1. Semester Review
Summary Essay
Birtcher

2. Preparation for Essay Do you have a pencil or a blue/black pen?
Do you have lined paper?

3. Handwriting
What do you need to do to make this piece of writing as neat as possible?
Consider:
Print vs. Cursive
Skipping Lines

4. Paper Set-up - Letter format
Name – upper right corner
Date – below name
Salutation – top line – left margin
Dear ________ ,
For this assignment you are going to write to a parent or guardian – an adult at home who is responsible for you, or who monitors your school work.

5. Introductory Paragraph
The objectives of this assignment are:
To evaluate your academic performance from 1st semester
To plan and predict your performance for 2nd semester
In your Introductory Paragraph you need to introduce these 2 objectives.
Possible start: “In English class, I have been asked to…”

6. Body Paragraph 1 Topic – Preparation for class
Do you always come to class with the supplies and materials you are supposed to have?
Pencil/pen
Paper
Folder with handouts
Notebook
Journal
What might need improvement in this area, and how do you plan to make changes?

7. Body Paragraph 2 Topic – Homework
How do you keep track of your homework assignments? (planner?)
Do you get your homework done on time?
Is your work the best quality it can be?
What improvements might be needed in this area, and what changes do you plan to make?

8. Body Paragraph 3 Topic – Studying for quizzes and tests
What have you done in the past?
Are you happy with the results you’ve had?
What changes do you plan to make in the future to improve this area?

9. Conclusion Paragraph
Make some general statements about your feelings about your Semester 1 performance.
Make a commitment to improving your academic performance for Semester 2.

10. Signature of letter
Use a respectful, business-type closing such as “Regards,” or “Sincerely,” or “Yours truly,” (do not use “Love” because this is not a social letter).
Sign your first name below the closing.

11. Proofreading Check all your capitalizations Check punctuation
First word of each sentence
Proper nouns like names and the word English
Check punctuation
Periods at the ends of each sentence
Commas where needed
Is every word legible and spelled correctly?

12. Finishing
If you have more than one page, please staple your pages neatly together.
If your paper has “ruffles” along the edge, please tear or cut them off neatly.
Hand in your paper.