Sampe Memoir

Individualized Writing Courses for Homeschool Families...

"Our goal is to address the precise needs, interests, and skills of students who have chosen to learn at home."

General Information

Individualized Writing Courses

Free Resources

Skill Sheets
Letter Writing Program

Sample Project: Memoir

Day One

Dear Mary,

Hello! My name is Denise, and I will be your child’s writing consultant. It would help me a great deal if you could supply me with a little bit of information about Dennis such as previous writing experience, grade level, age, and any other information that you think would be helpful to me. Also let me know if there is a particular project that you are interested in your child working on first. (If you need some ideas as to what we should work on, just let me know. Once I know a little more about your child I can help you decide on a project.)

Let me explain a little about the program. All of the e-mail goes through WriteGuide, so you or your child can send all e-mail for me there, and they will copy it into a blank e-mail and send it to me. This protects everyone involved and works well. You'll see how it works as we go along.

I'll start by writing a letter of introduction to your child, and we'll choose a project (or you can choose one for him). Then we’ll work through the project step-by-step. I’ll e-mail your child back within 24-hours of the time I get a response. These e-mails will give feedback on what’s been done and instruction on what to do next.

If Dennis has already been working on a paper, I can help with the editing process as well. Again, it’s a step-by-step approach where we take a little at a time so the student is not overwhelmed.

As soon as I have your permission, I can write an introductory letter to Dennis. Thank you for your input, and if you ever want to comment on anything, please feel free to e-mail me.

I’m looking forward to working with you!

Sincerely,

Denise

----------

Denise C. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________

Hi Denise,

Thank you for contacting us. I am really looking forward to this new program. Dennis has been tutored by our neighbor in writing for the last few years. He has done a few writing projects but I'd like to see him do more. He is 13and in 8th grade and we are looking into him going either to a homeschool high school (they go 2 days a week) or our local public high school. I want him to be at or above his current grade level in writing. I have not been able to measure that for the last few years.

He is very involved in sports. I thought perhaps the first paper he could write would be on our summer trip here in Colorado , climbing two fourteeners, Grays and Torreys. It was very eventful and I thought it might give you an idea of where he is at.

He will also be working through Progeny Press study guides for reading and the sometimes require short essays or reports. Perhaps I could keep you informed about them. Not knowing how this program works exactly, can he write a paper for another subject and send it to you for grading and/or improvement whenever he writes them?

I understand you don't necessarily grade his papers but we've been keeping track of his grades for most of his schooling. Can we continue with this or would it be better, to begin with, just to focus on his writing?

Also, we have Microsoft Works 4.0. Will he be able to type his papers on that and then attach them?

Thank you for working with us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Blessings,

Mary

_______________________________________________________________________

Day Two:

Dear Mary,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding Dennis! While WriteGuide cannot accept attachments in Microsoft Works (only in MS Word), Dennis can easily do his work in MS Works and then copy/paste the text of his paper into a blank e-mail. Let me know if that’s a problem.

Since you’d like Dennis to start out writing about your summer trip in Colorado , why don’t we work on a short memoir? We could focus on one event from his trip, talk about the lessons he learned, and work on developing scenes. If you’d rather he work on something else, that’s fine with me. Just let me know!

Certainly keep me posted on essays and reports that Dennis has to do! The way WriteGuide is set up, it takes about four weeks for us to work through a paper. It is possible to finish papers sooner, but it takes consistent, diligent effort on the student’s part. So let me know about a month in advance about a new assignment, and we’ll get working on it!

Yes, Dennis can write any kind of paper and submit it for editing. I can also give a grade. The grades we send out are based on four categories: tone, structure, clarity, and overall effect. Tone is basically the narrator's overall attitude towards his subject. Structure has to do with the parts of the paper. For example, in a research paper, that would include the quotations, the Works Cited List, the proper paragraphs, and so on. Clarity of course refers to how clear the writing is, and that includes proper use of grammar and punctuation rules. The overall effect is how well these three categories work together.

If Dennis submits finished papers, it would be a great help to me if either you or he could send the guidelines or directions as well as the paper. That way I know exactly what he was instructed to do.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop me an e-mail. Below my closing is my introductory e-mail to Dennis. I’m looking forward to working with both of you!

Sincerely,

Denise

-----

Dear Dennis,

Hello! My name is Mrs. Cevela, and I will be your writing consultant. I'm looking forward to working with you. Let me explain a little about what we'll be doing.

As you probably know, we'll be working on writing projects together. We'll e-mail back and forth and I'll lead you step-by-step through each project. Our first task will be to decide what to write first. Your mom mentioned that you might like to write about your summer trip, and that's fine with me. Why don’t we write a short memoir? If you and your mom decide you should start with something else, just let me know!

The word “memoir” is similar to another word you may be more familiar with—“memory.” It’s similar in spelling and it’s also similar in meaning. A memoir is simply a description of something we all have—memories! When we write a short memoir, we write about one specific event that had a lasting impression on us. Usually this event changed us in some way and taught us a lesson.

Can you think of an event that occurred on your trip that changed you in some way and taught you a lesson? If so, tell me as much as you can about that event. I can’t wait to read what you write!

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Mrs. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________

Hi my name is Dennis,

Our trip up Grays and Tories was not a normal hike. We decided to go up Grays first. The mountains were both fourteeners. We had to 4 wheel drive to get to the trailhead. We had to go 3,000 feet up in elevation. We started out and it wasn't that bad when we started out, but when we got to the base of the mountain there was no trail. The only way up Grays was up through a rock slide area. For every step that you took you would fall down 6 inches to a foot. The trip was 3 miles long, and for every 10 feet that you got you would rest for about 20 seconds. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get to the top of Grays. Me and my brother Luke made it to the top first. We were their for about an hour before the rest of my family made it.

The rest of the trip wasn't that bad. All we had to do was go about 1 1/2 miles down a saddle back, and up to the other mountain. When we got to the top of Tories we asked someone to take our picture.

We separated on the way down. Me and my dad went back the way that we had gone up. We had to go back that way you get the car. The rest of my family went down Tories. It was the safer route. I had to sit on a rock and slide down the mountain on it. We would stop every 30 feet. When we got back to the car we went to the other trail head to pick up the rest of my family.

_______________________________________________________________________

Day Three:

Dear Dennis,

We’re off to a great start with your memoir! Now that we know what you did and how you got there, let’s add some sensory detail.

Sensory detail gets its name from the fact that it involves our five senses: seeing, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Because we experience the world through our five senses, it makes sense that we can use those same five senses to allow our readers to experience the same sights, sounds, smells, touches, and tastes that we're trying to describe. It's a simple concept, but it's downright powerful when you apply it.

To apply sensory detail to your memoir, all you'll do is take one of your scenes, and add some details, putting an emphasis on the five senses. Try to describe as many of the details as you can. People rely heavily upon their eyes and ears, so the other senses tend to get ignored. But when you use all of them, a whole new level of depth is created. Here's a quick example:

***We finally arrived at the old water tower where our cabin leader had decided we would camp for the night. The rusty metal building had a hole in the ceiling, and as the sun dropped in the sky and the stars began to appear, the other girls started choosing places along the hard floor to sleep. No one would sleep under the gaping hole out of fear of bats and other creatures we heard flitting in the dark. I bravely placed my sleeping bag under the hole and scoffed at the others' fears. After finally falling asleep deep into the night, I suddenly became conscious of loud crashes in the sky. I felt cold, hard raindrops beating on my face. I quickly awoke and found that my sleeping bag was drenched.***

Notice the senses I used:

Sight-rusty metal building; sun dropping in the sky and stars appearing

Sound-bats flitting in the dark; thunder crashing

Touch-hard floor; cold, hard raindrops beating on my face

Adding those sensory details helps create a scene that the reader can live along with you. If the reader can see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you did, then he/she is drawn into your scene and experiences it right along with you. Rather than TELL what happened to you, you want to SHOW it, and those sensory details help do that.

Are you ready to give it a try? Add some sensory detail to what you’ve written. Then when you're done, e-mail me what you have. I can't wait to read it!

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Mrs. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________

Our trip up Grays and Tories was not a normal hike. We decided to go up Grays first. The mountains were both fourteeners. We had to 4 wheel drive to get to the trail head. We had to go 3,000 feet up in elevation. We started out and it wasn't that bad when we started out, but when we got to the base of the mountain there was no trail. The only way up Grays was up through a rock slide area. For every step that you took you would fall down 6 inches to a foot. The sun was shining brightly and we could feel it’s heat beating on our bodies. We had to take our coats off and put them around our waists. At the time and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The trip was 3 miles long, and for every 10 feet that you got you would rest for about 20 seconds. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get to the top of Grays. Me and my brother Luke made it to the top first. The air was thin at the top of the mountain which was making it hard to breath. We were their for about an hour before the rest of my family made it.

The rest of the trip wasn't that bad. All we had to do was go about 1 1/2 miles down a saddle back, and up to the other mountain. We could practically run down and up the saddle because there was a path. We felt a lot of wind when we got to the bottom of the saddle. When we got to the top of Tories we asked someone to take our picture.

I corrected the first and second paragraphs.

_______________________________________________________________________

Day Four:

Dear Dennis,

The sensory detail you added is great! Can you see how sensory detail helps make your memoir come alive? I especially like the image of the sun beating down on you. It makes me want to take off my coat, too!

Now let’s talk just a little bit more about using sensory detail to create a scene. What we want to do is to SHOW what’s happening rather than TELL what’s happening. I’m going to break up the sentences in one of your paragraphs, and point out which sentences are “scene-sentences” and which ones are “summary sentences”. Hopefully this will help you see the difference:

1. Our trip up Grays and Tories was not a normal hike. –summary

2. We decided to go up Grays first. –summary

3. The mountains were both fourteeners. –summary

4. We had to 4 wheel drive to get to the trail head. –summary

5. We had to go 3,000 feet up in elevation. –summary

6. We started out and it wasn't that bad when we started out, but when we got to the base of the mountain there was no trail. –summary

7. The only way up Grays was up through a rock slide area. –summary

8. For every step that you took you would fall down 6 inches to a foot. –summary

9. The sun was shining brightly and we could feel it’s heat beating on our bodies. –scene

10. We had to take our coats off and put them around our waists. –summary

11. At the time and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. –scene

12. The trip was 3 miles long, and for every 10 feet that you got you would rest for about 20 seconds. –summary

13. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get to the top of Grays. –summary

14. Me and my brother Luke made it to the top first. –summary

15. The air was thin at the top of the mountain which was making it hard to breath. –scene

16. We were their for about an hour before the rest of my family made it. –summary

Now there’s nothing wrong with having summary sentences! In fact, it’s nearly impossible to write a scene without them! However, our paragraph should be balanced, so we should have about half scene sentences and half summary sentences.

Here’s an example of how you could create a scene. Of course, the details are made up since I wasn’t there! You can change the sentences, adding your own details.

***

Our four-wheel drive vehicle slipped and skidded over the rocks on the “road” which led to the trailhead. Nervous and excited, my brother and I chattered aimlessly, looking forward to our arrival. After what seemed like forever, we were able to pile out of the car and search for the trail. The air felt fresh and clean. Luke came running back after a brief search.

“There isn’t anything but a rockslide area!”

***

Do you see how these details create a scene? It’s almost as though we’re writing a story, but in this case, the story really happened! You just have to add the details to make the story come alive.

Here’s another example. Rather than saying, “We felt a lot of wind,” say, “The wind tore at our clothes.” Do you see the difference? In the first sentence, we’re just summarizing what happened. In the second one, we’re helping the reader feel what we felt.

Why don’t you try adding some more sensory detail? If you need to rewrite some sentences, that’s just fine! Then we’ll take the next step—adding internal dialogue.

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Mrs. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________

This is Dennis again and I redid the first paragraph,

Our trip up Grays and Toreys was not a normal hike. We decided to go up Grays first. The mountains were both fourteeners. We had to 4 wheel drive to get to the trail head. We had to go 3,000 feet up in elevation. We started out and it wasn't that bad when we started out, but when we got to the base of the mountain there was no trail in sight; all there was to se was the millions upon millions of rocks on this mountain. The only way up Grays was up through a rock slide area. For every step that you took you would fall down 6 inches to a foot. Every time you fell you could feel your feet slipping out from underneath you and them falling on your legs. The sun was shining brightly and we could feel it’s heat beating on our bodies. We had to take our coats off and put them around our waists. At the time and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The trip was 3 miles long, and for every 10 feet that you got you would rest for about 20 seconds. You could hear bees buzzing around you as you climbed. You could see that we weren't going very fast and that we still had a long ways to go. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get to the top of Grays. You could just feel the cramps in your legs after climbing for that long. Me and my brother Luke made it to the top first. The air was thin at the top of the mountain which was making it hard to breath. The view was good and the other mountains looked small from where we were. There were flies at the top of the mountain and they stunk up the top of the mountain. We were their for about an hour before the rest of my family made it.

_______________________________________________________________________

Day Five:

Dear Dennis,

There’s a lot more we could do with sensory detail, but I think you at least understand how it works now. Some of those sentences you added really help the reader feel what you felt!

I have one suggestion for the first paragraph, and then we’re going to work on something new. Instead of saying “you” when you’re talking about your experiences, why don’t you say “I” or “we”? Then the memoir will be much more personal. For example, instead of saying, “You could hear bees buzzing around you as you climbed”, we should say, “We could hear the bees buzzing around us as we climbed.” Instead of “You could see that we weren't going very fast and that we still had a long ways to go”, we should say, “We could see that we weren’t going very fast and that we still had a long ways to go.” Does that make sense? See if you can find the other sentences that need to be fixed, too.

Our next move is to implement a new technique into the paragraph. It’s called INTERNAL DIALOGUE. Internal dialogue is a very simple concept, but it adds a serious level of depth to a piece of writing. Internal dialogue is “dialogue” in that it closely resembles the process of talking; and it’s “internal” in that it takes place inside a character’s mind. Put that all together and internal dialogue is nothing more nor less than allowing a reader to see into a character’s thoughts.

Using internal dialogue is simple. All you do is explain what you (or the character, if you were writing a story) were thinking and feeling in a particular moment. Let me give you a quick example:

***

I sat there on the side of the street, my head resting on my knees. I could feel the wind blowing cold against my face, which was covered with tears. What would I do now? I began to wonder what would happen when my mom came home and found the brand-new bike all busted up and scratched. The bike was supposed to be my birthday present, but my birthday wasn’t until next week!

***

See how it works? When you use internal dialogue you can let the reader see a whole new dimension of the scene.

There are several key phrases that will allow you to use internal dialogue. Here are just a few:

*I thought…

*I began to think…

*I remembered…

*I wondered.

*I wished…

*I felt as though…

*I said to myself…

For now, take a shot at applying some internal dialogue to your first paragraph. I can’t wait to see it!

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Mrs. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________

This is Dennis again and I redid the 1st and 2nd paragraph,

Our trip up Grays and Toreys was not a normal hike. We decided to go up
Grays first. The mountains were both fourteeners. We had to 4 wheel drive
to get to the trail head. We had to go 3,000 feet up in elevation. We
started out and it wasn't that bad when we started out, but when we got
to the base of the mountain there was no trail in sight; all there was to
see was the millions upon millions of rocks on this mountain. The only
way up Grays was up through a rock slide area. For every step that I took
I would fall down 6 inches to a foot. Every time I fell I could feel my
feet slipping out from underneath me and them falling on my legs. The sun
was shining brightly and we could feel it's heat beating on our bodies.
We had to take our coats off and put them around our waists. At the time
and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The trip was 3 miles long, and for
every 10 feet that I got I would rest for about 20 seconds. I could hear
bees buzzing around me as I climbed. You could see that we weren't going
very fast and that we still had a long ways to go. It took us 5 1/2 hours
to get to the top of Grays. We could just feel the cramps in our legs
after climbing for that long. Me and my brother Luke made it to the top
first. The air was thin at the top of the mountain which was making it
hard to breath. The view was good and the other mountains looked small
from where we were. There were flies at the top of the mountain and they
stunk up the top of the mountain. We were their for about an hour before
the rest of my family made it.

The rest of the trip wasn't that bad. All we had to do was go about 1 1/2
miles down a saddle back, and up to the other mountain. I could see the
path on the other side of the mountain as it zig zagged it's way up. We
could practically run down and up the saddle because of the path. We felt
a lot of wind when we got to the bottom of the saddle. The only plats
that were up there were very scarce. I could only see couple of patches
in a few areas. When we got to the top of Toreys we asked someone to take
our picture. I could see a lake that in the side of the mountain from
where I was standing.

We separated on the way down. Me and my dad went back the way that we had
gone up. We had to go back that way you get the car. The rest of my
family went down Tories. It was the safer route. I had to sit on a rock
and slide down the mountain on it. We would stop every 30 feet. When we
got back to the car we went to the other trail head to pick up the rest
of my family.

_______________________________________________________________________

Day Six:

Dear Dennis,

You did a great job making the memoir more personal! There’s only one more sentence to change, and then we’ll work some more on internal dialogue. Below I’ve numbered one of your sentences and put my comments beneath it.

1. You could see that we weren't going very fast and that we still had a long ways to go.

The “You” at the beginning will be more effective if we say “We”. Try reading it out loud and see what you think.

Now we’re ready to add some more of your own thoughts to your paragraph. Remember, here are the sentence openers that we can use for internal dialogue:

*I thought…

*I began to think…

*I remembered…

*I wondered.

*I wished…

*I felt as though…

*I said to myself…

Now I’m going to insert some of these sentence openers into one of your paragraphs and leave blanks that you can fill in. This will give you an idea of where to put these sentences and how many to have. Are you ready?

***

Our trip up Grays and Toreys was not a normal hike. We decided to go up Grays first. The mountains were both fourteeners. We had to 4 wheel drive to get to the trail head. We had to go 3,000 feet up in elevation. We started out and it wasn't that bad when we started out, but when we got to the base of the mountain there was no trail in sight; all there was to see was the millions upon millions of rocks on this mountain. I thought _______________. The only way up Grays was up through a rock slide area. For every step that I took I would fall down 6 inches to a foot. Every time I fell I could feel my feet slipping out from underneath me and them falling on my legs. The sun was shining brightly and we could feel it's heat beating on our bodies. We had to take our coats off and put them around our waists. I wished _______________. At the time and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The trip was 3 miles long, and for every 10 feet that I got I would rest for about 20 seconds. I could hear bees buzzing around me as I climbed. You could see that we weren't going very fast and that we still had a long ways to go. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get to the top of Grays. We could just feel the cramps in our legs after climbing for that long. Just when we thought _______________, me and my brother Luke made it to the top first. The air was thin at the top of the mountain which was making it hard to breath. The view was good and the other mountains looked small from where we were. There were flies at the top of the mountain and they stunk up the top of the mountain. We were their for about an hour before the rest of my family made it. We felt as though ______________.

***

Do you see how that works? You can change the sentence openers or move them around if you like, but adding at least three sentences showing your thoughts will really help the reader know what was going on inside of your head. That’s important in a memoir!

Why don’t you add the internal dialogue, and then e-mail me back? I can’t wait to see what you were thinking!

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Mrs. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________

Hi this is Dennis again and I finished all that you told me to do,

I thought that our trip up Grays and Toreys was going to be a normal hike. I thought wrong. We decided to go up Grays first. The mountains were both fourteeners. We had to 4 wheel drive to get to the trail head. We had to go 3,000 feet up in elevation. We started out and it wasn't that bad when we started out, but when we got to the base of the mountain there was no trail in sight; all there was to see was the millions upon millions of rocks on this mountain. The only way up Grays was up through a rock slide area. For every step that I took I would fall down 6 inches to a foot. Every time I fell I could feel my feet slipping out from underneath me and them falling on my legs. I began to think that it would be better to climb in snow. The sun was shining brightly and we could feel it's heat beating on our bodies. We had to take our coats off and put them around our waists. At the time and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The trip was 3 miles long, and for every 10 feet that I got I would rest for about 20 seconds. I could hear bees buzzing around me as you climbed. I could see that we weren't going very fast and that we still
had a long ways to go. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get to the top of Grays. We could just feel the cramps in our legs after climbing for that long. I wished that they would go away. Me and my brother Luke made it to the top first. The air was thin at the top of the mountain which was making it hard to breath. The view was good and the other mountains looked small from where we were. There were flies at the top of the mountain and they stunk up the top of the mountain. We were their for about an hour before
the rest of my family made it.

I remembered that the rest of the trip wasn't that bad. All we had to do was go about 1 1/2 miles down a saddle back, and up to the other mountain. You could see the path on the other side of the mountain as it zig zagged it's way up. We could practically run down and up the saddle because of the path. We felt a lot of wind when we got to the bottom of
the saddle. The only plants that were up there were very scarce. I began to think that if there was more plants up here there would be more animals. I could only see couple of patches in a few areas. When we got to the top of Toreys we asked someone to take our picture. I could see a lake that in the side of the mountain from where I was standing. We separated on the way down. Me and my dad went back the way that we had gone up. We had to go back that way you get the car. The rest of my family went down Tories. I could see them making their way down the other mountain. They looked like ant from that far away. It was the safer route. I had to sit on a rock and slide down the mountain on it. I wished that this hike would end soon. I could see the rocks tumbling down the mountain as we made our way down. We would stop every 30 feet. The sun was already setting when we got to the base of the mountain. The sky was purple and yellow. I wondered if we had beat them down the mountain. When we got back to the car we went to the other trail head to pick up the rest of my family.

________________________________________________________________________

Day Seven:

Dear Dennis,

You did an excellent job with that internal dialogue! Not only did you add to the first paragraph, but to the rest of the paragraphs as well. Great work!

It’s definitely time to work on your climax scene. As I may have said before, the climax scene is the most important part of a memoir. Basically, a climax scene is the moment at which you learned an important lesson, or came to a life-changing realization. Sometimes a climax scene occurs in the actual memory, but sometimes it happens a long time afterwards, when you’ve had time to “digest” the event and to really reflect upon it.

What I’d like you to right now is to 1) figure out exactly what you learned from the experience you described, and 2) let me know WHEN you learned whatever it is you learned. Once you’ve done that I’ll help you weave the information into what you’ve written so far, and then we’ll develop it into a scene.

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Mrs. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________

I figured out how far I can climb.

I also found out that even the hardest of circumstances can be solved.

I found out how awesome Gods creation is.

_______________________________________________________________________

Day Eight:

Dear Dennis,

The lessons you learned from your climb are great! Now what we need to do is to develop this idea into a scene. You'll do this by adding sensory detail and internal dialogue, just as we did to the rest of the memoir. Tell us in this scene what you learned, and how it affected you. Here's an example from another memoir:

***It’s been some time since Tom and Colleen left, but time helps to heal, for I learned this almost a year after Tom left. It was a cold, dreary Monday afternoon, the second day of April, and I was thinking about Tom. I sat on the couch, watching a movie, and suddenly I realized that no matter how far away Tom was, he will always be with me in my heart. As I sat there, I thought about all the memories I have of Tom, and I felt comforted. It has been about a year since Tom and Colleen left, but it doesn’t hurt as much as it did when the pain was still fresh. I now know that God has a time and a purpose for everything-the good and the bad.

Notice that there's sensory detail (cold, dreary Monday afternoon) as well as internal dialogue (I thought about; I felt; I realized). The paragraph doesn't start out with the lesson, but leads up to it. Notice also that there’s a specific time when this student learned her lesson. You’ll want to be as specific as you can. In her case, it was a Monday afternoon when she realized what she did. When did you learn your lessons?

You don't have to write a paragraph exactly like this one since everyone has his own style. However, you'll want to include the same kinds of items in your paragraph. Why don't you give it a shot? Then we'll see if there’s anything else to do besides revise and edit. We're almost done!

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Mrs. Cevela

Writing Consultant

WriteGuide, Inc.

http://www.writeguide.com

_______________________________________________________________________