38 Call to Action Letter Assignment Guidelines
Introduction:
Now that you’ve wallowed in the complexity of your topic for community change and have written a detailed proposal argument, it’s time for you to take action on your issue. For this assignment, you will revise your proposal argument essay, condensing and transforming it into a letter focused on the change you want to see. You will then send your letter to the editor of a newspaper or member of congress or the school board or a magazine or the president of an organization, etc. (The person/organization you send your letter to will depend on the issue you are writing about.) As I mentioned at the beginning of the semester, you are an integral part of your community (whether that community is local, national, or international). Your writing and your advocacy can help make your life and others’ lives better!
Assignment:
Write a 1-page (about 500 words), single-spaced call-to-action letter in basic business letter format (see “formatting” below) that you will send to your intended audience.
The APA (American Psychological Association) provides some excellent tips for writing call-to-action (also known as advocacy) letters:
You can read more tips as well as find sample letters here on the APA’s website.
Gallaudet University provides additional tips for writing your letter by breaking down what each paragraph of your letter should include:
- 1st Paragraph – State what you want the person to do for you.
- 2nd Paragraph – State the most important facts that support your cause. You want this paragraph to explain the most compelling reasons for action.
- 3rd Paragraph – Talk about how the reader can make a personal difference. This paragraph should not just be facts and should engage the reader in a personal way. You can refer to your request again here.
- 4th Paragraph – Thank the reader for considering your request and provide information on how you may be reached.
Here is a sample letter from Gallaudet University, which illustrates how you can develop your paragraphs as suggested above:
Formatting:
To format your letter, you will use a basic business letter format. There are guidelines and template on the Purdue OWL’s website: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/basic_business_letters/index.html
Additional Requirements:
- Your letter should be free from punctuation and grammatical errors, so it is a good idea to have other people look at it for you. (I’m happy to review final drafts before you send them out into the world.)
- In addition to submitting a copy of your letter to me via Canvas, you will also send your letter to its intended audience and provide me with proof of sending it (a photograph of the stamped envelope, a screen capture of the sent email, etc.).
