Colony Letter

You have been living in one of the New England colonies for a few years now. You have some relatives who are still living in England. You decide to write a letter to your relatives trying to persuade them to come and join you.

Think of the reasons why you like living in the New England colonies and what opportunities there are for someone in these colonies. Now write the letter.

In order to create this persuasive letter, you have to decide what type of person would be attracted to these colonies. This type of person would be your audience (the relatives).

Then decide what your persuasive reasons would be—what life is like for someone there, what opportunities there are, what reasons a person might have for wanting to move there.

Organize your reasons into a letter. The letter should be set up as follows:

Introductory paragraph—you might want to explain why you left England yourself and which colony you are in. You might want to tell a little bit about your journey over. Then you would end the introduction with a sentence that states the main reasons why you think these colonies would be a good choice.

Body Paragraphs—each reason would become a separate paragraph. You need to have at least three main reasons, so that means three body paragraphs. You would begin with the topic sentence that states the reason. The rest of the paragraph would develop that reason with specific details that further explain/support the main reason. Use persuasive arguments to convince them that your reasons are good ones.

Conclusion—this is where you repeat your final bid to persuade them to come. You can offer your help, etc.

v Create a realistic date

v Dear ….. (use names appropriate to the time period and indicate the relationship) For example: My Dearest Sister Rebecca, or Dear Cousin Samuel,

v Use the first person "I" since this is a personal letter

v Don’t make the letter sound like a textbook, make it sound personal

v Incorporate the facts and details into each paragraph but use persuasive arguments

v Close your letter with: Sincerely, or Fondly, or With Much Love, or something similar

v Final draft can be typed or written (use blue or black pen)

v You can make the letter look authentic by using stationary, or yellowing paper, using a script font, etc.