Writing a Persuasive Letter to a School Principal
A Persian-language student association wants the school to add a Persian literature elective. Nima is asked to write a 250-word persuasive letter in Persian to the principal, who does not speak Persian. The letter will be translated by a teacher, so Nima must write Persian that survives translation. The association has 34 signed student petitions, one teacher willing to run the class, and no budget for new books, though the local Iranian community has offered to donate texts. Nima is tempted to write an emotional appeal about heritage and identity.
1. Advise Nima on balancing emotional and rational appeals, given that the letter will be translated.
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Emotional appeal has a place but should not carry the argument alone, especially through translation, where emotive language often loses force or sounds inflated. Nima should lead with concrete evidence: 34 signatures, a willing teacher, donated books, zero new budget. These survive translation intact because they are facts.
Heritage and identity arguments should follow the evidence, framed as educational benefit (intercultural competence, literacy in a second script) rather than as sentimental pleading. A short personal sentence about why Persian literature matters to students can humanise the letter, but one is enough. The structure should be: request, evidence, educational rationale, brief personal note, clear next step. This respects the principal's decision-making context.
2. Identify two features of Persian persuasive writing that might not transfer well into English translation, and suggest how Nima can manage them.
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First, Persian formal letters often use elaborate opening formulae and complimentary address, sometimes with rhetorical repetition and ornate vocabulary. Translated literally, this can read as flattery or padding to an English-speaking principal. Nima can keep a respectful but plain opening and reserve ornament for one clause.
Second, Persian argumentation sometimes builds through parallel clauses and repetition of key terms for emphasis. In English this can seem repetitive rather than emphatic. Nima should use variation and let the evidence do the persuading. She can also avoid idioms and culture-specific metaphors (for example, proverbial expressions) that have no clean English equivalent, since the translator may flatten them. The test is: would this sentence still persuade if rendered plainly?
3. Draft a one-sentence thesis for the letter and justify its wording.
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A strong thesis might be: 'A Persian literature elective can be offered next year at no new cost, using a willing teacher and donated books, and it would strengthen students' literacy and intercultural understanding.'
This works because it is specific (next year, no new cost), evidence-anchored (teacher, donated books), and benefit-focused (literacy, intercultural understanding) rather than purely emotional. It also anticipates the principal's likely objection - cost - and neutralises it up front. The wording avoids untranslatable idioms and keeps one main clause with supporting detail, so it survives translation. Nima can then spend the body of the letter substantiating each element.