WRITING ASSIGNMENT  -  Speak Writing to express personal opinions
PROMPT
Melinda and her classmates had to write an essay in their English class. The assignment was to write an essay about "The Best Lost Homework Excuse Ever." Your assignment is to write a creative and detailed essay about the best lost/late homework excuse you can think of.
PRE WRITING
Think about all the excuses you or your friends have ever given your teacher for lost or late homework. What excuses were the most creative? What excuses worked or made the teacher laugh? Lost and late homework is often the topic of television shows and movies as well. Think about the shows you watch and some of the creative excuses you've seen on screen. What excuses were the most detailed?
Write down some possible ideas for your excuse. Remember, a good, creative excuse will have several steps to it. Think about the entire course of events that led up to your homework being late or lost.
DRAFTING
This essay should be written in first person. It will have an introductory paragraph where you will
want to mention the assignment that is late and the class/teacher you are explaining the excuse to.
The body of your essay should include several paragraphs explaining all the details of the excuse. When a new problem occurs, begin a new paragraph. Try to separate the steps that lead up to the homework being lost or late into their own paragraph. Remember, a good excuse will contain several attempts at getting the assignment done, or finding the homework, but with a new problem that prevents this from happening in each paragraph.
Your essay should have a conclusion that contains the end to your story. This should include the last step—your arrival at school. You will also want to mention the assignment, teacher, and class again to remind the reader of what it was that was late.
PROMPT
When you finish the rough draft of your composition, ask a student who sits near you to read it.
After reading your rough draft, he/she should tell you what he/she liked best about your work,
which parts were difficult to understand, and ways in which your work could be improved. Reread
your paper considering your critic's comments, and make the corrections you think are necessary.
Ask your classmate what he/she thought of each of the characters/events you chose for your
assignment.
PROOFREADING
Do a final proofreading of your paper double-checking your grammar, spelling, organization, and
the clarity of your ideas.