Write a short Canadian letter or community notice

This lesson is about using Word, not about becoming a professional writer. You will open a starter we wrote ourselves and make it look finished: a heading style, a short list, Canadian spelling, and a file you can find again. Longer lessons on tone, workplace messages, and rewriting sentences belong in *Workplace Writing* if your council offers it. A resume cover letter that you would send to an employer belongs in *Job Search and Employment Readiness in Canada*. This page is not legal, career, or immigration advice, and it is not a real booking with a town office.

The letter starter is a sample question about community-hall hours. It includes a place for your name and town, a sample office address, a greeting, two short body paragraphs, and a closing. The notice starter is a sample Saturday market at a community centre, with a “Bring” list. Both files use Canadian spelling on purpose (*centre*, *cheque*, *colour*, *practise*) so you can check proofing (Lesson 7) as you edit.

Pick one file to finish today. You may try both if you have time, but the capstone in Lesson 10 only asks for one polished page. Replace the placeholder lines such as [Your name] with practice words — not your SIN, not a real bank number, and not anyone else’s private details.

Work through the page in a calm order:

1. Save a copy with a clear name such as hall-letter-practice or centre-notice-practice (Lesson 3) so you do not overwrite the starter by accident.
2. Give the title a style. On the notice, select “Saturday market at the community centre” and apply Heading 1. On the letter, you may add a short title line such as “Hall booking question” and apply Heading 1, or apply the Title style if that fits. Do not skip heading levels (Lesson 5).
3. Replace placeholders and keep paragraphs short. Press Enter only when you want a new paragraph (Lesson 2).
4. Make a list where it helps: the notice already has a “Bring” list you can format with Home > Bullets. In the letter, you could turn two questions into a short numbered list if that makes them easier to scan (Lesson 4).
5. Check spelling with Review > Language > Set Proofing Language, and look for a Canadian English option if it appears (Lesson 7). Read suggestions before you accept them. Keep *centre*, *colour*, *cheque*, and *practise* (verb) / *practice* (noun).
6. Optional extras: a simple header with a short repeated label, Normal margins, and a page number (Lesson 6); a tiny table of hours (Lesson 8) only if it helps. Put the real title in the body, not only in the header.

You do not need a picture on the letter. If you add one to the notice, write alt text (Lesson 8). You do not need columns, watermarks, mail merge, or envelopes — those are outside this basic course.

Before you call the page finished, look at it from the top:

• Is there a clear heading style on the title?
• Are the paragraphs easy to scan, with a list where a list helps?
• Do the Canadian spellings still look right?
• Did you leave any bracketed placeholder, such as [Date], that you meant to fill with a practice date?
• If you added a header, is the important title still in the body?
• Did you save?

Microsoft’s accessibility habits still apply on this short page: use a logical heading, keep a list together, and do not hide key facts only in a header. Skills for Success describes writing as planning who will read the text and then reviewing it. You do not need a long plan for a one-page practice letter — just remember that a town-office sample is for a staff reader, and a notice is for neighbours who may glance at it on a board.

If the words feel awkward, change them in your own voice. Do not copy a real poster or a real letter from someone else. These starters exist so you have original practice text that is clearly marked sample only.

When the page looks right on screen, you are ready for Lesson 10: preview, print if staff agree, and export a PDF.

1. Download or open one starter (letter or notice).
2. Save a copy with your own clear name.
3. Apply a heading style, replace placeholders, and format a short list.
4. Check spelling in Canadian English if that option appears.
5. Save again. You will export a PDF in the next lesson.

Which page would you rather finish first — the letter or the notice — and which Word tool helped most?