HEALTH PROMOTION ( CHILDHOOD OBESITY)

Writing your letter (500 words)

IDENTIFIED PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE IS: CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN NORTH LONDON

You will :

• Follow the conventions of formal letter writing (including the sender’s address and the recipient address, the date of writing, and appropriate salutation and ending of the letter)
• Structured a formal letter in a logical style using the EPIC format
• – Engage: say something attention-grabbing
• – Problem: explained the precise nature of the problem

You will also :

• Inform: tell why it’s a problem, make a comparison of how things were before and now, also between rich and poor areas.

tell the recipient what the potential solution might be

• Call to action: explained exactly what the recipient can do to help, how investing money will reduce the issue.

 letter

The official’s name, title, address.

Date in full.

Name of official and correct salutation/greeting.

First paragraph: Start the letter by telling your MP who you are and why you are writing to them – make sure you have a specific and focused purpose. In your opening sentence, mention that you are a constituent (a voter!). MPs tend to care more about the people they represent. Remember, they are there to represent you.

Second paragraph: say why you are writing e.g. in response to a public statement, with reference to an anniversary within health e.g. a certain campaign.  Also, A good campaign now is the one around school meals during holiday time that is being championed by Marcus Rashford MBE – the famous football player. He’s touched on quite an important issue.

Third and fourth paragraphs and body of letter: develop your argument, backing it up with facts, figures, specific cases, quotes, relevant legislation.

A good persuasive argument uses a combination of thorough research and careful word choice in order to present the writer’s opinion strongly and get the reader to agree.

Tips for persuasive writing:

• Pick a topic you’re passionate about (CHILDHOOD OBESITY). You’ll do your best persuading when it’s something you truly believe in. If you have the option to pick a topic, choose one that appeals to your own sensibilities. There will be research to do regardless, but already having a strong opinion about your subject will make its defence a bit easier.

• Know your audience. If you want to convince readers to believe and agree with you, know who you’re talking to first. For example, if you’re writing a persuasive letter about why children should have extended school meals during your holiday’s periods, your audience will likely be health ministers and parents: Keep that in mind when writing to your targeted demographic.

• Hook the reader’s attention. A persuasive writer should present their opinion with a declarative statement that clearly expresses their point of view. Starting with a fact, research findings, or any other evidence that explicitly states information supportive of your topic of discussion

• . An effective persuasion technique is the use of empathy. A reader is more inclined to believe you if they feel like you can relate to and understand their experiences. Emotional appeal is important for persuasive writing, as it targets the audience’s sensitivities, while also providing a logical explanation for why their beliefs should change.

Final paragraph: state what action you would like the official to take and make suggestions or recommendations for a solution, for example: send you information on social distancing, wearing masks and visitation for families that do not have English as their first language. Example 2: making recommendations for healthy eating using the 5 – a day campaign to promote healthy eating for children’s school meals. Be clear on what action you want your MP to take. Some actions that you might ask your MP to take:

• Voting for or against a Bill. If you think amendments are required to a given Bill, you can also ask them to raise amendments (make sure you’re clear about what these are!).
• Speaking about the issue in Parliament to raise awareness of the issue.
• Asking a question in Parliament to gain extra information on an issue or raise its profile.
• Raising the issue with the relevant Minister or Shadow Minister or portfolio holder. If other MPs are also raising the issue, this demonstrates that there is community concern for the issue.
• Talking about the issue in the media / social media to help raise its profile.

Closure: Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully

Your initials – this is for the purpose of anonymising your assessment.

Things to think about in your letter:

Who do you write to? Ask yourself the below questions to help work out who you should be targeting.

Who has the power to make the change you are seeking?

What is their current position on the issue?

Are they open to pressure from within Government? Are they open to external pressure and if so, from whom?

What are the best ways to influence them?

You may decide to write to secondary rather than the primary target i.e. not the person who has the decision-making power but someone else who can influence them. For example, you may write to an advisor or Member of Parliament asking them in turn to influence their Minister.

Once you’ve settled on a target, it will be easier to work out the tone and message of your letter. Contact by letter is most effective if it is based on a relationship with the person. Ideally you will keep writing to the same person. But be flexible – if the situation changes or you are having no luck with one contact, you may choose to lobby someone else.

SAMPLE LETTER

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Name xxxxx

MP House of Commons Westminster

London

SW1A 0AA

Date in full

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx

I am a xxxxxxxxx University student studying health policy and politics, and I am writing to you today because I would like to draw your immediate attention to a growing issue of violent crime in the community of Haringey. Crime has risen across the UK, ruining the lives of our youths and devastating our communities. Current high levels of crime will be felt by society for decades. Youths are the future, and what we do now impacts on their potential to become thoughtful leaders, inspirational figures, and peacebuilders. If youths are not our priority then our future is at risk. Haringey Council reports that there are approximately 63,400 young people under 20 living in Haringey, 70% of which are ethnic minorities. According to PHE (2018), the amount of first time entrants into the youth justice system is significantly higher in Haringey than the England average. Violent crime rates are also higher than many boroughs with 31.89 crimes over a 12 month period per 1000 residents. The council’s recent SHEU survey (2017) conducted with primary and secondary school children highlights significant concerns about the safety of our youths, showing prevalent concerns about knife crime, violent crime, and travel safety. There are growing concerns about gang presence, which has led to young people feeling unsafe when traveling freely. Furthermore, there is currently a lack of safe places for young people to meet, socialize, and explore new interests. We have Bruce Grove Youth Space in Tottenham, which does an excellent job of engaging with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, but there is a severe lack of youth services for young people from Wood Green or Turnpike Lane, and as you are aware, the gang culture between Wood Green and Tottenham youths has been an ongoing concern which has encouraged anti-social behaviour and crime participation. We believe lack of investment in youth services has been a contributing factor to youth crime in Haringey. We propose that a potential solution to this devastating issue is the creation of more youth clubs that would be accessible to every person in the borough. Youth clubs provision of activities such as; education initiatives, sports, dance, arts and crafts, sexual education, CV workshops, and much more give our youths a fun and safe place, but also a productive way to spend their time. According to a survey conducted by Berkenshire Youth, 82% of young people attending youth clubs stated that they were truly happy compared to 74% for those not attending. Furthermore, not only can youth clubs help reduce crime such as violence or drug use; they could also improve the overall quality of life and the mental health of our children.

The first step would be actively using your position of power to start a campaign that welcomes all demographics of youths to participate in youth clubs. This can revitalize the current system, paint the youth clubs in a more inclusive light, and bring more children to a safe environment. The community needs more investment in youth services now more than ever. These investments could be used to fund and create the desperately needed youth clubs in the borough, and I need support in order to accomplish this goal. You have the power to increase investment in order to create more youth provisions, by potentially redistributing the profits from the sugar tax, fundraising by organising funfairs and community events. These are some ideas that could start a new project for our community that also protects hundreds of youths.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely