InDefenseofAnneFrank

When Otto Frank first decided to publish Annes diary, book companies
felt that some portions were inappropriate, and refused to publish the
diary in its original form, choosing instead to censor it. Throughout
history, people have chosen not to publish books, to ban books from
libraries,and even to preventschoolsfromteachingparticularworksofliterature. AnneFranks
originaldiary, which contains somewhat more mature content than the playwereadinclass,is
onesuchbannedbook.

Hypotheticalsituation:
Members of the community have expressed concern over eighth graders learning about
Anne Frank. They are concerned that the realities of the Holocaust, Annes disrespectful
attitude toward her mother, and sexuallyexplicit material may not be appropriate for
young people. Some of these parents have asked the school board to ban this unit at
FlorenceCarltonSchool.

Assume that you have been asked to write a letter in support of studentslearning about
Anne Franks life as partofthe8thgradereadingcurriculum. Persuadeourschoolboardof
the moral benefits of keeping this piece of literature in our curriculum. Your letter must
includethreestrong,fullyexplainedreasonsforsupport.

Cheat Sheet
INTRODUCTIONPARAGRAPH
1. Doestheauthor:
a. _______BeginwithDearSchoolBoard:
b. _______Providecontext(introducethemselves,describethesituation,etc.)?
c. _______Clearlystatetheirposition?
d. _______Provideatransitionsentenceintothefirstbodyparagraph?
2.
Edit
allspelling,punctuation,verbtense,capitalization,andcompletesentences(norunons!).

BODYPARAGRAPHS
1. Readthebodyparagraphsthoroughly.Doestheauthor:
a. _______Haveatopicsentenceatthebeginningofeachbodyparagraph?
b. _______StatethreespecificreasonstokeepAnneFranksstoryinourcurriculum?
c. _______Usestrong,specificdetailstofullyexplainandsupporttheirreasoning?
d. _______Doestheauthorpersuadeyouthathis/herpositioniscorrect?
e. _______Transitionintoeachnewparagraph?
2. Edit
allspelling,punctuation,verbtense,capitalization,andcompletesentences(no
runons!).

CONCLUSIONPARAGRAPH
1. Readtheconclusionparagraphthoroughly.Doestheauthor:
a. _______Transitionintotheconclusion?
b. _______Restatehis/herthesisstatement(shortlistofreasons)?
c. _______Endwithastrong,concludingsentence/statementwhichencouragesthe
SchoolBoardtosupportauthorsposition?
2. Edit
allspelling,punctuation,verbtense,capitalization,andcompletesentences(no
runons!).

FORMATTING
1. Readtheessaythoroughly.Doestheauthor:
a. _______Havetheappropriateheading?Seetheexamplebelowifyoureunsure.
b. _______Doublespacetheessay?
c. _______Usesize12fontallthewaythroughtheessay?
d. _______UseArial,Calibri,Cambria,orTimesNewRomanfontallthewaythroughthe
essay?
e. _______Indenteachparagraph?
f. _______HaveNOspacebetweenparagraphs?
g. _______HaveATLEASTONEFULLPAGEoftext?

HermioneGranger
Ms.Houser
8thReading
22March2016

DearSchoolBoard:
MynameisHermioneGranger,andImastudentatFlorenceCarltonMiddle
School.Imwritingtoyoubecause