Hey I’ve seen a whole lot of petitions going around that are really badly constructed or clearly won’t do anything, so here’s how to write a good petition!
Write it to a specific person or organization, never to a broad or unorganized group. Ie, writing to ‘fishermen’ will get nowhere, but writing to ‘the fisherman’s association of west somewheresville’ will. A petition should be direct and to the point, and show a specific person(s) that need to take action
State what problem(s) exist. You’re calling the people to action, but what for? What is truly the problem? And more importantly,
How can they be solved? If you pitch a petition, and point out a problem, how would you solve it? What are you doing to solve the problem already as yourselves? What needs to happen for this issue to be truly solved? BE SPECIFIC HERE!! I’m talking ‘this man has committed 1st degree manslaughter and, by federal law, should face life in prison’ not just ‘hold this man accountable for his crimes’
How does this problem affect your life or others’ lives? This is where you should include your sob stories. It should be noted that this part is not necessary in writing a good petition, but it can be useful to include.
Here’s a fake petition letter;
Dear principal Man
As I’m certain you’re aware, our school has a history of fighting to be environmentally conscious. Four years ago, many of the students in our elementary school collected data to support their idea; that the elementary school needed a paper recycling program, just as middle and high school have. You agreed, and the full school was able to be more environmentally friendly. Now, we ask for you to continue this conservation.
Now that we are all recycling paper, it’s time to focus on the next biggest waste product: plastic.(2) Discarded pens make up a portion of this group, but the biggest issue by far is the snack bar. The snack bar at School420 generates pounds of plastic waste from packaging weekly.
We students would love to recycle more than just paper— in fact, several students have started taking plastic home to recycle. (4) However, this is not enough. We are not asking for much- just a few plastic only recycle bins in the cafeteria and snack bar. (3) These are the two places the bins will be able to do the most good.
We hope you are willing to help us in our goal to make our school more eco-friendly
Respectfully,
The students of School420
<signature sheet here>











