Reader Letter Assignment and Rubric

Reader Letter

Once a month you will turn in a reader letter. 

Due dates: 

October 15

November 12

December 10

January 14

February 11

March 11

April 15

May 13 

Paper Requirements: 

2 or more typed pages

Times New Roman font

12 point font size

½” tab

Double spaced

MLA Heading and format

Works Cited page (does not count as part of the two page paper)

Works Cited page is to be labeled Works Cited or Work Cited

Pages are numbered with your last name appearing before the

number of the page (including Works Cited page)

Quotes are to be in quotation marks

Quotes of more than four typed lines are to be indented on the

left one inch (no quotation marks)

To cite the quote, the author’s last name and page number are

enclosed in parenthesis after the quote but before the period. 

If the title of the book and the author has already been stated, then

only the page number needs to appear after the quote. 

Use block style for the format of the letter itself

Reader Letter:  What is it supposed to be about? 

• Personal, critical response to one book
• How do I pick a book? 
• One that you have read this year
• Revisit a book as a fan
• Most enjoyable to slam
• Select a passage you think is significant in terms of how you

reacted to the book’s:

•  theme
• conflict (problem)
• character development
• plot
• the author’s style
• Choose a chunk of the text you think shows something important
• Quote a passage – “copy” the passage and write about what you

think it shows about the book, the author, or your response to either

• Tell about your experience as a reader of the book
• Describe what you noticed about how the author wrote
• Tell what you think the themes might be
• Tell what surprised you
• Pose your wonderings, questions about:
• the author
• the characters
• the structure
• the voice
• yourself as a reader
• Tell what the author did that didn’t work for you
• Tell what the author did that worked for you
• Notice how the book made you feel and what the author did to

achieve the effect

• Tell what you rated the book and why

Reader Letter:  Sentence Openers

*These sentence openers will help you create the content of your essay. 

• I was
• surprised when
• angry about
• satisfied with
• moved by
• incredulous at
• I liked the way the author
• I noticed how the author
• I don’t get why the author
• If I were the author I would have
• I’d compare this book to
• This book reminded me of
• The main character
• The character development
• The character changed
• when
• by
• from
• The narrative voice
• The structure of this book
• The climax of the plot
• The resolution of the main character’s problem
• The genre of this book
• I’d say a theme of this book is
• I wish that
• I didn’t agree with
• I understood
• I couldn’t understand
• Why did
• This is how I read this book: 
• I rated this one ____ because
• (ALWAYS USE THIS) I was: 
• struck by
• interested in
• convinced by

this passage:  “(quote passage).” 

It shows _____ about this author’s writing. 

Reader Letter:  Some Questions

*These questions will help you create the content of your essay. 

• How was the book?
• Were there any surprises? 
• Did anything surprise you?
• How did you feel when you got to the end?
• Who’s the main character?
• What is the main character like?
• What problem does the main character have to overcome?
• How is the character development in general?  Are you convinced?
• Who wrote the book?
• What did you think of the author’s writing style?
• Do you know anything about the author?
• Any theories about why the author might have written the book?
• Have you read any other books by this author?  If so, how is this book compared to the others?
• What genre is the book?
• Can you compare it to other books related to the same subject/genre/theme?
• Is it plausible? (believable or credible)
• How was the pace? 
• What is the narrative voice? 
• What do you think of the
• dialogue?
• format?
• length of chapters?
• flashbacks?
• inclusion of poems or quotes?
• diction choices?
• _____________ (depending on the book)? 
• If this book was a page-turner for you, what did you notice vs. a literary novel?  (Example:  Was the book formulaic – easy for you to predict?)
• Why did you decide to read (or reread) this book?
• Where did you find this book?
• Did you skim the parts that dragged – the descriptions, for example? 
• If you were confused, was it because it was hard to understand the language, or because you couldn’t tell what was going on?
• Did you want to skim to find out what happened, or even read just the ending?
• What did you rate this book?
• Would you recommend it to anyone?  

Reader Letter 1 Rubric 

Name __________________________

	4	3	2	1
MLA Format	Correct MLA heading format.  Contains MLA header for second page.	Complies with almost all the requirements for MLA heading format.  Contains MLA header for second page.	Complies with several of the requirements for MLA heading format and MLA header.	Complies with less than 50% of the requirements for MLA headings.
Block Letter Style	Complies with all the requirements for block letter style.	Complies with almost all the requirements for block letter style (missing one element).	Complies with several of the requirements for block letter style (missing 2 or 3 elements).	Complies with less than 50% of the requirements for block letter style (only has 4 or less).
Grammar and Spelling	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.	Writer makes 1- 3 errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes 4 - 5 errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes more than 5 errors in grammar and/or spelling.  Or:  Writer incorrectly spells a homophone.
Quote	Contains a quote which is integral to the story and essay.  Quote is introduced.  Quote is enclosed in quotation marks or indented if longer than four lines.	Contains a quote which is integral to the story and essay.  Quote is introduced and/or is enclosed in quotation marks or indented if longer than four lines.	Contains a quote which is integral to the story and essay.	Contains a quote.
Content	Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. Contained a well-developed thesis.  Discusses the theme of the story and one other literary element of the book.  Demonstrates a thorough knowledge of having read and understood the book.	Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better.  Contained a well-developed thesis or discussed the theme of the book. Demonstrates a thorough knowledge of having read and understood the book.	Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the essay was about.	Ideas were disorganized and the essay is overall confusing or merely a summary of the book.
Plagiarism	Essay is written in the student's voice and vocabulary and content are on the student's ability level as demonstrated in in-class writing. Outside sources are quoted and cited.	Essay is written in the student's voice.  Vocabulary and/or content are above the student's ability level as demonstrated in in-class writing.  Outside sources are quoted and cited.	Essay is written in a mature voice, vocabulary and/or content are above the student's ability level as demonstrated in in-class writing.	Essay or parts of the essay are copied from another source.
Total
____ x 4 = ____/96