LANG1254 Written Composition Assignment

Assignment Brief

Write a "letter-to-the editor" to an Australian newspaper of approximately 300 (undergraduate) and 600 (postgraduate) words on the given topic. You must demonstrate an ability to use the conditional tense in the correct manner. It is intended to assess your ability to express yourself in English. While your argument must be logical and well‑structured, the focus of the assessment is on grammatical correctness and style, and not factual correctness.

"Letter-to-the-editor" tips here. (Links to an external site.)

This assignment is worth 30% of your total mark for this class.

Assignment topic

Describe what you would do about vaccine mandates (Links to an external site.) if you were in charge of your country. Please indicate your reasoning.

Assignment instructions

1. In order to ensure your statements are strong, you may wish to do some background reading on the topic, particularly in relation to your own country and Australia.
2. Form an opinion and sketch an outline of your main arguments.
3. Write the first draft of your composition, paying particular attention to grammatical correctness and style.
4. Ensure you proofread, edit and finalise your assignment prior to submission.

Due Date and Submission guidelines

• The written composition is worth 30%of your total mark for this class,
• Save your assignment as a word document (.doc or .docx)
• Please include your student number in the file name and use the following format 
  • Your Name s1234567AT3 Written composition.docx
• Upon completion, load your assignment to Canvas under
  Assignments > AT3 Written composition (30%)

Marking criteria

Please see: AT3 Written composition rubric.docx   Download AT3 Written composition rubric.docx for full details of the marking criteria. You will be assessed on the following elements overall:

Marks and feedback will be available in Canvas approximately three weeks after submission.

Style and genre guidelines

• As this is a personal composition, your composition should be written in the first person and may be subjective
• As this is a hypothetical scenario, your assignment should utilise the second conditional tense (unreal future)
• Your writing style should be formal and your opinions should be substantiated with reasoning
• Ensure you use topic sentences and follow the TEEL paragraph structure for all body paragraph arguments
• Ensure your assignment is well structured with an introduction (a formal 'conclusion' is not required in the style of an academic essay)
• You may use an expository, persuasive or critical writing style
• This is not a research essay, and references are notrequired

Formatting guidelines

• Your essay should be formatted in accordance with standard professional and academic standards for English:
  • Font size 10-12 point
  • Left paragraph alignment
  • Single line spacing
  • Blank space between paragraphs approx. 8-12 point
  • No first line indentation
• No cover page is required
• Use Australian English for spelling, paying particular attention to -ise versus -ize