 |
Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council Dedicated to Preserving Family Values P.O. Box 105, Binbrook, ON CANADA L0R 1C0 A Chapter of Canada Family Action Coalition |
 |
| P.A.C.E. Education Declaration of Spiritual Values Newsletter Highlights Sexual Health Marriage Pornography Pro-Life |
HWDSB Equity Policy
Public Education 
| INDEX | |||||||
| FROM NIAGARA COMMUNITY IMPACT COMMITTEE:
By Gary Schneeberger, Editorial Page Editor, November 28, 1999 I'm writing this letter to comment on the 200-word limit on letters to the editor in The Desert Sun. Well, no, actually, I'm not. I'm writing it to help you letter-writers out there get the most out of those 200 words. That's the purpose of this column - to offer you a few pointers on how to write more clearly and more effectively when submitting &Your Voice" letters or "Valley Voice" columns. The paragraph that begins this column is your first lesson. Study it closely - and never, ever repeat it. Why? Because it's a waste of space. A writer who starts his letter this way already has used up about 10 percent of his available words - and he hasn't even really said anything yet. The key to making appoint in a letter, and to conserving a few precious words in the process, is to begin not by telling the reader what you're gong to write about - but to just start writing about it. If you put your thoughts together clearly and directly, the reader will know what you're writing about because you'll actually be writing about it. Consider this alternative to the opening above: "Two hundred words is too short for a letter to the editor." Pretty clear the topic of the piece is the length of letters to the editor, right? You've not only managed to convey that, but you've done it in seven fewer words - and you've also made it pretty clear where you stand on the subject. You aren't just serving up information. - " This is what I'm going to tell you about" - but you're also stating your opinion. And that's why you're bothering to write a letter to the editor in the first place, isn't it? None of this means, of course, that you don't need to put context and background into your letters. If you're writing in response to an earlier letter-writer or columnist, make sure you refer to the content, author and date of that column or letter. But rather than saying, "I'm writing in response to Fred Flintstone's 'Your Voice' letter in The Desert Sun dated Nov. 12, 1999, in which he talked about the need for a dinosaur leash law," be more focused and succinct: "Fred Flinstone got it all wrong in defending dinosaur leash laws in his Nov.12 letter." You might say that's a …ummm…bedrock principle of effective letter-writing.
I got an interesting call after last week's "Write Way" column appeared. The caller, who I can't name (because Assemblyman Battin's parents already named him 'Jim') pointed out how ironic it was that it took me 407 words to explain a key principle about making a point in a letter to the editor limited to 200 words. An astute observation. And a perfect segue into this week's lesson: Don't over-explain. The purpose of a letter to the editor is to make an argument. And arguments need facts to support them. But we stay beyond our word limit when we try to pack too many facts into our writing. The message here? Just go with the one or two best examples you have to support your position. Don't dump a laundry list of President Clinton's sins into a piece about why he's a bad president, for instance, unless you want to wind up a sock or a pair of boxers too long. Here's an example. My point in writing this was to show that not-so-anonymous caller that I can help you stay within 200 words while doing it myself. My one example to support my point? Start counting, Jim.
Gary Schneeberger, Janet's note: Gary S. suggested readers submit a question for a local politician via the editorial page editor and then have this politician respond in print via the newspaper.
By Gary L. West, Why do we do it? We all fall prey to it if we put our thoughts onto paper. We often become passive when we write. I don't mean passive, as in submitting to the will of others. However, we do tend to write sentences that have a false formality. Lauren Kessler and Duncan McDonald of the University f Oregon School of Journalism wrote a chapter about passive voice in their book, "When Words Collide." Here is how their chapter starts: "When passive voice is used, sentences are robbed of power. Strong verbs are weakened by this construction, and awkwardness is caused. Although there are reasons to use passive voice, it is often employed unintentionally and unnecessarily by novice writers." The authors then recast that paragraph as follows: "When (writers) use passive voice, they rob their sentences of power. This construction weakens strong verbs and causes awkwardness. Although passive voice has its place, novice writers often use it unintentionally and unnecessarily." The first example uses passive voice. The second is written in active voice. In active sentences, an actor performs some action on a recipient. In passive sentences, a recipient is acted upon by an actor. You will find examples of active and passive voice in this column and throughout this newspaper. If you cast your sentences in active voice, you might strengthen your writing. THIS WEEK, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING YOU NEVER SEE IN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. IN FACT, RIGHT NOW MAY BE THE ONLY TIME YOU'LL SEE IT IN THIS NEWSPAPER THE ENTIRE YEAR. I'm talking about words, sentences of paragraphs, typed in ALL CAPS. You don't see them because there's a little confusion about what they mean in written communication. Those who use them in letters to the editor, I think, believe they signal emphasis. The words that are all capped are the ones the writer feels are REALLY important. We don't see it that way on our end. We see it as SCREAMING. For emphasis, we prefer to use bold or italics. Now, indicating that you'd like certain words bolded or italicized is perfectly acceptable. Columnists do it all the time. We'll be happy to publish the words that way - within reason, of course. But YELLING via a locked shift key - it's rude, even on paper.
Gary Schneeberger |
|||||||
|
Note: P.C. indicates Member of the Privy Council |
|||||||
|
Prime Minister of Canada The Right Honouragle (name), P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Mr./Madam Prime Minister:, Yours sincerely, |
The Premier of a Province The Honourable (name, M.L.A.) (In Quebec - M.N.A., In Ontario - M.P.P., In Newfoundland - M.H.A.) Premier of the Province of ______, Dear Sir/Madam:, Sincerely,
|
||||||
|
Member of the Executive Council (Cabinet) of a Province The Honourable (name, M.L.A.) In Quebec - M.N.A., in Ontario - M.P.P. Minister of (area of responsibility) Dear Sir/Madam:, Yours truly,
|
Member of the Federal Cabinet and Member of Privy Council The Honourable (name) Minister of (area of responsibility) Privy Council Office, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A3 Dear Sir/Madam:, Sincerely,
|
||||||
|
Member of the Senate The Honourable (name) The Senate, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A4 Dear Sir/Madam:, Sincerely,
|
Member of the House of Commons (name), M.P. House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Sir/Madam:, Sincerely,
| ||||||
|
Chief Justice or Supreme Court Justices The Right Honourable The Chief Justice of Canada Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0J1 Or The Honourable (name), Chief Justice of (province/territory) Sir/Madam:, Sincerely,
|
NO POSTAGE is neededwhen sending a letter to the Prime Minister, Governor General, Senators and Members of Parliament at their Parliament Hill offices. NO POSTAGE is needed when sending a letter to your M.P. at his or her constituency office. (Write "Letter to MP" on the envelope where the stamp should be to remind postal workers.) NOTE: Letters should get attention faster when sent to your MP's constituency offices. I send a copy to both the Constituency Office and the Parliament Hill office.
|
||||||
|
|