A Guide to Writing Constituent Letters

So my most important and substantial task that I regularly receive in my office is to write letters of response to constituents that have written or emailed regarding the Representatives opinion. When writing a letter back to the constituent I have learned that you must master some necessary skills in order to make that letter have meaning but also not offend the constituent.

The letter is usually broken down into 4 different paragraphs. The first paragraph introduces the topic or bill that the constituent discussed in the letter and gives basic information, like who sponsored the bill and when it was introduced into the house or senate. The second paragraph gives more details regarding the bill or topic including the history of the topic and the current issues with the topic or bill. The third paragraph voices the congressman’s opinion in non-confrontational yet opinionated way. This is the hardest paragraph because you have to treat it sensitively especially if the constituent has a different opinion than the congressman. The fourth paragraph is standard in every email and is always the same. It includes that the congressman will think about your opinion when deciding to vote on the issue and to contact him without hesitation through his communication channels. Writing letters has taught me that governmental work may seem standard and boring but if you do it correctly you can have major impact on the policy and issues.