RUBRIC:
America is a constitutional republic, and a republican form of government relies on the active
participation and engagement of its citizens for support. The purpose of this assignment is to give you
an opportunity to engage in one of the two most common forms of civic engagementcomposing a
letter to the editor of a newspaper or a letter to one of your representatives in government. In
preparation for this assignment, you should take some time to read through the opinion pages of some
of the major news outlets in the country: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, U.S.A. Today, The
Washington Post. You should also consult some local papers like the Pensacola News Journal or Independent
News. You might also find it useful to peruse some of the recent posts on various news sites: American
Greatness, The Daily Beast, Real Clear Politics, Slate, The Federalist. Look for articles about topics
that interest you and study the way in which these articles are composed. The purpose of these articles
is to inform readers about problems in society in order to secure broad public support for policies or
actions undertaken to address these problems. The formula in these essays is simple: identify the
problem, consider alternative views, propose a solution. As you read through the newspaper, consider
what things trouble you most about your community. It is likely that your initial thoughts will be things
like hunger, disease, environmental degradation, war. Fair enough. These are certainly big problems,
and finding solutions to these problems would be a real accomplishment. But take a moment to think
more carefully about the problems that you experience during an average day or week. What you have
to contribute to our community will come from what you know, what you are most familiar with.
What needs fixing? How could it be accomplished?
Prepare an essay of 750 1,250 words that identifies a problem, considers likely sources or causes of
the problem and presents the solution that you think makes the most sense. Your essay should be
persuasive, which means that while it is important that you express what you think, you must also put
some effort into thinking about what might lead others who are less concerned about this issue to
take notice of it and support your plan.
In addition to the essay, you should also research how to submit your essay to the intended recipient
(the newspaper or representative) and include a description of the rules for submission at the
conclusion of your essay. While your essay should be original work, it is perfectly fine to copy and
paste these submission instructions, along with some note explaining where you found this
information. Most newspapers and government officials now maintain websites that more or less
prominently feature this information.