Business Letters

You will be writing and sending a business letter to a company of your choice. Apple, Crayola, Barbie, your favorite game console or video game, etc.

- Single Spaced (Not your average MLA double)

To write business letter you need the following parts:

- Senders Address (Your address)
- Date
- The Recipients Address
- Saluation/Greeting
- Body of your message
- Closing

Information on each part can be found here: OWL Parts of a Business Letter


Example: READ THE PARAGRAPHS THEY GIVE YOU INSTRUCTIONS

Your Name

Care of: Shelby Whittington

5 Hill Street                                   <--- Senders Address (School Address)
Madison, Wisconsin 53700

March 15, 2005               <---- Date

Ms. Helen Jones                  <--- Recipients Address
President
Jones, Jones & Jones
123 International Lane
Boston, Massachusetts 01234 

Dear Ms. Jones:                          <---- Greeting/Salutation

(BODY) Business letter format is called block format, using single spacing. For authoritative advice about all the variations, we highly recommend The Gregg Reference Manual, 9th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), a great reference tool for workplace communications. There seems to be no consensus about such fine points as whether to skip a line after your return address and before the date: some guidelines suggest that you do; others do not. Let's hope that your business letter succeeds no matter which choice you make!

When you use the block form to write a business letter, all the information is typed flush left (no indents), with one-inch margins all around. First provide your own address, then skip a line and provide the date, then skip one more line and provide the inside address of the party to whom the letter is addressed. If you are using letterhead that already provides your address, do not retype that information; just begin with the date. For formal letters, avoid abbreviations where possible.

Skip another line before the salutation, which should be followed by a colon. Then write the body of your letter as illustrated here, with no indentation at the beginnings of paragraphs. Skip lines between paragraphs.

After writing the body of the letter, type the closing, followed by a comma, leave 3 blank lines, then type your name and title (if applicable), all flush left. Sign the letter in the blank space above your typed name. Now doesn't that look professional?

Sincerely,           <---- Closing

John Doe                                  <---- Your Signature
Administrative Assistant             <---- Rock Ridge High School Student

Library Databases

LCPS.org/RockRidge

Library

"Online Databases"

Gale Databases

Search variations of your question/sub question.

Click 'Citation Tools' on the right hand side and it will generate an MLA citation for you.

http://www.lcps.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=745

Annotated Bibliography Example

This should be very easy for you to create after you have information from your outline. Use the works cited you already have created and add 1-2 paragraphs explaining how you will use your sources within your presentations. Try to pull direct quotes you plan to use. You need at least four artifacts. DUE MARCH 11TH.

BIG QUESTION TIMELINE:

Sample Outline - BQ Help - DUE MARCH 4TH

This is how your BQ Outline should be structured. Use full sentences and some fragments to make sure you have your bases covered. Include all parts below in your Outline that is turned in. This is due MARCH 4TH.

Big Question Outline

BQ Outline - You are starting a rough draft today, it will be due typed by March 4th.

Please include:
- intro (includes your thesis)
- body paragraphs/main points (at least three)
- information from artifacts (MLA, in-text citations) (within main points)
- conclusion
- works cited (MLA, seperate page)

For help on how to structure your outline read here: Outline Instructions - Reference example 2.

Artifcats for Big Question Research

Artifacts and Sources are an important part of your research for your Big Question. They can come in all shapes and sizes and should be used in order to support the side of the question that you are arguing. Some examples are:

Scholarly:
- Reference works, encyclopedias and dictionaries
- Major periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals)
- Reliable websites (.edu, .gov, .org) - some .com (nytimes.com, etc.)

Literary:
- Novels
- Poems
- Plays
- TV shows
- Movies
- Songs
(Try to think about ones we have used/studied in class!)

Artistic/Personal:
- Paintings
- Photographs
- Journal entries
- Conversations/interviews
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- Emails
- Survey
(These can be your work, or the work of friends or professionals)

_____________________________________________________________________

CITING YOUR SOURCES: You can find how to cite all these different types of sources on PurdueOWL by typing in what you need, for example " PurdueOWL MLA Citing a Song" - scroll down to find your citation requirements.

There is an endless amount of resources available for you to explore in order to support your BQ. Think about the stance you are taking, what the counter-arguments could be, and how you can prove those incorrect.

______________________________________________________________________

AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER: You need at least 4 artifacts/sources that you cite on a works cited page (MLA) at the end of your presentation - Works Cited and MLA Information

MORE EXAMPLES: Old Big Question Examples - Remember, some of these examples are great, and some are missing aspects such as concrete evidence or their citations.