The goal of this exercise is to give you experience making suggestions to an author.

The Exercise

The following letter requests that the audience continue funding the author's research project. For this exercise, review the following letter and make some specific suggestions for improvement.

Direct your comments to the author, Adam Michaelson, who has been researching the effects of acidic waters on newts. Michaelson is requesting that funding for his project continue.

The Letter

December 12, 20XX

Dr. Paul Shore
Institute for Biological Studies, Suite
210 Frankstown, Ma. 456XX

Dear Dr. Shore:

I am submitting the following report, "The Effects of Acidic Waters on the Behavior of the Eastern Red Spotted Newt," for purposes of showing the progress in my current research. By examining this report, I hope for your grant of continued resources to finish my research.

I chose an amphibian as the case study because of a hypothesis listing acid rain as one of the chief causes in the worldwide decline of amphibian biodiversity. Newts were selected to present this class because of their abundance, since they breed in local ponds in the spring and summer.

For my research, I exposed the newts to waters of different acidic levels, employing sulfuric acid as the acidic pollutant. Their behaviors in response to these acidic conditions were monitored and recorded. The accumulated data was analyzed for possible correlations between behavior and the variables of the experiment.

The results clearly show that exposures to acid rain alter the behavior of the newts. It is obvious that acidic waters will force the newts out of their natural aquatic habitat, even at the risk of desiccation.

I hope that you will give my report a close look. With additional funding from your organization, I will be able to conclude my research and interpret the accumulated data. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Adam Michaelson