Write Congress!

Writing Your Members of Congress

Choosing a Topic

Initiate a discussion regarding writing a letter to a politician. Use questions such as the following to guide discussion:

• What are some topics or issues about which people write their elected officials?

• How are letters to politicians persuasive?

• What impact can a letter have?

Tell studens that the goal of persuasive writing is to state the issue clearly and to make the reader change his or her opinion, or to take action.

Look for examples of persuasive letters in your local newspaper. Ask students to identify the issue, the opinion the writer is expressing, how the writer tries to persuade the audience, and what makes the argument convincing or not.

Finding an Audience

When students have chosen a topic, help them to decide to whom they'll write their letter. To obtain postal and e-mail addresses and other information on members of the House of Representatives, visit the U.S. House of Representatives, where the Members Directory can help you find your local Representative. As an Internet activity, students can gather the address information they need and information on committees of interest, alternately you can provide this information to students. You can print out the page on your Representative that lists the committees he or she served on and the legislation he or she has sponsored so students can choose the appropriate Representative or committee for their issue.

Writing the Letter

You may find it helpful to review the Writing Process(pdf) with students before they begin their letters. You may also want to distribute to students copies of Tips for Writing a Letter to a Member of Congress (pdf). Have students send us copies of their completed letters for posting in the Gallery.

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