How to write a letter to the editor
If you feel passionate about a topic or issue in a written publication such as a newspaper, magazine, or journal, writing to the editor can be a very valuable advocacy tactic. Writing a letter to the editor offers a different perspective to the issue at hand while increasing public awareness of a specific topic.
Steps to writing a letter to the editor:
- Choose to respond to a topic directly addressed in the most recent issue of the publication. Reference the article to which you are responding in the first sentence of your letter.
- Include your main points at the outset of your letter to the editor. Make your perspective clear in the first paragraph. Don’t make the reader dig through paragraphs before unearthing the focus of the letter.
- Offer a unique viewpoint to the issue at hand. Describe your own personal tenant issues, or those of a friend. While many people can write about housing issues, not everyone can refer to a personal experience.
- Sign your name. Include your phone number and address if necessary.
- Most publications outline steps to submitting a letter to the editor on the editorial page of the newspaper. Each publication will have a different size limitation and format requirement for the letter.
