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7/27/2019 How to Write a Successful Letter to the Editor / Op-Ed
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LeagueofMichiganBicyclists 416SCedarSt-SuiteA,Lansing,MI48912|888-642-4537|www.LMB.org
HowtoWriteaSuccessful
Op-EdandLettertotheEditor
GUIDETOEDITORIALPLACEMENT
MostnewspapersfeatureanOp-EdandLetterstotheEditorsectioninwhichreadersand
publicfigurescanexpressviewpointsand/orrespondtoparticularnewsevents.AnOp-Edisgenerallyashort(600750words)articleexpressinganopinionorviewpointonatimely
newstopic.Alettertotheeditorisaveryshort(150200words)responsetoanarticlethatrecentlyappearedinthepublication.
TheOp-EdandLetterstotheEditorsectionsareamongthemostwidelyreadsectionsofthenewspaper.Publicationofanop-edorletterwillassureyourviewswillreachmanypeople.
OP-EDSThefollowingpointerswillhelpyougetyourop-edpiecepublished:
Findatimelynewshook.Editorsneedareasonwhyyourviewpointshouldbegivenattentionrightnow.Thereleaseofasignificantstudy,annualevents,orresponsesto
recentlypublishedarticlesareallgoodreasons.
Knowthewordlimit.Newspapershavelimitedspace,andeditorsdonthavethetimetocut
yourpiecedowntosize.Ingeneral,600to750wordswilldo,butcheckthepapersonline
opinionpagetofindoutitssubmissionguidelines.
Makeasinglepoint.Youonlyhave600to750words.Makeonepointclearlyandpersuasively.
Useshortparagraphs.Makesuretheresaspacebetweeneachparagraph.Avoidcomplexsentences.
Avoidjargon.Simplelanguageensuresthatallreaders,evennon-experts,canunderstandyourpoint.Forexample,dontuseacronymsorpolicywonklanguage.
Humanizeyourarticle.Illustrations,anecdotesandpersonalstorieshelpexplainandbringcomplicatedissuestolife.Thinkaboutyourpersonalexperiencesasabicyclistinthecommunity.
Makeaspecificrecommendation.Thisisanopinionpiece.Stateyouropiniononhowtoimprovematters.
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7/27/2019 How to Write a Successful Letter to the Editor / Op-Ed
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Drawthereaderin,butgettothepoint.Yourfirstparagraphshoulddrawthereaderinbyusingadramaticvignetteorawell-statedargument.Ifyouchoosetoopenwithananecdoteorotherdevice,makesureyouquicklygettothepoint.
Endwithabang.Yourfinalparagraphisasimportantasyouropeningparagraph.Besuretosummarizeyourargumentinonestrongfinalparagraph.
Provideyourcontactinformation.Listyourname,address,phone,faxande-mailcontactinformationatthebottomofthepiece.
Submityourop-edviae-mail,asarule.Copyandpastethetextofyourop-edintothebodyofane-mailmessage.Dontsenditasanattachment.Instructionsforsubmittinganop-ed
areusuallyontheopinionpageofthepaperswebsite.Mostpapersliketheme-mailed.Seetheirwebsitefordetailedinstructions.
Followup.Mostop-ededitorswillrespondtoyouwithinaweek.Ifyouhaventheardbackfromthembythenorifyourpieceisparticularlytime-sensitive,youcanfollowupwithane-mailmessageorphonecalltoaskifitwasreceivedandaskaboutitsstatus.
LETTERSTOTHEEDITORThesetipswillhelp:
Makeoneclearargument.Thepieceshouldbeinfavoroforcriticalofaparticularpositiontakenbythepaperordescribedinanarticle.
Bespecific.Thelettershouldfocusonaspecificissuethatwasraisedinanarticleoropinionpiece.
Citethearticle.Besuretomentionthetitleanddateofthearticleyourerespondingtoinoneofyourfirsttwosentences.ForexampleDeareditor,Yourrecentcoverageoftheissueoftheuninsured(HealthcareinAmerica,May11,2012)wasathoughtfulpiece...
Bebrief.Generally,150to200wordsinthreetofourparagraphsareideal.Ifyoucantcontainthelettertothatlength,consideraskingsomeonetohelpyouedititorwritea700-
wordop-edinstead.
Followup.Ifyouhavesentyourlettertotheeditorandhaventheardanythingwithinaweek,feelfreetosendanoteormakeafollow-upcalltocheckonitsstatus.Beawarethateditorsreceivehundredsoflettersandmaynotrespondtoyouimmediately,ifatall.
Youmustincludeyourname,addressanddaytimephonenumberinyourletter.Instructions
forsubmittingalettertotheeditorareusuallyatthebottomofthepagewheretheyappearoronthepaperswebsite.Findoutfromyourlocalpaperthebestwaytosendaletter.Most
prefere-mail.