LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Another type of formal letters is letters to the editor of news papers
or magazines. They address issues or respond to articles previously written.
They are often written with the following purposes.
1. To complain about something
2. To support an idea or a project.
3. To give opinions about something.
4. To give advice on something.
If you want your letter to be published you should be timely and respond
within two or three days of the event or article. Short, concise letters are
likely to be published than long ones that go round and round. Most people read
shorter letters first and later perhaps read the longer ones.
Some guidelines.
a. State the argument you are responding to, as briefly as possible in the
introduction of your letter.
b. Stick to a single subject. Deal with one subject per letter.
c. Do not be abusive. Editors tend to discard letters containing personal
attack.
d. Your letter should be logically organized.
i.
Introduction; explain
the argument you are opposing or supporting.
ii.
Statement of your
position.
iii.
Provide evidence.
iv.
Close with a short
restatement of your position or a pity comment.
e. Use facts, figures, and expert testimony whenever possible.
f.
Read and do thorough
research before you accuse anybody of anything.
g. Proofread your letter carefully for errors in spellings, punctuation,
and grammar. Newspapers will always edit to correct these mistakes but your
letter is likely to be published if it is ‘clean’ to begin with.
h. Don’t mail it the same day it is written. Write, edit and proofread it
and then put it aside until the next day. Re-reading your letter in a fresh
light often helps you to spot errors in reasoning, stilted language and the
like.
i.
Try to view your letter
from the reader’s perspective. Will the argument make sense to someone without
a special background on this issue? Did you use technical terms that are not
familiar to the average reader?
j.
Always include your
name, title, address, phone number and signature. This information may not be
published but they may use it to verify that you wrote the letter.
THE FORMAT OF EDITORIAL
LETTER
COMPONENTS OF EDITORIAL
LETTER
i.
The name and address of
the receiver
ii.
Salutation
iii.
Subject/short heading
iv.
The main body
v.
The ending
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EXAMPLE OF EDITORIAL
LETTER.
Editor,
Mwananchi Newspaper,
P.O.Box 2020
Tabata-Dar-es-Salaam
Dear editor,
RE: WATER PROBLEM AT BUSEGWE
VILLAGE.
I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the good work your
Newspaper has been doing in keeping the public informed and educated on
different socio-political and economic matters.
Although I am a regular
reader of Mwananchi newspaper, it is my first time to appear in this column to
express my deep concerns on the problem of water in our village Busegwe.
Busegwe village is located just a few kilometres from Lake Victoria south of
Musoma municipal. Nevertheless, since independence the problem of water has
never been solved.
In my opinion, if really
the leaders were serious enough about the welfare of their citizens, there is
no way they would fail to supply piped water to the village which is located
just few kilometres from the largest lake in Africa.
I would like to advice our
MP his excellence hon. N.E. Mkono to stand up for this and see to it that water
is supplied to our Village or else we are not going to re-elect him in the
forth coming general election.
Yours faithfully,
Jamila Michael,
A peasant,
P.O.BOX 1515,
BUSEGWE-MUSOMA.
Contacts 0772000333
20th
Aug 2018
Assignment
Imagine that all last year form fours from Heritage Sec School have been
selected to join form five in different government high schools. Write a letter
to the editor of “Daily News” P. O.
Box 2021 Dar-es-Salaam, congratulating them for their achievement. Use your
name and school address.
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