The letter-to-the-editor is a traditional platform that private citizens can use to get their voices heard on issues of public concern. Good ways to use the genre as a tool for civic engagement:
- To draw more attention to a story of public interest that you think has not received the attention it deserves.
- To give readers a new perspective on a news story by sharing your own personal experiences or observations or thoughts about it.
- To make rguments in support of your position on issues of public concern, both to rally those who agree with you and to persuade those who disagree with you about the validity of your stance.
The letter-to-the editor can also misfire. Here are some things that can get you into trouble or undermine the effectiveness of the genre:
- Name-calling or slander
- Emotional ‘rants” that express how you feel but don’t move your audience
- Poorly supported or uninformed opinions
- Illogical reasoning that relies on logical fallacies (ad hominem attacks, band-wagon appeals, etc.)
- Patterns of grammatical or stylistic errors that undermine your credibility.
- Know the publication’s guidelines for letters to the editor: length, preferred topics, etc.
- Be concise.
- Focus on one point; don't ramble.
- If you write on a global or national story, find a local angle
- Get to your point quickly. Some good ways to start:
- Establish your credibility in the first line (e.g. “As a former UT student,…” “ As a longtime Vol fan, …”
- Refer directly to the news article story you are writing about (e.g. “in a letter to the editor on 1/28/2010, titled “Kiffin riots demonstrate ignorance, Thomas Walker incorrectly said that …”
