HOW
TO
WRITE
A
PETITION




PETITION

HOW TO WRITE A PETITION

EFFECTIVE PETITION WRITING

CLEAR CONCISE COMMUNICATION

GUIDELINES FOR PETITIONS

WRITE A SUCCESSFUL PETITION

HOW TO WRITE A PETITION LINKS



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SECTION 1



PETITION




In the colloquial sense, a petition is
a document addressed to some official
and signed by numerous individuals.
A petition may be oral rather than written.


A "petition" a written request to parliament
for action, such as a need to change an
existing law or to pass a new law. It is
accompanied by a collection of signatures
that shows the signatories to be concerned
about the issue or problem and to support
the specific request.

Petitions must be presented to parliament,
or a member of parliament, for them to be
tabled in parliament. They must refer to
a matter that is within the power of
parliament to address, and contain a
request to take action.

The more signatures present on a petition,
the more successful it is likely to be
influencing change, as it demonstrates to
parliament the high level of community
support for the issue.

Petitions are commonly used in the U.S.
to qualify candidates for public office
to appear on a ballot; while anyone can
be a write-in candidate, a candidate
desiring that his or her name appear on
printed ballots and other official
election materials must gather a certain
number of valid signatures from
registered voters.

In jurisdictions whose laws allow for
ballot initiatives, the gathering of a
sufficient number of voter signatures
qualilfies a proposed initiative to be
placed on the ballot.



PETITION
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petition



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SECTION 2



HOW
TO
WRITE
A
PETITION




Writing a petition is not as difficult as
you might suspect. Save yourself time by
following the regulations set forth by
your local government.


1. Contact the administrative office of
your local government.


2. Verify that your cause for petition
falls under its jurisdiction. You might
need to petition on a county or state
level. Have the office direct you to
the department that handles matters
related to your cause.


3. Request petition guidelines. Find
out how many signatures you need and
whether your petition needs approval
before being circulated.


4. Use the guidelines to write a short
summary of your cause. People won't
stick around to read something long,
so make it simple and to the point.
A good example might be,

"We, the citizens of the city of
Mapleton, petition the city to
install a four-way stop sign at
the intersection of Main Street
and Palm Drive. Drivers typically
speed through this busy intersection
at 35 mph or more while our children
are trying to cross on their way to
school."


5. Read over your summary carefully.
Make sure it:

(1) describes the situation,

(2) suggests what is needed,

(3) explains why it is needed.


6. Divide the petition page, with the
summary at the top, into four columns
with a ruler.

Label the columns:

Name,

Address,

Phone Number,

Signature.

Allow plenty of room for the
Address column.


7. Label more pages accordingly or make
copies of your original. Make sure you
have enough pages for the number of
signatures you need.


8. Secure the papers to a clipboard.
Attach a pen to the clipboard.


9. Go out and get those signatures!
Make sure all signers are registered
voters.



How to Write a Petition
http://www.ehow.com/how_16629_write-petition.html#ixzz1HWqHqmvC



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SECTION 3



EFFECTIVE
PETITION
WRITING




For great campaign results you need to
take into account a number of issues:

identifying your target,

proper research,

clear communication,

how you will promote your petition.



Identifying your target:

The first task of effective petition
writing is to properly identify your
target. The list below illustrates
some popular targets:



Governments,

parliaments,

politicians:

local,

state,

federal,

national,

EU,

UN;


Politcal parties,

presidents,

prime ministers,

senators,

ambassadors;


Educational institutions;


Sports organizations;


Media organizations;

Entertainment producers

TV stations,

Film and TV producers,

studios;


Neighborhood authorities
or home owner associations;




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SECTION 4



CLEAR
CONCISE
COMMUNICATION




Don't clutter your petition with information
or requests that have no essential connection
to the main message. Read over your petition
carefully.



Make sure it:

(1) describes the situation,

(2) suggests what is needed,

(3) explains why it is needed.


Be clear and concise
with your message.



How to Write a Petition
http://www.gopetition.com/howtowriteapetition.php



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SECTION 5



GUIDELINES
FOR
PETITIONS




Guidelines For Writing
A Successful Petition



The petition itself is made up of a
statement of your position and a
collection of signatures for persons
who support your position or campaign.

Depending on the nature of your protest
or request for change or amendment you
may need to meet a specific requirement
in terms of the number of signatures
required.

This is especially true in matter related
to political campaigns and other politically
charged situations.

Whatever the reason you choose to start a
petition, and whether it is done in person
or online there are some generally accepted
guidelines that should be followed.
Following these guidelines will greatly
increase your chances for a successful
petition process.



Guidelines
For Writing
A Successful
Petition:



1) Use a header to explain the reason
for the petition.

2) Be able explain the background of
the situation in one or two concise
sentences.

3) State precisely what you want to
done and how the action is to be
carried out.

4) Indicate where and to whom you
are going to send the petition.

5) Collect the name, address and
signature of people who agree
with you.

6) Number the forms and number
each line of the form so that
you can easily tell how many
signatures you have collected.

7) Recruit volunteers to get
signatures for the petition.

8) Plan your strategy to ensure
your petitions is seen by as
many people as possible.



HOW TO PETITION
http://www.petitionspot.com/how-to-petition/



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SECTION 6



WRITE
A
SUCCESSFUL
PETITION




How To Write A Successful Petition


It's difficult to say exactly what makes
a petition successful. Some of it is just
luck. Some of it is timing.

Still, it'spossible to come up with a few
general principles or guidelines for
writing a successful petition. In our
experience, these ten are particularly
important.


1. Write Clearly and Concisely.

Prospective signers often don't
have a lot of time.

It's important to state your main goal
concisely, and at the start of the
petition.

Although a good petition can include a
certain amount of background and context,
the first paragraph should make it
absolutely clear what the petition hopes
to achieve.



2. Spell Check and Proofread.

This may sound obvious, but it's amazing
how many petition hosts don't even bother
to spell-check their petitions.

If you want people to take your petition
seriously, then you need to put in the time
to make sure it sounds serious and
professional.



3. Use the Power of Email.

Internet petitions are unique- and different
from online petitions- because they can reach
a global audience of millions with only a
minimal investment in terms of time and money.

Email, in particular, is cheap, easy, yet
highly effective. Don't spam, but do send
your petition link to any friends or family
that might be interested- and ask them to
send it on to their friends.

This is called "viral marketing" and it is
the most effective kind of marketing out
there.



4. Foster an Online Community.

Prospective signers like to know what
others have said or thought about your
petition.

Use discussion groups, blogs, links, and
other online tools to create a community
around your petition- a group of committed
and interested people who can engage in
intelligent dialogue, and educate each other
about the issues at stake.

An online community is also a great way to
keep the petition going, and even to transform
it into a national movement, once it has been
sent to the recipient.



5. Publicize your Petition Online.

There are lots of ways for signers to find your
petition, but publicity always helps.

Advertising on Google, Overture, and other
search engines is one obvious step. But if you
don't have the money to advertise, you can also
publicize your petition by posting links to it
on relevant online discussion groups and blogs.

You can also try link-exchanges with sites that
cover issues similar to those in your petition.



6. Get Media Coverage.

Advertising and viral marketing are two ways to
get traffic. Successful petitions also often
get some attention in the media.

This doesn't mean your petition needs to be
covered in The New York Times. Often, the most
successful petitions are those that receive
attention on local radio, or even on small
Internet news sites.



7. Supplement with Offline Efforts.

Because you've created an online petition,
you may overlook the offline world. But
there are several things you can do at home,
at the office, and at various other places
to get more signatures.

For instance, posters on community bulletin
boards (e.g., at the library), or even
word-of-mouth marketing at the office, can
help a lot. The important thing is for
people to know your petition exists.



8. Be Polite and Reasonable.

It's important to make your point, but
it's also important to do so politely.
Potential signers are turned off by
rude or offensive petitions-even if
they're sympathetic to the goals
you're trying to achieve.

The best petitions sound reasonable,
intelligent, and willing to acknowledge
other points of view.



9. Be Practical.

Your petition should be ambitious,
but realistic.

The change you're advocating should be
concrete and achievable. If visitors to
your petition think you're just shooting for
the moon, they're unlikely to sign the
petition, even if they support the cause.



10. Think Big - You Can Do It!

Finally, it's important to remember that
you've got one of the most powerful
activism tools ever invented- the Internet-
at your disposal.

You may wonder if your voice will ever be heard.
But online petitions are special precisely
because they allow everyone to have a voice.



How To Write A Successful Petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/guide



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SECTION 7



HOW
TO
WRITE
A
PETITION
LINKS




Gopetition.com
http://www.gopetition.com

How to Petition
http://www.petitionspot.com/how-to-petition/

How to Petition Government and Get Results
http://www.consumersunion.org/other/g-action1.htm

How to Send Petitions to the Government
http://www.soyouwanna.com/send-petitions-government-32148.html

How to Start an Online Petition
http://www.change.org/how-to-start-a-petition

How to Write a Petition
http://www.ehow.com/how_16629_write-petition.html

How to Write a Petition
http://www.gopetition.com/howtowriteapetition.php

How to Write a Petition - wikiHow
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Petition

How To Write A Successful Petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/guide



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iPetitions
http://www.ipetitions.com

Petition Them
http://www.petitionthem.com/

Petition Online.com
http://www.petitiononline.com/

The Petition Site
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/

Start a Petition
http://www.petitionspot.com/start-a-petition/

Webpetitions.com
http://www.webpetitions.com

Writing Help Tools
http://www.writinghelptools.com



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FREE ONLINE PETITIONS


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