Dear John/Jane letter

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This is a collaborative activity. You will work in pairs. If we have an odd number of students, we can have one group of three, but that group must represent a 'triangle' relationship. Each group will write one round of correspondence between your fictional characters. You will write personal letters loosely based on a 'Dear John' scenario.

An entry on Wikipedia discusses the history of the 'Dear John' letter:

While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been coined by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a relationship with a new man rather than wait for their old one to return. As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language, a serviceman receiving a note beginning with a curt "Dear John" (as opposed to the expected "Dear Johnny", "My dearest John", or simply "Darling", for example) would instantly be aware of the letter's purpose.

As a class, we will brainstorm various biographies and relationships of a man and woman who are geographically separated for some reason. We absolutely do not have to use a World War II scenario. It can be set in the current period or any period in history or even the future.

Instructions

  1. As a class, brainstorm, discuss possible biographies and situations. You and your partner do not have to use one of the situations we discuss in class.
  2. Form pairs. You and your partner will play the roles of the characters you choose. You are in a romantic relationship, but you have been geographically separated by some situation. As a result, one of you wishes to end the relationship.
  3. You each need to write a letter to your partner. You choose which letter is 'first'. Does the person wishing to endthe relationship write first, or does the other one write first, perhaps wondering why their lover hasn't written in so long?
  4. When all of the letters are done, you and your partner will read your letters to the class.

This project requires that you write in the format of a personal letter. Your letter needs to have paragraph structure, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. You will also need to write in appropriate register given the topic of the letter. We'll go over this in class, but following is a simple example of the minimum structure your letter should have.

Please submit your letter to dan (at) cailab.net, and use the subject line dearjohn yourname.

Structure

  • Introduction
    * greeting
    * telling the person how you've been
    * telling the person why you're writing
  • Body
    * 1 to 3 paragraphs giving full details of your message
  • Conclusion
    * 1-5 sentences (1 paragraph) concluding the letter

Resources

Grading rubric
Wikipedia resource