! ~Chippy
Dear Ms. Washington, Last week my mom made me a dentist appointment for tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I have a math test at the same time, which was just announced this week. May I arrange a time to make up the test, please? Thank you for considering my request. Sincerely, Chippy
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You’ve Got Style—A
Audience: best friend Style:
Audience: familiar next-door neighbor Style:
Audience: local business owner Style:
Task (what you’re writing) Write a note
Purpose (reason for writing) appreciation for supporting a fundraiser
You’ve Got Style—B
Audience: Style:
Audience: Style:
Audience: Style:
Task (what you’re writing)
Purpose (reason for writing)
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