Open Letter $$ Transfer Assignment $(20\%)$

COMM$2017($Communicating Across Contexts$)$ Overview:

Objective:

$$ In a persuasive piece of writing addressed to an appropriate audience, inform and make a point about an issue impacting members in your community.

Course Learning Outcome$($s$)$ Assessed:

$$ CLO $1$ Analyze a variety of texts that respond to various contexts.

$$ CLO $2$ Compose written texts that respond to various contexts.

$$ CLO $3$ Apply research and digital literacy skills.

Writing Situation:

The Local is an award$-$winning independent magazine known for being $$unabashedly Toronto, reporting from corners of the city that are too often ignored or misunderstood.$$ The Local has made a splash on the news media scene with special deep dives into current topics, often from untold or unheard perspectives, such as The Indigenous Toronto Issue and The Rent Series.

The Local$$s next issue will focus on the life of college students in Toronto. In the upcoming issue, The Local wants to do something new: publish an open letter. They have invited college students across the GTA to submit an open letter informing readers of a current problem affecting college students and advocating for the adoption of an appropriate solution. The topic does not necessarily have to be school$-$related.

Letter writing, at first, seems like a dated practice; however, you soon realize that the open letter is the most appropriate type of communication for your purpose:

$$ An open letter allows you to directly address a specific person or organization that you want to hold accountable

$$ Unlike a private email, the open letter has the benefit of being published widely and read by a general audience $$ with an open letter, you will be able to not only address a specific reader but also educate the general audience about a significant problem

$$ Unlike a short social media post, an open letter is a longform communication piece that allows you to thoroughly develop, support, and explain your thinking

$$ An open letter advocates for a change by offering concrete solutions to a widely felt problem; in short, it calls on audiences to act

Instructions:

Write a $750$ to $1000-$word open letter informing readers of a current problem affecting college students and advocating for the adoption of an appropriate solution.

Remember that this open letter will be published in The Local$$s next issue, and you should identify an appropriate audience to address your open letter. To do this, figure out who should be accountable for the social injustices and$/$ or who you want to call to action so that we can see real change.

Find and incorporate at least $3$ sources into your open letter.

Apply what we learned in class about the conventions of an open letter.