a letter to the editor outlining your views on the issue being discussed and its relevance to nursing

You will respond to an editorial or an article on current issues with a persuasive argument in a letter to the editor outlining your views on the issue being discussed and its relevance to nursing. You may agree or disagree with the editor/writer’s comments. You should be aware of current events in health care and nursing, especially within a Canadian context. . Respond to an editorial or an article on Canadian nursing and present your concerns for how the issue impacts nursing. The issue may affect nursing practice, ability to engage with patients and families, nursing education, how systems structure health/access to health, etc. The letter should be concise and logically written. It should clearly express your opinion and reaction to the editorial/article, use relevant scholarly resources to support your opinion, demonstrate an analysis of the situation in relation to nursing, and provide recommendation(s).

Instructions:

1. Read resources listed below on how to write an effective letter to the editor.
2. Read the sample letters provided and other letters written to the editor from journals, newspapers etc.
3. Choose an editorial/article to respond to and attach with your assignment.
4. Choose the viewpoint from which you will be writing.
5. Research the topic to support why your topic is an issue.
6. Offer recommendations and find research to support why your recommendation(s) would be effective.
7. Construct your letter with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
8. In your first paragraph, identify your objective for writing the letter and introduce your concerns for how the issue is relevant to nursing. Your position will support, rebut, or give an opinion on the article. Your first paragraph should grab the reader’s attention and identify your key important points.
9. The second paragraph will contain the bulk of the information and it is here that you will expand on your position and support it with relevant scholarly resources.
10. The third paragraph will contain your recommendation(s) supported by scholarly references.
11. The fourth paragraph is the conclusion/summary.
12. Put your letter together in a proper-letter-writing form.

example of

Resources:

1. Tips for Writing Letters to Editor (3)

Girard, N.J. (2005). Thoughts on writing a letter to the editor. AORN Journal, 81(6),

1155-6.

http://journals2.scholarsportal.info.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/pdf/00012092/v81i0006/1155_towaltte.xml

Johnson, C. & Green, B. (2006). Helpful hints: Writing effective letters to the editor.

Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 29(6): 415-6.

http://journals2.scholarsportal.info.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/pdf/01614754/v29i0006/415_hhweltte.xml

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1239.aspx

2. Letter to the Editor Examples (2)

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1013895

http://www.longwoods.com/content/21590