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.

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.