As my first year back teaching draws to a close, it’s been a pleasure to re-visit this end of year writing unit designed to consolidate student writing skills. Our Country encourages a greater appreciation of where we live on Gundungurra lands, and generates discussion on just how well we know our local area.

Having already created a travel brochure to showcase a particular place in the southern highlands, submitted with a completed self and/or peer marking criteria, students then compose a persuasive letter. They must also create their own marking guidelines.

Here are the instructions for this task:

• you will begin with the information and details from your travel brochure to write a personal letter – imagine you have an overseas pen pal who will be visiting Australia
• persuade your friend that they should spend at least a few days on Gundungurra lands
• include specific details about a significant event or activity – expand on the information in your brochure, and/or add fictional elements in your persuasive writing
• populate your marking guide and submit with your edited final draft personal letter
• you may choose to include some of the elements discussed in class, for persuasive writing, in your marking guide – some may be combined
  • each paragraph has a new idea
  • descriptive language eg. adjectives and adverbs
  • factual language
  • rhetorical question
  • punctuation eg. exclamation marks and dashes
  • strong opening
  • word choice/hyperbole
  • truncated sentences
  • first person 
  • form: date, address, salutation, close
  • post script (PS)
  • convincing argument

You can read more about the ‘Our Country’ unit here.

*Image from Wikimedia Commons