REQUIRED INFO

Who are you?

What do you bring to our

team?

How prepared are you for this

work?

Why should we have you join

us?

DUE DATES: Printed rough draft:

Monday, February 29th

*Final Draft: Wednesday, March 2

*This is our first major assignment, and so

deadlines must be met.

ELP30 – Written Assignment #1 – Letter of (philosophical) InquiryIn this first written assignment, you are being asked to write an inquiry letter to apply for a position as a philosopher.

What is a letter of inquiry, typically? A letter of inquiry is a letter (duh) where you are asking or applying for something (usually for a job, grant, or something where you eventually get paid!). In this case, the purpose of the letter is slightly twisted (kind of like Mr. Cossette and this class!). Rather than apply for a job – boring, but a necessary means to being fed – you are going to apply on behalf of a famous philosopher – exciting, and an essential end in itself!

In other words, you want to ‘sell’ us on the idea that your philosopher of choice is worth studying. This will help us start to get to know the terrain lying ahead of us just a little, and maybe even get us excited about the journey!

Follow the template on the reverse side of this page and before you’re finished ensure that you have all of the items on the checklist below. I am looking forward to seeing what you can do to convince us.

Completion Checklist (Mr. Cossette will be using this as an evaluative tool)Does your letter include the following?

Format of an inquiry letter Key info (use their biographical info and adapt): your address, phone number,

name, date Paragraph 1 (~2-3 sentences): Statement of Purpose & Salutation, along with

a brief biography 2 Body Paragraphs (~4-5 sentences each): spaces between paragraphs and no

indenting Paragraph 4 (~2 sentences): Short closing & reminder of your philosopher’s

perfection Closing salutation & signature Proper references to all sources, including a properly formatted bibliography

on a separate page

Your letter must be between 350-600 words in length.

Effective Language

Correct spelling, punctuation, and sentence/paragraph structure A variety of sentence lengths A variety of appropriate and consistently effective vocabulary/words

Content

Clearly and effectively expressed ideas & (biographical) information Paragraph one is an engaging introduction of yourself

Paragraph two is a description of your pertinent philosophical skills and dispositions to this work

Paragraph three is a brief argument outlining why you belong as part of our learning team

Closing

Paragraph four restates the letter’s purpose Summarizes important information and leaves reader compelled

AddressCity, Province Postal CodePhone Number (cell/home)

Date

Your (philosopher’s) Name

Dear Mr./Ms. _______________,

[Paragraph 1 – Statement of Purpose and Introduction to Inquirer]

In this first paragraph please let me know why you are writing to me (your statement of purpose). Then, introduce yourself. Briefly tell me who you are, what you enjoy doing outside of class and your pertinent educational history (please don’t tell me where you went to pre-school). This paragraph should be filled with powerful adjectives which help make you stand out. AND REMEMBER, YOU WANT TO SHOW US THAT YOU ARE READY TO BEGIN THINKING & QUESTIONING PHILOSOPHICALLY!

[Paragraph 2 – Summary of Skills & Dispositions – What you bring to the Team]

The second paragraph is for you to discuss what skills you have which would contribute to your success in this class, as well as to our class as a whole. EVERYONE has skills which help them or you would not have made it this far. Focus on showing me the extent to which you have the disposition of a philosopher and an ELA student – deep thinking, skepticism, critical thought, curious, an inquirer, a strong writer, reader, etc…

[Paragraph 3 – Brief argument – Why you belong in this course]

This is a chance for you to begin practising one of the foundational philosophic skills – constructing an argument: thesis supported by premises (reasons and evidence) to reach a clear conclusion. Try to come up with ~3 related reasons that you are an ideal candidate and perfectly positioned to benefit from this course. For example, try this model: a) Some foundational truth about why we should study philosophy; b) a related idea demonstrating what a person in order to be prepared to being practising philosophy; c) a clear demonstration of how you are the embodiment of ‘b’. If you do this well, then ‘a’ leads to ‘b’ leads to ‘c’. Air tight.

[Closing – Super brief (1-2 sentences) wrap up and friendly sign off]

Close with a summary of why you are a great candidate for this course, what you hope to get out of it personally and what you can contribute to the group. End on a positive note!

Sincerely,

Your Fancy SignatureYour name typed out

SELF-ASSESSMENT - OUTCOMES TARGETEDStudent Name: _________________________________Mr. Cossette’s pick:CC 30.4: Compose and create narrative, expository, and persuasive writings that include…a letter of inquiry.

Choose one more and explain why you are choosing it. Try to pick something that you know you need to work on:

Outcome chosen & why:Ou (feel free to type this out on your own and include it in your final submission)________________________________________________________________________________

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What you plan to focus on improving through this work & why:(eg: organization, mechanics, spelling, voice, evaluative thinking skills, persuasion)

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*Make sure to complete this during the BEFORE portion of the drafting work, as you will need to have this with

you as you edit your rough draft.