TodayToday What are Letters to the

Editor? Editorial Analysis IVDL to compose Letters

to the Editor [due today!]

HOMEWORK KYCE next Monday (Allie) The Good News: We play Carolina

this week and they are awful.

Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorExamplesExamples

PLASTIC BAGS HAVE THEIR USESRE "L.A. COUNTY PASSES BAN ON PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS," NOV. 17

This doesn't go far enough. The next step is to get our incorporated cities to endorse this ban. Since state legislators failed to pass such an initiative earlier this year, it's going to be piecemeal. Complaining that this places a burden on poor people is not a valid argument. Many places have even given reusable bags away, so shop around. The L.A. City council should have moved on its 2008 initiative to implement a ban by last July. That date has passed. Get with the program. BEVERLY FRANCOMONTEREY PARK

Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorExamplesExamples

Cleveland should commit to cycling Published: Monday, November 22, 2010, 4:01 AM I was happy to see cyclists get some coverage in The Plain Dealer ("Bicycling is riding a wave of popularity," Nov. 13). I just wanted to add that, although cyclists may now make up a small proportion of commuters, more will join if the proper safety accommodations are put in place. In Portland, Ore., for example, almost 6 percent of the population commutes by bike. If Cleveland is serious about building on the trend toward cycling, it needs to build bike lanes and revise some of its legal framework to help protect cyclists. Cities like Columbus, Pittsburgh and even Detroit are way ahead of Cleveland in this respect. If Cleveland does not evolve to suit shifting generational preferences, it will be left behind by cities that are livable and safe for active people. Public health, the environment and the economy will suffer as a result.

Angie Schmitt, Cleveland

Letter to the Editor Requirements Adhere to word count requirements. This information can usually be

found, online and in print, on the same page as the letters that are published. Your letters need to be 200-250 words.

Open with a strong statement, and be sure to place the most important information at the beginning. Often, letters and pieces are edited to fit the space available in that issue of the newspaper -- most often they are cut from the bottom up, so placing the important information anywhere but at the top could result in its being omitted.

Use a personal story or illustration to make your point in plain language. If at all possible, tie your letter to a recent piece of news, editorial, or a prior letter to the editor, and, if you do so, reference the title and date of the article in your letter.

In your signature line include your name, daytime and evening telephone numbers, email address, and mailing address so the paper can verify that you wrote the letter. Some editors may write or call to confirm your information. Only your name and city will be published.

Editorial Analysis

read the editorial identify their three main points and

their counterargument come up with how you will refute at

least two of these things bring up something that the author has

not brought up in their article