Advocacy letter based on Literature review
• You will write a persuasive advocacy letter that makes a direct request for action or that offers a new perspective about a current conversation.
• You will use the research and the preliminary arguments you made in your literature review and tailor those to a new audience.
• You will write to a specific audience, understanding their needs and expectations.
The stakeholder will be a person or organization who has decision-making authority or the power to implement your suggestions or respond to the issue you are advocating for. You will spend some time researching this stakeholder, so that you can prepare a strategy for the advocacy letter. You will write an evidence-based argument to your stakeholder defending your stance and proposing a plan of action the stakeholder should take.
INSTRUCTIONS:
• Write a letter, likely no longer than two single-spaced pages
• Use a combination of reputable, appropriate sources. The type and number of sources will depend on how you decide to approach the audience and on the audience’s expectations. The literature review and the research you completed prior to the literature review should all help you as you write this letter. NOTE: You will be writing to sophisticated audiences who will be persuaded only if you use highly credible evidence. Introduce and synthesize the evidence you provide. General encyclopedias, dictionaries (unless they are specialized dictionaries), or popular magazines and websites (About.com, TIME Magazine, U. S. News & World Report, etc.) will probably not be appropriate.
REFLECTION ADVOCACY LETTER
1. What words did you choose to establish and communicate exigence to the audience in the letter?
2. What words did you choose to establish the purpose of the letter? In which paragraph did you introduce why you were writing this letter to this specific audience? How did you make that choice?
3. How did you establish your credibility? How did you make an appeal to ethos?
4. What sources of evidence did you choose? Why did you choose those specific sources?
5. Does the letter make a new offering, provide a different perspective, or support the audience’s own advocacy goals? If the audience already mostly agreed with you, how did you establish the letter as a new contribution to the conversation? You may cut and paste the sentences where you establish the new offering the letter makes.
