Wider Horizons has supplied readers with insightful tips from Lethbridge College instructors in many previous issues. This edition, we introduce Widen Your Horizon, where our best give their best advice to you. Look for more great tips in future issues.
How to write a letter to the editor
D’Arcy Kavanagh is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, and instructor in Communication Arts.
Successful letter-to-the-editor writers aren’t defined simply by getting published. They’re successful because they made people either aware of a newsworthy situation or they offered a viewpoint that, in turn, prompted others to consider their position and to reply thoughtfully.
The first step is to ensure your argument is strong with good support. When you start writing, keep the sentences short – 30 words maximum – and to the point. Say something of value in the first sentence and ensure the reader knows exactly what you’re talking about. Ensure you have your facts right.
Since you get to offer opinions, avoid contradictions, exaggeration, bad taste and innuendo.
When you edit, make sure you don’t repeat your message. Say it well, say it once, then move on. Also, understand that your letter will be edited for length, taste and libel.
As for length, shorter is better. A 500- word letter has little chance of being published because an editor will have to spend valuable time cutting it down to a reasonable maximum length of maybe 300 words. If you can write an effective letter in 100 to 200 words, you have a better chance of being published.
How to tell whitetail deer from mule deer
Terry Kowalchuk is chair of the School of Environmental Sciences.
They’ve perhaps grazed on your tulips, scared you witless bounding across the highway, or added a flash of excitement to your walks in the coulees. Lethbridge is home to many deer of the whitetail or mule variety. Here’s how to tell the difference:
•ears – they’re called mule deer for a reason. If the ears are longer than the head, they’re mules
•antlers (males only) – whitetail antlers start on each side of the head and curl around and forward in two main branches from which the tines extend; mule antlers have a definite fork almost immediately after they leave the head and generally a second fork
•tails – whitetails: white tips; mule deer: black tips
•stride – mule deer often run in a “stodding” – or stiff-legged – motion, making them appear to be bounding on pogo sticks.
Mule deer, the larger of the two, are native to the western prairies; whitetails migrated from eastern forests due to human encroachment. Mule deer are the dominant species in Lethbridge as they’ve become less afraid of humans. Whitetails will always jump fences; mule deer will sometimes crawl under, much like pronghorn antelope.
