inMotion Magazine

Strong 15 opinion page in the print version to learn how they accept submissions and what rules they may have in place for letters they will accept. All newspapers will provide an email address or online form for you to submit a letter to the editor. High school and college students should think about how they can reach out to their school’s publication to submit a letter to the editor. Second, get to writing! Here is an outline you can use to craft a letter to the editor: • Open with “To the Editor” • Grab the reader’s attention at the outset with a smartly written first sentence; tell them the key point you want to make • Explain why your point/ this issue is important; use a local example • Give evidence for your praise or criticism • State your opinion about what should be done • Sign the letter with your real name, and include your address, email, and phone number (the newspaper won’t publish this; it’s just to contact you to verify you wrote the letter) Letters to the editor must be brief – again, between 200–300 words. Try not to use a lot of adjectives and adverbs. Keep your writing simple and direct. Lastly, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! Newspapers have limited space to run letters, so they may not chose yours for publication. It doesn’t mean it was a bad letter – it just didn’t fit their needs at the time. Always be thinking of issues you can write about, and make it a regular habit to practice your letter writing and submissions. If you have children or grandchildren in the home, make sure you talk to them about issues important to people with limb loss and limb difference and have them write their own letters to the editor. Happy writing – wishing you all the luck in having your letter printed so that your community can learn from you. HEARD Photo by Canva Studio from Pexels