"Letter From Isabel"

"Letter From Isabel"

Paragraph 1

Dear Editor:

1     I am writing to the school newspaper because of a recent experience I had while joining the book club at our middle school. I love reading, so I was excited about meeting other students who love losing themselves in a good book as much as I do. You can imagine my surprise when I walked into the room to find everyone reading e-books on electronic readers. Now, I don’t have anything against technology; I use a computer and surf the Internet like everyone else in the school. However, e-books have no place in a book club. In fact, we would all be better off if there were no electronic books at all.

Paragraph 2

First of all, even though you can download hundreds of books and magazines on an e-reader, the selection does not compare to the variety of printed texts available at the library or bookstore. It’s also the best feeling in the world to walk into a place filled with wall-to-wall books. I love pulling books off the shelf and running my fingers over their pages, which you can’t do with an e-book. You can’t get that one-of-a-kind new-book smell from an e-book.

Paragraph 3

Those handy-dandy electronic readers come with drawbacks: they can be damaged easily and they don’t come cheap. Dropping or spilling water on an e-reader could be the end of it, and if your funds are limited, you’re out of luck in terms of replacing it, and you won’t be reading any e-books until you do. Of course, if you drop a book, all you have to do is pick it up and continue to read, and even if you spill something on it, you can probably still read it after it dries. In any case, a printed book would be cheaper to replace than an e-reader.

Paragraph 4

Another downside to reading electronic books is the eyestrain that comes from staring at the e-reader screen for hours. Your eyes may get a little tired from reading a printed book, but the strain from staring at a screen is probably far worse. Who knows what effects this could have on your eyes after many years? Most people already spend too much time in front of computer and television screens. There’s only so much our poor little eyes can take.

Paragraph 5

5     Most of the club members were friendly, but one of them atypically growled something rude to me. And, when I brought up these points to the other book club members, they were not convinced. One student told me, “Welcome to the twenty-first century!” Another one said he likes his e-reader because he can take it when he goes hiking with his dad since it is a lot lighter than carrying a book, and he doesn’t need a lamp to read it. I pointed out that a book doesn’t weigh that much more than an e-reader—unless he’s planning to take an encyclopedia with him when he goes hiking! Nobody reads a lot on a hiking trip, so an e-reader is not more convenient than a printed book. Furthermore, an e-reader runs on battery power, which will, sooner or later, run out. A printed book never runs out of power.

Multiple Choice

In paragraph 5, how does Isabel respond to a conflicting viewpoint?

• by ignoring it

• by accepting it as reasonable

• by pointing out what she sees as logical flaws

• by noting that it’s similar to her own viewpoint

Multiple Choice

Read this sentence from the letter.

One student told me, “Welcome to the twenty-first century!”

This suggests that the student ____________________.

• agrees with Isabel’s views.

• wants Isabel to feel welcomed.

• has misunderstood what Isabel said.

• thinks that e-books are a good new resource.

Multiple Choice

What is Isabel’s MAIN argument regarding e-books?

• E-books depend on technology.

• E-books have many drawbacks.

• E-books use easily broken readers.

• E-books do not contain as much information.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following quotations from the passage is a FACT?

• “You can’t get that one-of-a-kind new-book smell from an e-book.”

• “In fact, we would all be better off if there were no electronic books at all.”

• “Most people already spend too much time in front of computer and television screens.”

• “It’s also the best feeling in the world to walk into a place filled with wall-to-wall books.”

Multiple Choice

What kind of evidence does Isabel rely on to support the ideas in her letter?

• examples

• case studies

• expert opinion

• research results

Paragraph 6

The other day I was doing research at the library for a report I was writing on how the civil rights movement began. I found this great book with large, glossy photographs, which just wouldn’t have been the same if it had been an e-book. I hope more of my fellow students will join me in reading printed books. People have been reading them for centuries. Why stop now?

Sincerely,

Isabel Arroyo

Open Ended

What do you think Isabel’s purpose was in writing this letter?

Multiple Choice

Why does Isabel frequently compare e-books to printed books?

• to show that e-books are better at some things

• to illustrate ways in which printed books are better

• to show that she is quite familiar with e-books

• to bring up and deal with both sides of the argument