Due Date: Monday, January 9

Literary Letter Book Report for Biographies, Autobiographies, and Memoirs Genre

There are 5 basic parts in a standard friendly letter: the heading, the salutation, the body, the closing, and the signature. Your letter should include all of these parts.

  • The heading includes your address and the date. The heading is located in the upper right corner of the letter.
  • The salutation, or greeting, begins with the word Dear and is followed by the name of the person who will receive the letter. In this case you can choose to write to me, Mrs. Vena Levesque, the author of your book or a character in your book. A comma is placed after the name. Write that salutation at the left-hand margin, two lines below the heading.
  • The body is the main part of the friendly letter in which you write your information and ideas. Skip one line after the salutation before you begin the body. Also, you should skip one line between paragraphs. The body of your letter will be five paragraphs.
  • Introduce yourself. Tell the title of the book as well as what kind of book it is.
  • Discuss your favorite character. What appealed to you about the character? Make connections.
  • Choose a scene that was especially vivid or real to you. Describe it and connect with it.
  • Make comments or recommendations to the author.

Think about:

Did reading this book help solve any problems in your own life? How?

Did you learn anything new about yourself as a result of reading this book?

What difference could a story like this make to someone who reads this book?

What parts of the story were boring or difficult to read?

Was the ending satisfying? How would you change it?

  1. Conclusion:

Did you learn a lesson from the book?

What would you change about the book if you could?

Final comments to the author

  • The closing is written two lines below the body of your letter. It begins just to the right of the middle of the letter. Only the first word is capitalized. The closing is followed by a comma. Example: Your friend,
  • The signature is the final part of a friendly letter. It is written beneath the closing. Include your first and last name.

For more help or to see an example, please consult the Write Source.