Persuasive letter to your alderperson assignment

You will write a letter to the Alderperson of your Ward convincing them to fix, address, or think differently about an issue in your neighborhood. This issue can be a small problem (like potholes) or a larger problem (like systemic racism in new business licenses).

This is not an essay where you are simply restating facts. Your goal is to persuade–to show facts to your reader in a way that will help them see your logic and your side (logos), to show how trustworthy you and your sources are (ethos), why this problem needs to be addressed now (kairos) and how this problem affects people (pathos).

It’s also important to remember that whatever you’re writing about, people are almost certainly already discussing it/trying to solve it. This is why it’s important to research your issue thoroughly so that you can use the most up-to-date and accurate information in your letter. You don’t want to be requesting things that have already been done or that are underway.