Writing a Letter to the Editor Due Monday
(Word count = expectation is 250 words; if you are entering NY Times Contest your max/expectation is 450 words)
Template (Google Doc) for the Letter to the Editor (do File then "make a copy")
Best sample finished letter to editor model (SEE FOR FORMATING - or see image at end of webpage for another version). More tips from this site HERE
YOUR Options:
1) Response editorial: pick a recent article from a major magazine/newspaper (anywhere below) and write a direct response to it (pro/extension vs rebuttal/rejection vs clarification/recontextualization/reapplications) that is persuasive of your viewpoint on the topic OR Look through local news sources for either a NEWS article that interests you or a COMMENTARY piece (letter, cartoon, editorial, or commentary) that you read and have a reaction to. & Read this piece thoroughly and think through your opinion.
2) Opinion editorial : pick a recent social debate/issue (or something that upsets you or needs social action/awareness) and write an argumentative/persuasive essay as though to a local newspaper. Consider local, national, global topics & topics that might be a good AP Lang Q1.
3) Specific/open letter: Do a letter to the school board, principal, President/congressperson, a corporation, etc OR do an open letter (personal manifesto)
NOTE: NOTE The 23-24 NY Times student writing contest calendar HERE.Links to an external site. The Student Editorial Contest is now called "Opinion (open letter) Writing Contest" due April 17 2024
.
OLD STYLE = There is a NY Times Annual Student Editorial Contest (max 450 words
Student Editorial Winner Work - main page
The winning entries from 2023 ... 2022, 2021, 2020!, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. See rubric in below image. Contest main rule: You can write your editorial about any topic you like, as long as you use at least one source from The Times. Have an opinion. Editorials are different from news articles because they try to persuade readers to share your point of view. Don’t be afraid to take a stand.& Be original and use appropriate language. Write for a well-informed audience, but include enough background information to give context.
Consider your audience (the readership of the newspaper, the specific target of the letter)
Consider forms of appeals, rhetorical strategies, how to make a call to action, how to do effective social protest
NY Times - How to Write and Editorial 2 min video or HERE
AGU's Animation about how to write an op-ed or letter to editor
&
TIPS for writing a letter to an editor
More tips on how to write a letter to an editor
TED video on how to create political change through letter writing
Consider elements in a letter to the editor such as direct appeal to your audience, appeals to experts, appeals to tradition, concessions to the opposing viewpoint, anecdotes, quotations, analogy/metaphors, cause & effect, comparison/contrast, control/definitions of terms of debate, framing the context, logos/ethos/pathos (try to build your credibility to speak (aka ethos), hyperbole, humor, shaming, implied threat/invective, rhetorical questions, the identification of common ground/common cause/common values,allusions, concrete examples (or use a case study), parallelism, see the 5 canons of rhetoric on main page of website (particularly consider arrangement/sequence), use of 1st person, sentence length variation, chiasmus, paragraphing, use of firstly, secondly... therefore, thusly
A letter to the editor:
Your letter should include:
Claim:
Reasons:
Evidence:
Explanation/Warrant:
Counter:
Concession:
Rebuttal:
Call to action:
The structure of a successful letter tends to have:
Magazine/Print Content of AP LANG Interest (also check who @SCHSTOK is following on twitter)
NEWSPAPERS:
Daytona Beach News-Journal - opinion section AND how to submit it
Volusia Hometown News - letters to the editor & how to submit
Washington Post - letters to the editor & how to submit one
The New York Times - letters to the editor vs Editorials by paid NY Times staff vs Student Opinion NY TImes page & how to submit one
Tampa Bay Times - letters to the editor & how to submit one
LA Times - letter to the editor & how to submit one
The Guardian UK
MAGAZINES:
Arts & Letters Daily - not exactly current news articles but is useful for AP Lang
The Economist
The Atlantic Online & THEIR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The New Yorker
The New Atlantis
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Independent
Utne Reader
Harper's Magazine
NPR: National Public Radio
13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR
Scientific American
Science Daily
Discover Magazine
New Scientist
news @ nature.com
Psychology Today
Big Think
Newsweek, Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, New Republic, Forbes, The Economist, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Harper’s, and Scientific American
The New York Times, The Hartford Courant, The National Post, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The State, The Herald-Journal, The Post and Courier, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post
Examples of recent letters to editor in Volusia on Q1/Q3 topics:
School Choice debate
for SCHS based issues consider looking at past school climate survey results HERE
NEW letter to the editor on tax revenue - this is pretty clearly over 250 words
NOTE HOW AP Lang EXAMS CAN BE ON LETTER TO THE EDITOR TYPE TOPICS (and note what you choose here or with the documentary you are watching might lead to your Podcast Contest topic)
Q1s
2023 - TEST 1 = vertical farming (good or bad?) & TEST 2 = urban rewilding (good or bad?)
2022 - is STEM overrated?
2021 - the future of cursive writing and penmanship NOTE - we showed this as a sample before May 2021 exam - Samples of short letters to an editor: Handwriting article
2020 was COVID (no question)
2019 – wind farms
2018 – eminent domain
2017 – future of libraries
2015 – honor systems in high schools
2014 – is college worth the cost
2013 – monuments/memorials
2011 – locavores
2011 form B – should governments foster green/eco practices
2010 – the future of daylight savings
2008 – eliminate the penny coin
Q3s
2023 - TEST 1 - the effectiveness of scare tactics to change minds OR TEST 2 - a diversity/community of voices creates more truth (a better society)
2022 - the difference between timely vs rushed decision making
2021 - is pursuit of perfection worth it?
2020 was COVID
2019 – what is something overrated
2016 – the usefulness of disobedience
2014 – how to teach/inspire creativity
2010 – the vital role of humorists to a society
2009 – how adversity helps shape your character
NY Times editorial contest rubric:
(Word count = expectation is 250 words; if you are entering NY Times Contest your max/expectation is 450 words)
Template (Google Doc) for the Letter to the Editor (do File then "make a copy")
Best sample finished letter to editor model (SEE FOR FORMATING - or see image at end of webpage for another version). More tips from this site HERE
YOUR Options:
1) Response editorial: pick a recent article from a major magazine/newspaper (anywhere below) and write a direct response to it (pro/extension vs rebuttal/rejection vs clarification/recontextualization/reapplications) that is persuasive of your viewpoint on the topic OR Look through local news sources for either a NEWS article that interests you or a COMMENTARY piece (letter, cartoon, editorial, or commentary) that you read and have a reaction to. & Read this piece thoroughly and think through your opinion.
2) Opinion editorial : pick a recent social debate/issue (or something that upsets you or needs social action/awareness) and write an argumentative/persuasive essay as though to a local newspaper. Consider local, national, global topics & topics that might be a good AP Lang Q1.
3) Specific/open letter: Do a letter to the school board, principal, President/congressperson, a corporation, etc OR do an open letter (personal manifesto)
NOTE: NOTE The 23-24 NY Times student writing contest calendar HERE.Links to an external site. The Student Editorial Contest is now called "Opinion (open letter) Writing Contest" due April 17 2024
.
OLD STYLE = There is a NY Times Annual Student Editorial Contest (max 450 words
Student Editorial Winner Work - main page
The winning entries from 2023 ... 2022, 2021, 2020!, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. See rubric in below image. Contest main rule: You can write your editorial about any topic you like, as long as you use at least one source from The Times. Have an opinion. Editorials are different from news articles because they try to persuade readers to share your point of view. Don’t be afraid to take a stand.& Be original and use appropriate language. Write for a well-informed audience, but include enough background information to give context.
Consider your audience (the readership of the newspaper, the specific target of the letter)
Consider forms of appeals, rhetorical strategies, how to make a call to action, how to do effective social protest
NY Times - How to Write and Editorial 2 min video or HERE
AGU's Animation about how to write an op-ed or letter to editor
&
TIPS for writing a letter to an editor
More tips on how to write a letter to an editor
TED video on how to create political change through letter writing
Consider elements in a letter to the editor such as direct appeal to your audience, appeals to experts, appeals to tradition, concessions to the opposing viewpoint, anecdotes, quotations, analogy/metaphors, cause & effect, comparison/contrast, control/definitions of terms of debate, framing the context, logos/ethos/pathos (try to build your credibility to speak (aka ethos), hyperbole, humor, shaming, implied threat/invective, rhetorical questions, the identification of common ground/common cause/common values,allusions, concrete examples (or use a case study), parallelism, see the 5 canons of rhetoric on main page of website (particularly consider arrangement/sequence), use of 1st person, sentence length variation, chiasmus, paragraphing, use of firstly, secondly... therefore, thusly
A letter to the editor:
- Has a purpose: agree with something, disagree, or add information that the article left out
- Has a summary or mention of the article it refers to
- Highly edited: every word has a purpose
- Includes the elements of an argument
- Facts and stats to back up claim
- Rhetorical questions
- Allusion
- Specific details
- parallel structure
- Description
- Repetition
- Persuasive appeals (ethos, logos, pathos)
- Has a call to action
- Has a specific tone appropriate to its purpose
Your letter should include:
Claim:
Reasons:
Evidence:
Explanation/Warrant:
Counter:
Concession:
Rebuttal:
Call to action:
The structure of a successful letter tends to have:
- A statement of the position you are responding to (someone else’s)
- A statement of your opposing or strengthening position
- Citation of credible evidence to defend your claim
- An explanation of why your position is stronger than the other(s)
- To be able to access and read closely from national and local news sites
- To have an opinion on something that matters to them
- To defend it using the elements of argument
- To demonstrate their knowledge of basic rhetorical strategies by employing them in their own writing
Magazine/Print Content of AP LANG Interest (also check who @SCHSTOK is following on twitter)
NEWSPAPERS:
Daytona Beach News-Journal - opinion section AND how to submit it
Volusia Hometown News - letters to the editor & how to submit
Washington Post - letters to the editor & how to submit one
The New York Times - letters to the editor vs Editorials by paid NY Times staff vs Student Opinion NY TImes page & how to submit one
Tampa Bay Times - letters to the editor & how to submit one
LA Times - letter to the editor & how to submit one
The Guardian UK
MAGAZINES:
Arts & Letters Daily - not exactly current news articles but is useful for AP Lang
The Economist
The Atlantic Online & THEIR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The New Yorker
The New Atlantis
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Independent
Utne Reader
Harper's Magazine
NPR: National Public Radio
13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR
Scientific American
Science Daily
Discover Magazine
New Scientist
news @ nature.com
Psychology Today
Big Think
Newsweek, Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, New Republic, Forbes, The Economist, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Harper’s, and Scientific American
The New York Times, The Hartford Courant, The National Post, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The State, The Herald-Journal, The Post and Courier, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post
Examples of recent letters to editor in Volusia on Q1/Q3 topics:
School Choice debate
for SCHS based issues consider looking at past school climate survey results HERE
NEW letter to the editor on tax revenue - this is pretty clearly over 250 words
NOTE HOW AP Lang EXAMS CAN BE ON LETTER TO THE EDITOR TYPE TOPICS (and note what you choose here or with the documentary you are watching might lead to your Podcast Contest topic)
Q1s
2023 - TEST 1 = vertical farming (good or bad?) & TEST 2 = urban rewilding (good or bad?)
2022 - is STEM overrated?
2021 - the future of cursive writing and penmanship NOTE - we showed this as a sample before May 2021 exam - Samples of short letters to an editor: Handwriting article
2020 was COVID (no question)
2019 – wind farms
2018 – eminent domain
2017 – future of libraries
2015 – honor systems in high schools
2014 – is college worth the cost
2013 – monuments/memorials
2011 – locavores
2011 form B – should governments foster green/eco practices
2010 – the future of daylight savings
2008 – eliminate the penny coin
Q3s
2023 - TEST 1 - the effectiveness of scare tactics to change minds OR TEST 2 - a diversity/community of voices creates more truth (a better society)
2022 - the difference between timely vs rushed decision making
2021 - is pursuit of perfection worth it?
2020 was COVID
2019 – what is something overrated
2016 – the usefulness of disobedience
2014 – how to teach/inspire creativity
2010 – the vital role of humorists to a society
2009 – how adversity helps shape your character
NY Times editorial contest rubric: