[Unit 9 Assignment Template] (Month) (Day) (Year) The Honorable (First name) (Last

[Unit 9 Assignment Template]

(Month) (Day) (Year)

The Honorable (First name) (Last name)

(Room Number), (State Capitol/building name)

(city), (state) (Zip Code)

RE: (state the topic or include the bill number, author and subject of why you are writing to the elected official)

Dear (Assembly Member/Senator) (Last name),

(Introduction): My name is (your first and last name), and I am a regional center consumer (family member/service provider/advocate/community member) who resides in your district. I am concerned with (your environmental concern) in our community. There (is/is not) currently any citizen action surrounding this issue, and there are (list who all are affected by this challenge) affected by this challenge.

Scope of the problem: Historically, this environmental challenge is being exacerbated by (where is the pollutant coming from. Who is responsible for the release in your community? Provide details in the next couple sentences). This problem is (spread throughout the community in regions XXX / isolated to one area, specifically XXX. Include a personal story of being affected if you have one).

These pollutants have impacts on (state who is affected. Which people? Which wildlife? What resources? If there is demographic data such as effects of this on poorer communities primarily, describe that here). This poses environmental justice concerns because (describe justice concerns). (Describe why clean-up is so important based on who is impacted).

Legislation: I noticed that there (is / is not) current legislation on this problem. (State why you support or oppose the legislation or other issue here. Choose up to three of the strongest points that support your position and state them clearly. Tell your representative why the issue is important to you and how it affects you, your family members and your community. State how the elected official should help rectify the situation).

In the short-term, the community/contributor to the pollutant should (indicate short-term solutions). Long-term goals should include (indicate the long-term solution to the problem). If this problem were to resolve, we could see (rest of hypothesis here).

Conclusion: (Write a short concluding statement. Indicate if the elected official holds the authority to make changes happen or indicate who does have this authority here. Tell your representative how you want her / him to vote on this issue and ask for a response). I look forward to seeing how you can improve this problem for this community. Thank you for your time and attention to this.

Sincerely,

(First and last name)

The paper should be 750 words not including any title page or references.

Ensure that you include APA-style references if you are referring to research you did on the subject. This strengthens your argument to someone if you have scientific data to support your concerns and claims.

Always use the proper salutation, for example, The Honorable (first name) (last name) informative in your communication.

Always be polite and courteous in these letters. You want someone to enact change and advocate for you, not be offended by what you say to them.

Use this resource below to help you imagine how the flow of your letter should go but remember this example doesn’t include everything in the rubric so ensure that you complete the blanks in the template above:

Alliance For the Great Lakes. (n.d.). Writing a Letter to an Elected Official. https://greatlakes.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AGL_PlasticsToolkit_FS04_ElectedOfficial.pdf.