How to write a Letter to the Editor

When to use this resource: 

• You care about an issue and want to call attention to it for others in your community and your elected leaders
• You read an article in a newspaper or on a news site and want to comment on how it relates to an issue you care about

Outline of resource: 

• What is a letter to the editor 
• Basic structure of an LTE
• Tips for writing an LTE
• How to get published 

Key points: 

• A good letter has a strong hook and makes a simple yet compelling argument
• Follow the rules for your location publication so your letter actually gets printed

What is a Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor, or LTEs, are a way for readers of a news outlet and active citizens to make their voices heard on a broader scale. The ‘opinion’ section is widely read in many newspapers, not just by fellow residents, but by local elected officials and their staff. Getting an LTE published in your local paper is an excellent way to make sure that your issue is grabbing the attention of your community and your officials. They are also a great way to share your message with other residents, and potentially connect with like-minded people near you. 

Letters to the editor are short, usually 100-200 words, but you can convey a lot with a few well-written sentences. This guide outlines how to write a concise and compelling LTE.

Basic Structure of a Letter to the Editor 

• The hook: Using a relevant recent event, anecdote, question, or provocative statement, start with a line that will capture the attention of the reader (and the editor) right away 
  • Example: “Nothing we use for five minutes should pollute our planet for hundreds of years. So why are we amassing single-use plastic bags from every trip to the convenience store?” 

• Problem: State the focus of your letter, and describe the problem in a way that conveys how real and consequential it is for the reader

• • Example: Every day, thousands of Chicago children are exposed to dangerous diesel pollution on the way to and from school. Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen linked to serious health problems, including lung cancer, asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.”

• Solution: Share what the solution is, in a ‘big picture’ sense and an immediate, concrete step towards that vision. Identify who has the power to make that a solution a reality, and what specifically you are asking them to do. 

• • Example: “We need to get the lead out of our drinking water. Let’s start where it matters most, in our schools, and get our school district to install lead-removing filters at every fountain and faucet our children rely on. 

• Summary/call to action: End by restating the “why” of your issue, and what the reader (or elected officials) should do to address it. 
  • Example: “Individual efforts can only do so much – to save the planet for future generations, we each need to step up and tell our state legislators to act on climate by passing SB100 this month.”

Here’s one great example of a letter to the editor, which was published in the New York Times by Environment America’s Steve Blackledge. 

Tips for Writing an LTE 

1. Make one, clear point: 

LTEs are short; you don’t have much space to make your case. Trying to make multiple points will muddy the waters, and make it difficult for you to get any of your points across effectively. Decide at the outset what the purpose of your letter is (what issue do you want to talk about and what’s the one big thing people need to know/do about it?) and build your letter around that central point. 

2. Use your personal experience: 

Your goal is to write in a way that connects with the audience and compels them to act. Sharing your own experiences with an issue helps demonstrate the issue, and also helps the reader empathize with you, which can make your point more powerful. 

Example: You are writing an LTE urging the town council to pass stricter rules on vehicle idling. You care about the issue because your son has asthma, and poor air quality can trigger asthma attacks. Anyone who is a parent knows how it feels to worry about their children, and anyone with asthma or another health condition that can be triggered suddenly knows how scary that is. Sharing your personal story turns this seemingly mundane issue of traffic laws into a very emotional, compelling issue for a wide audience. 

3. Appeal to the head and the heart: 

Some people make decisions based on emotion, others are compelled more by logic. Your argument will be compelling to the broadest array of people if you include both elements. 

It’s all about balance. Expressing strong emotions (fear, hope, outrage, etc) helps drive home the importance of the issue, but hyperbole or hysteria can stop a reader from taking you seriously. Having one clear, easy-to-understand “killer fact” in your letter anchors your point and provides legitimacy for your argument, but a letter loaded with too many statistics is overwhelming. 

4. Short letters get printed, clever letters get read: 

You have two main audiences when writing an LTE – the editor of the news outlet, and then the readers. It doesn’t matter how compelling your writing is if it never makes it to print, so be sure to follow your local news outlet’s rules for length. But you also need to make the most of the space you use: have a strong hook to get more readers’ attention, and make a clear argument that will stick in people’s brains for the biggest impact. 

How to Get Published

1. Find the submission process for your local news outlet:

In print newspapers, the policies for submitting LTEs are often included on the opinion page, where all the LTEs and opinion editorials are printed. Online, news outlets include submission instructions in the Opinion section or in the Contact Us section of the website. Particularly at larger newsrooms, if you don’t follow the submission process, your letter might never make it to the person who has the power to get it printed. 

2. Fit within the character limit: 

Keeping your letter within the guidelines established by your local news outlet makes it much more likely that your letter will be printed and that it’s printed the way you wrote it. If you don’t edit yourself, someone else may edit you – and they may trim down the word count in a way that takes away from the message you were trying to send. 

3. Tie your letter to a piece they’ve recently run: 

This isn’t mandatory for getting your letter printed, but it certainly helps. News editors appreciate when letters reference articles that the paper has run, as it helps drive attention back to their other content. That said, don’t try to force it – it’s better to have a well-written letter that stands on its own than to shoehorn in a link to another article in a way that feels cheesy or unnatural. 

In summary

Writing a letter to the editor of your local news outlet is an easy and effective way to spread the word about an issue that matters to you and spur elected officials and everyday people to act. If you’d like to explore more ways to get elected leaders to act, check out our resources on contacting your public officials, lobbying, and speaking at public meetings. To get more everyday people involved in the issue you care about, learn more about getting friends to take action, creating petitions and gathering signatures.