ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Write an Effective Petition

Updated on January 18, 2015

A petition is a proposal for change. How you present your case will go a long way in getting the outcome you want. Petitions have been around since the 13th century and have helped shape society in many ways. Here are the basic steps you will want to take to make sure your cause is taken seriously enough for people to support and share with others.

Be Clear About Your Goals

Concisely describe the situation, suggest what is needed and explain why it is needed. Do your homework. Provide examples and links to documentation.


Relevant and well-documented research to support your petition carries validity and influence.

Please Note

HubPages uses ads and affiliate links to pay its writers (in this case me). If you normally use an ad blocker, please consider turning it off while you are visiting this site. Thank you!

Be Reasonable

Make sure your request is reasonable and realistic. For example, initiating public transportation is a reasonable request because transportation is vital to the growth and prosperity of a community.


If your goal is going to succeed, it needs to be achievable.

Identify Your Target

Whether petitioning the federal government or a local sports organization, make sure you address the petition to the person who has the authority to make changes. You may have to do a bit of research for this, but it is very important to the success of the petition.

Giving a thousand signatures to the cafeteria lady in support of switching from sticky buns to fresh fruit in your work place isn't going to succeed simply because she doesn't have the authority to make the switch.

Have a Plan

Figure out the details of your petition campaign before you begin.

  • How can you get your petition seen by as many people as possible?
  • Who will volunteer to help you collect signatures?
  • What is your timeline?
  • Are there any local organizations willing to support your efforts financially, if necessary?

Determine Your Format

The format of your petition is vital. Hand written letters are viewed with much respect because of the time, effort and thought that goes into them. When collecting signatures, you need the person's name, address, and signature at the very minimum.

Want to Know More?

Want to know how to make sure your online petition is done right and taken seriously? Read The Basics of Online Petitions.

Web-based petitions are gaining acceptance. There are sites dedicated to hosting web-based petitions and networking group petitions are cropping up everywhere. If used sensibly and with respect to privacy, they can be very effective.

Email petitions are not acceptable. Period. Once the email is released into the webby-nether, there is no way of controlling where it goes, to whom or how many times. There is also no way to remove it when the issue has been resolved. Email petitions are excellent for getting email addresses into the hands of hackers and spammers, but not for making changes in society.

Still, emails have their place in your efforts. Emails can be used to inform colleagues, local media and the public in general of the situation. You may even wish to include contact information so readers can personally write, email or call your target directly. Email is also useful to let people know where they can access your petition and keep supporters informed of progress.

Get The Right Support

A signed petition is a show of public support to influence decisions, protest something or instigate change. It is only effective if the people signing are under the jurisdiction of the person you are sending the petition to. A senator from Alabama doesn't care if 10 thousand people from North Dakota signed your petition. He needs to hear from his own constituents. Same for your child's school. Getting signatures from parents in other school districts to sign the "no uniform" petition won't help your case. You need support from people who are directly affected by the issue.

Good Luck!

Remember, petitions simply state the case, ask for change, and show support for the proposed change. They don't guarantee that the outcome you want will happen quickly (or at all). Surround yourself with positive and supportive people, because even the most righteous of causes can get tangled in red tape.



Petitions do work. I've seen it happen.

© 2015 Rosa Marchisella

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)