Name __________________

Letter to Representative:
Democracy is about people demanding change from those in government that represent
them. The first part of lawmaking is when citizens contact their Representative and ask
them to take action on an issue that is important. If convinced, a Representative can
write a law to bring to the House of Representatives so that they can research, debate,
and vote on a law. If a majority of the 435 Representatives vote for the law, it goes to
the Senate for a vote and then to the President for signature or veto.
Writing a letter to your Representative is the first step towards passing new laws. Here
is the process:
1. Identify your Representative
Name____________________
Office Address ________________________________________
2: Identify an Issue that you are passionate about which your Representative can
fix.
********Issue _____________________________
******Your Opinion on this Issue:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
What you are asking the Representative to do:
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3: Write an Outline of the Letter
Review Formal Letter Format
Fill in Outline
Due Friday
4: Peer-Edit Draft
We will do this Friday

5. Write Letter
6: Turn in Final Letter
I will mail it to Representative Brady
Due Tuesday

Two Quiz Grades

Name __________________
Formal Letter Format
Your Name and Address
Full Name of the Congressional Representative (Mr. or Mrs.)
Title (Senator or Representative, United States Congress)
(Their Address)
Dear Representative _________:
1st Paragraph (Introduction):
Start by introducing yourself in a friendly way
State the purpose of your letter and the issue you are writing about
Remember your audience and write passionately.
This section of the letter should be only a few sentences; save the details of
your issue for the body of your letter (the 2nd Paragraph)
2nd Paragraph (Body Paragraph):
Start your body paragraph by justifying your issue is an important one to you
and to the entire country.
Explain why it is important to you personally and what your Congressman can
do to try and fix this issue. Offer your own advice, suggestions, or proposals
as well.
Use good background information and supports to back up your points.
Keep this section to the two points you are making; you do not want to bore
your reader
Remember to be polite and refrain for personal attacks or insults.
3rd Paragraph (Closure)
Restate your purpose for writing your letter
Politely request that your Congressman take action on this issue
Make sure you thank for Congressman for their time and end your letter in
friendly manner
Sincerely,
(Leave 4 or more space for your signature)
Your Full Name

Name __________________

Outline
Your Name __________________
Your Address ___________________________
Dear Representative ___________________,

Introduce yourself:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Purpose: Explain your Issue

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Why is this important to everyone?

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

Why is it important to you?

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

Name __________________
Politely ask the Representative to do something specific about your issue:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Thank the Congressman (write more than thank you)

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Sincerely,
Your Full Name ______________________________

Name __________________
Rubric:

2 1-0

Purpose

-Identifies an
important issue
and supports with
two or more well
thought out
reasons
-Asks
Representative to
take a specific
action

-Identifies an
important issue
and supports with
two or more well
thought out
reasons
-Asks a
Representative to
take some kind of
action

-Identifies an issue
and makes an
argument, the
reasons are not
specific
-Asks a
representative to
do something
vague

-May have an
issue, but does not
give reasons why it
is important
-Makes
unconnected
points

Style

-No grammar and

spelling mistakes
-Uses formal yet
friendly language

-Few grammar and

spelling mistakes
-Uses friendly
language but not
always formal

-Major grammar
and spelling
mistakes
-Not written in
formal language

-Serious grammar
and spelling
mistakes which
make it illegible
-Not written in
formal language

Content

-Has a logical flow

and contains all
aspects from the
outline

-Has a logical flow -Has some flow

and contains most but is missing key
of the aspects from parts
the outline

-Missing nearly all

of the major
contents

Grade

D or F

Name __________________

Example:
Scott Williams
2643 Emerald St
Philadelphia, PA 19125

Robert Brady
Representative, United States Congress
2630 Memphis St.
Philadelphia, PA 19125
Dear Representative Brady
My name is Scott Williams and I live and work in your district. As a high school teacher in
Kensington, I see the day-to-day issues that many young people in our district face. I am
writing you because I am concerned about the lack of funding for Philadelphias schools.
Every student should have the right to high quality education which gives them the ability to
grow and thrive as people. With all of the cuts in funding to our schools over the past few
years, our schools cannot possibly offer all of the classes, resources, and trained staff to meet
the needs of our students. As an educator, I see these challenges every day. I also know what
it is like in suburban districts which have nearly twice the funding per student. These schools
have the resources to make sure students graduate on time, go to college, and go on to live
prosperous lives. Unfortunately, many Philadelphia schools are not providing our students
with these possibilities.
I am writing to you because I would like you to push legislation in Congress to provide more
funds for Philadelphia schools. This much needed money can go a long way towards
providing high quality education for our students. We could keep our schools open, hire
more teachers, offer more classes, and have smaller class sizes.
Thank you for all that you do to represent our district and I look forward to speaking with you
in the future.

Sincerely,
Scott Williams