Editing - make sure you can say yes to each of these questions: 1. Have I read over my work? 2. Are the words spelled correctly (use your spell check tool)? 3. Is the punctuation correctly used (book title in italics)? 4. Have I used correct grammar? 5. Does each sentence give a complete thought? 6. Have I used capital letters where needed? 7. Is my writing separated into paragraphs (indent / tab for each new paragraph)?
Formatting - follow these guidelines: 1. font size = 12 2. font style = Times New Roman 3. font color = black 4. spacing = 1.5 (double space between paragraphs)
Your letter must match the recommended format below. Make sure you have all seven parts: return address (your home or school address), salutation, lead paragraph, body paragraph(s), closing paragraph, complimentary close, and signature.
Harry Maddox 111 Hometown Lane Searcy, AR 72143
Dear Natalie Babbitt,
If given three wishes, I always thought that my last one would be to live forever. That way I would have enough time to do everything I wanted to do and see everything I wanted to see. Living forever seemed like such a good idea, especially when death seems so scary. Reading your book Tuck Everlasting changed the way I think about living forever versus death.
While reading the book, I started wondering. At what point in my life would I want to drink from the spring—when would I want to freeze myself? If I drank the water now, at ten years old, I would never get to drive, never vote, and never become a father. All my friends and family would grow old and die and leave me here all alone. If I waited to drink from the spring at twenty-five years old, I would never have wrinkles or bad hips, but I would also never get to go fishing with my grandchildren.
No matter at what age I drank from the spring, eventually I would have to move away or hide so that no one would discover my secret. That would be pretty much like dying. I wouldn’t want to leave but I would have to leave. I’m thinking that maybe living forever wouldn’t be such a good idea after all. God’s plan includes a time for everything and an end to life at the right time. I guess I’ll rethink the last of my three wishes.