How to Write a Letter to the Editor
What if we could reach a wide audience of fellow constituents and our members of Congress at the same time?
Guess what? We can, by writing a short piece for the opinion section of a newspaper called a Letter to the Editor (LTE)! Usually 150-250 words in length, a LTE is another powerful advocacy tool. If you aren’t familiar with what these look like, here are a couple examples I've written about for global health.
Some everyday people will read your letter, though it may not be our peers at school. (There's one teacher at my school who sees my letters in the paper sometimes and talks to me about them, but overall I get the sense that most of my fellow teenagers don't know or care about LTEs.) Members of Congress definitely pay attention, though. They like to know what their constituents are saying and hearing about them in the media. I mean, it's more likely to be someone on their staff who actually reads the letters than the member themself, but it's the office that counts!
I wrote my first letter to the editor when I was in third grade. I had just received another dose of the polio vaccine, due to some complication with the timing of my first shot, and I thought I could use it as a "hook" for a letter about global immunization and eradicating polio. I can’t even remember how much time I spent revising every single word of that little paragraph! I was so proud and hopeful when I sent it in to my local paper. I imagined seeing it in print, sending it to my representative, and convincing everyone how important vaccines are. Days and weeks passed by as I waited. It was never published.
I was disappointed. When my mom talked to me about it, however, I realized that my set of expectations hadn’t been realistic. Now that I’m a more experienced letter-writer, I’d estimate that about one of every eight to ten letters I write gets published. (A lot of this depends on where you submit- big, national newspapers like the New York Times are really hard to get into, while smaller local papers are more likely to publish your submission.) Those seven out of eight letters, though, aren’t a waste of time and effort! I know now that there is a third target for advocacy (besides the public and Congress): the media itself.
If your issue is big in the news, you’ll have to prove that your voice should be heard above others. Maybe it’s your experience as a student, advocate, or everyday constituent that sets you apart. Maybe it’s something unique you’ve done, or the way you present your argument in a different tone than other writers. Check with a parent/guardian, though, to see how much they’re comfortable with you saying about yourself for privacy and safety reasons. My parents prefer that I don’t disclose that I’m a student in my letters, so I try to keep that ambiguous when I write.
It takes some experience with a specific newspaper to find exactly what its editors are looking for. Try submitting different styles and see what gets in, and read other letters to see what they have in common. The more you read and write letters, the more you’ll understand about how it all works. Keep going!
Now, here are four main tips for writing letters to the editor I have for you today:
1. The shorter, the better. Longer letters are less likely to be published because there’s not enough physical space on the page. 125-175 words is amazing, 200 is good, and 250+ might exceed the word limit.
2. Referencing a recent article early on in your letter greatly improves your chances of being published. I do this by stating at the beginning that I read an article (include title and date) and how I feel about it-- do I agree or disagree? There are other ways you can work this in, too! When you reference one of their pieces, it shows editors that you’re a regular reader, and this will make your piece seem less out-of-the-blue.
3. Make sure your main idea is clear. If they can’t tell what you want or what you’re trying to say, the editors won’t publish your work. This is a space to make an argument, not just to argue for the sake of ranting, y'know?
4. Use EPIC format if you’re stuck, and don’t forget a call to action (it can be for the readers, or for members of Congress you're mentioning by name)! Each step of EPIC can be 1-2 sentences long.
Many organizations, from RESULTS to Resistbot, provide templates for letters to the editor. It’s totally fine to use these to get started, as long as you make sure the final piece is truly your own voice. (I promise, your own words are way better!)
When you’re ready to submit, look on the newspaper’s website for instructions. Most will either have a form to fill out or an email address.
Guess what? We can, by writing a short piece for the opinion section of a newspaper called a Letter to the Editor (LTE)! Usually 150-250 words in length, a LTE is another powerful advocacy tool. If you aren’t familiar with what these look like, here are a couple examples I've written about for global health.
- Lawmakers should help fight a tuberculosis resurgence (September 12, 2022)
- The Global Fight to End AIDS (December 7, 2018)
See? Pretty short and to the point. Nothing fancy about it, but more credibility and room to develop your ideas than you'd get with a Tweet.
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| LTEs are short enough that you can keep a couple favorites on a cork board |
I wrote my first letter to the editor when I was in third grade. I had just received another dose of the polio vaccine, due to some complication with the timing of my first shot, and I thought I could use it as a "hook" for a letter about global immunization and eradicating polio. I can’t even remember how much time I spent revising every single word of that little paragraph! I was so proud and hopeful when I sent it in to my local paper. I imagined seeing it in print, sending it to my representative, and convincing everyone how important vaccines are. Days and weeks passed by as I waited. It was never published.
I was disappointed. When my mom talked to me about it, however, I realized that my set of expectations hadn’t been realistic. Now that I’m a more experienced letter-writer, I’d estimate that about one of every eight to ten letters I write gets published. (A lot of this depends on where you submit- big, national newspapers like the New York Times are really hard to get into, while smaller local papers are more likely to publish your submission.) Those seven out of eight letters, though, aren’t a waste of time and effort! I know now that there is a third target for advocacy (besides the public and Congress): the media itself.
Newspapers have very limited space. They receive anywhere from dozens to thousands of letters per week, so they can only select pieces that will interest their readers. Hence, big, current, and especially controversial issues get the most attention-- with perhaps the exception of climate change, which checks all three, yet never gets enough coverage. If you’re writing about a lesser-known topic, you’ll have to show the editors that readers care. Keep submitting, and encourage your fellow letter-writers to do the same. The more letters from different people they receive, the more likely editors are to publish at least one from your side, realizing that the issue is important to their readers.
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| Some of the Midwestern newspapers my mom and I often write to! |
If your issue is big in the news, you’ll have to prove that your voice should be heard above others. Maybe it’s your experience as a student, advocate, or everyday constituent that sets you apart. Maybe it’s something unique you’ve done, or the way you present your argument in a different tone than other writers. Check with a parent/guardian, though, to see how much they’re comfortable with you saying about yourself for privacy and safety reasons. My parents prefer that I don’t disclose that I’m a student in my letters, so I try to keep that ambiguous when I write.
It takes some experience with a specific newspaper to find exactly what its editors are looking for. Try submitting different styles and see what gets in, and read other letters to see what they have in common. The more you read and write letters, the more you’ll understand about how it all works. Keep going!
Now, here are four main tips for writing letters to the editor I have for you today:
1. The shorter, the better. Longer letters are less likely to be published because there’s not enough physical space on the page. 125-175 words is amazing, 200 is good, and 250+ might exceed the word limit.
2. Referencing a recent article early on in your letter greatly improves your chances of being published. I do this by stating at the beginning that I read an article (include title and date) and how I feel about it-- do I agree or disagree? There are other ways you can work this in, too! When you reference one of their pieces, it shows editors that you’re a regular reader, and this will make your piece seem less out-of-the-blue.
3. Make sure your main idea is clear. If they can’t tell what you want or what you’re trying to say, the editors won’t publish your work. This is a space to make an argument, not just to argue for the sake of ranting, y'know?
4. Use EPIC format if you’re stuck, and don’t forget a call to action (it can be for the readers, or for members of Congress you're mentioning by name)! Each step of EPIC can be 1-2 sentences long.
Engage: Grab the reader's attention with a question or a startling statement, or reference a recent article.
Problem: State the problem.
Inform (or Illustrate): Inform the reader of the solution or illustrate how the solution can help.
Call to Action: CLEARLY state what you want the reader to do, or what you want policymakers to do (mention them directly if you can)!
5. Submit a bunch to different publications in one sitting, to increase the chances that at least one could get in! Change up your draft a little bit each time before sending it somewhere else, and this is not only respectful to the editors but also will end up improving your writing every time you revise the draft.
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| You'll probably get a receipt email, but it's normal not to hear back from the newspapers beyond that- they get so many submissions, they can't reply to each one. |
Many organizations, from RESULTS to Resistbot, provide templates for letters to the editor. It’s totally fine to use these to get started, as long as you make sure the final piece is truly your own voice. (I promise, your own words are way better!)
When you’re ready to submit, look on the newspaper’s website for instructions. Most will either have a form to fill out or an email address.
 |
| Go for it! You got this! |
What do I do if my letter is published?
First things first, you celebrate! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you!
Next, you can leverage its impact by sharing widely on social media and forwarding it directly to the offices of elected officials (with a short message along the lines of "I wrote this letter and I urge you to do ______").
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| It's a little late to be showing off holiday decorations, but my mom decorated our mantle with a mailbox "for letters to the editor" last month and I thought it was pretty cool :) |
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