In 1917 the Hosic Report on the Reorganization of English in Secondary Schools placed courteous letter writing as a number one priority for education in the United States. This might provide rationale for why Pennell and Cusack (1924), writers of a manual for teachers of reading activities, included letter writing in suggested instructional activities. Other important activities suggested in the Hosic Report were expository writing, analysis of writing pieces, reports, literary composition, and debate.