WRITE FOR RIGHTS

SECONDARY TEACHING RESOURCE

October 2014

CONTENTS
Using this resource............................................................. 1
Materials........................................................................... 2
Lesson plan process and time.............................................. 3
Write for Rights cases vocabulary......................................... 4
Write for Rights crossword................................................... 5
Your signature is more powerful than you think...................... 6
Annotated letter................................................................. 7
Sample letter..................................................................... 8
Letter writing tips............................................................... 9
Letter writing scaffold......................................................... 10
Self assessment................................................................. 11

Links to the quality teaching framework

This resource supports students to:
Develop deep knowledge and understanding of the language of
discussion, exposition, persuasive writing, argument and opinion.
Use the meta-language associated with argument and persuasive
writing.
Integrate knowledge by making meaningful connections between texts.

Inquiry questions

USING THIS
RESOURCE
The following lesson plan
has been created with the
NAPLAN persuasive text
type in mind.
It would be most
appropriate for a literacy
lesson or as part of a
SOSE/HSIE lesson about
human rights, nongovernmental organisations
or global citizenship.
It is designed to be
implemented in two 45
50 minute class sessions
or one 75minute session,
but there are many ways
it can be expanded and
made into a more in-depth
lesson, depending on the
needs and time available
in your classroom.

How can our role as a writer help others?

How can persuasive letters be most effective?

Objectives
Expose students to a real-life application of effective letter writing.
Provide students with the opportunity to write letters that contribute to
a desired impact.
Review parts of a letter and their purpose.

Students will be able to

Analyse a sample letter and identify the key components of a letter.
Develop and support a position on a particular human rights case and
write a persuasive letter of support.
Organise ideas in a clear, logical sequence that is easy for the reader
to follow.
Publish their letter and mail it to the appropriate entity.
1

MATERIALS
PROVIDED BY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
A4 case sheets for all six Write for Rights cases www.amnesty.org.au/write

You may choose to focus on a particular case for the whole class if one is more appropriate or
convenient for your class.

Links to additional learning resources, including video clips.

Sample letters www.amnesty.org.au/write

Students can use the sample letters to acquire basic information and supportive evidence. Also,
depending on time and teacher permission, they may choose to use sentences/phrases and incorporate
these into their own letters.

PROVIDED BY TEACHER OR STUDENTS

Computer with internet access and projector/smartboard.
Printed set of learning resources in this pack.
Downloaded and printed resources from www.amnesty.org.au/write
An envelope / postage satchel.*
*Teachers can collect letters and mail them in one package to Schools Write for Rights, Locked Bag 7,
Collingwood VIC 3066 for delivery to their final destination. Please include in your package a completed
action return form, found at the end of this resource.

Sutherland Shire group 'Write for Rights' with a special lunch and letterwriting session. Sydney, November 2012. Amanda Atlee/AI

Acknowledgement
This resource was prepared as a voluntary contribution to Amnesty International Australia by Tegan Hinchey,
BA, DipEd and Dan Wardle.
2

LESSON PLAN PROCESS AND TIME

PROCESS

TIME
(approx)

To introduce students to the idea of the Write for Rights campaign, watch When a letter is
all that is needed http://ow.ly/pOEXj

10 mins

Distribute and read through the Write for Rights vocabulary on page 4 and complete the
Write for Rights crossword on page 5 to familiarise students with the vocabulary required
for the task.

15 mins

Read through the case sheets www.amnesty.org.au/write as a class or individually.

10 mins

Discuss the concept of prisoners of conscience http://ow.ly/pOFSQ and explain to students

that this is what many of the people in the cases are.

5 mins

Then watch Ink at http://ow.ly/pOGw5

5 mins

Students to complete a Think, Ink, Pair, Share activity about the purpose, symbolism and
persuasiveness of the Ink clip.

10 mins

Read 'Your signature is more powerful than you think' on page 6.

10 mins

Read through the annotated letter on page 7 and make note of the persuasive devices and
techniques present. Students can then annotate the sample letter on page 8 themselves.

10 mins

Create a word bank of persuasive and emotive terms that students might use in their own
letters and read through 'Letter writing tips' on page 9.

5 mins

Students use the letter writing scaffold on page 10 to create their own letters based on a
case of their own choosing, or one chosen by you, and share their letter with a peer.

20 mins

Students complete the self-assessment on page 11.

5 mins

FOLLOW UP
Students to complete final copies of the letter in the next lesson or for homework. Teachers then collect the
lettes and mail them in an envelope with a completed action return form (found at the back of this resource)
to:
Schools Write for Rights
Locked Bag 7
Collingwood VIC 3066
Amnesty International will deliver the letters to their final destination.
Some of the letters could be published in the schools newsletter or read at an assembly.
3

WRITE FOR RIGHTS CASES VOCABULARY

DANIEL QUINTERO, VENEZUELA

Persecute: to pursue with harassing or oppressive

treatment.

Impartially: doing something fairly, without bias.

Arbitrary: without a reason for doing something.

Violate: to break or ignore a law, rule or right.

Detainees: a person held in custody, especially for
political reasons.

RAIF BADAWI, SAUDI ARABIA

Reprisal: an act of revenge.

Apostasy: a total departure from one's religion,

principles, party or cause.

ERKIN MUSAEV, UZBEKISTAN

Unconditionally: not limited by conditions or subject

to exceptions. Synonyms: Completely, totally.

Interrogation: to ask questions of a person,

sometimes to seek information that the person
considers personal or secret.

Incommunicado: not being able or allowed to

communicate with others.

Allegations: a claim that someone has done

something illegal or wrong, typically one made
without proof.
Solidarity: unity; support for others and their
actions.

LIU PING, CHINA

Activist: someone who is an especially active or
vigorous promoter of a cause, especially a political
cause.
Crackdown: the severe or stern enforcement of
regulations or laws.

Dissent: to hold or express opinions at variance with

those commonly or officially held.

PETER GRESTE, EGYPT

Prisoner of conscience: anyone imprisoned because
of their race, sexual orientation, religion or political
views.
Appeal: a formal question as to the correctness of a
ruling in the hope that the ruling will be overturned.
Sanction: a penalty for disobeying a law, rule or
authority.

JERRYME CORRE, THE PHILIPPINES

Perpetrator: Somebody who does something wrong.
Impunity: the avoidance of punishment or
consequences that stem from an action.
Complicit: involved with others in an activity that is
unlawful or morally wrong.

WRITE FOR RIGHTS CROSSWORD

Across
4. To pursue with harassing or oppressive
treatment.
5. To break or ignore a law, rule or right.
6. Not being able or allowed to communicate
with others.
7. A total departure from one's religion,
principles, party or cause.
8. Doing something fairly, without bias.
9. The severe or stern enforcement of regulations
or laws.

Down
1. Not limited by conditions or subject to
exceptions. Synonyms: Completely, totally.
2. Someone who is an especially active or
vigorous promoter of a cause, especially a
political cause.
3. Anyone imprisoned because of their race,
sexual orientation, religion, or political views.
4. Somebody who does something wrong.

YOUR SIGNATURE IS MORE POWERFUL

THAN YOU THINK ....
Right now, there's someone being targeted by
their government, though they've committed no
crime.

AI

Their freedom and safety are in danger, but you

can help just by writing a letter and putting your
signature on it.
Last year, Amnesty activists from 143 countries,
including Australia, stood together for freedom,
equality and justice. We picked up our pens, wrote
letters and stood together for human rights.
We shone a light on those locked away by
governments, those targeted simply for who they
are, and those standing up for the rights of their
people.
We and others like us from almost every corner of
the globe wrote more than 2 million actions.
We were powerful. And our voices were heard.
Here are three lives we changed through Write for
Rights 2013.

I was so happy. It showed that other

Cambodians and I were not in it alone.
Yorm Bopha

1. Dr Tun Aung
In June we received some great news about Dr
Tun Aung, a Muslim community leader in Burma
who had been sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Dr Tun Aung has now been granted several
reductions to his sentence, and now has less than
one year left to serve in prison.
Thousands of people wrote letters for Dr Tun Aung.
An Amnesty member in France received a letter
back from the Myanmar National Human Rights
Commission (MNHRC)..
The letter states that Letters from various chapters
of Amnesty International requesting, among others,
the immediate release of Dr Tun Aung without
conditions were received ... The Commission
after proper examination of these letters
conveyed them to the authorities in order that the
concerns expressed in the letters receive careful
consideration.
The MNHRC also asserts that Dr Tun Aung is
receiving proper medical attention and that his
family can visit him in prison calls from your Write
for Rights letters.

2. Yorm Bopha
Yorm Bophas life changed when she
was released from prison in December
2013. Cambodias Minister of Justice
received 90,000 appeals asking for
Yorm Bophas release.
Yorm Bopha, a Cambodian housing rights
activist, had been imprisoned for demanding the
rights of families facing forced evictions. Yorm
Bopha can now continue her work for Cambodian
communities.
Yorm was extremely grateful for the letters, cards
and photos she received, saying they had given her
strength.
3. Vladimir Akimenkov
Vladimir was released on 19 December under a
prisoner amnesty, after the Russian authorities
received thousands of letters calling for his release.
Vladimir was one of the Bolotnaya three
imprisoned for peacefully protesting. After his
release Vladimir spoke about the importance
of international support for him and the other
Bolotnaya detainees.
6

ANNOTATED LETTER
Formal title
and address
of recipient

Lic. Felipe Caldern

President of the Republic
Residencia Official de 'Los Pinos'
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec
Mexico D.F., C.P. 11850
MEXICO

Formal
greeting to
recipient

Dear President Caldern:

Introductory
statement
that outlines
purpose of
the letter

I am writing to express my grave concern over the treatment of Ins Fernndez

Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cant, Indigenous women who were mistreated
by Mexican soldiers in 2002. Although they were brave enough to report the
attacks to the authorities, no one has been brought to justice.
Statement of
the desired
outcome of
the letter

I respectfully urge you to investigate this case and do what you were asked to do
by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
I call on you to ensure there is a swift investigation into the mistreatment of
Ins Fernndez Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cant. I urge you to acknowledge
the state's responsibility for identifying the people who committed the crimes, to
apologise to the victims and their families and to grant adequate compensation
to the victims. Finally, I ask you to transfer all cases of human rights violations
committed by members of the military to courts of law.
Thank you for your attention to these urgent matters.

Formal sign
off to the
letter

Sincerely

Alex Citizen

Your signature
remember, it is
more powerful
than you think

Description of
the specific
action required to
meet the desired
outcome

Key

= Strong emotive language

President = Formal respectful language

SAMPLE LETTER

Sr. Nicols Maduro Moros

President of Venezuela
Final Avenida Urdaneta
Esq. De Bolero
Palacio de Miraflores,
Caracas, Distrito Capital,
Venezuela
Seor Presidente / Dear President
Re: Daniel Quintero
I am very concerned for Daniel Quintero, a 21-year-old who was beaten, intimidated and threatened with
rape by members of Venezuelas national guard, after he was arrested on the way home from an antigovernment demonstration in February 2014.
I call on you to investigate thoroughly, independently and impartially Daniel Quinteros complaint of being
subject to torture and ill-treatment and ensure all those responsible are brought to justice.
I also call on you to ensure all complaints of human rights violations and abuses are investigated thoroughly,
independently and impartially. Identify all those responsible and bring them to justice.
Finally, please guarantee that people can exercise their right to freedom of expression and assembly without
fear of reprisals.
Yours sincerely,

LETTER WRITING TIPS

A FEW SIMPLE RULES

1. Always be polite. You want to stop human rights abuse by persuading the government involved to take
immediate action.
2. It is important to show respect for a country's legal processes and an understanding of its current
difficulties. This will make it easier to point out how the human rights situation could be improved.
3. Take care to follow Amnesty International's instructions on a case because it has carefully researched
the situation and developed an appropriate and respectful course of action.
4. Use plain language rather than technical terms. You will be more effective if you say that your concern
for human rights is about equality and the principles of international law, not about the countrys
politics.
5. It is good to give them an idea of who and what you are. Tell them your age, your interests, a bit about
the place you live. It will prove your letter is genuine and show the government that different people
from across the world are watching their country.
6. If you have a special interest or link with the country, it is good to mention this in your letter. For
instance, you may have been on holiday there, or studied its history, or been a member of a local
friendship association.
7. Be brief. Sometimes a simple, one-line letter is adequate. Try to write one page at the most, as long
letters are less likely to be read.
8. Emphasise how the person you are writing to has the power to make a difference.

SIGNING OFF
To end your letter, you can say Yours truly or Yours sincerely. However, many people prefer to use the
more formal Yours respectfully or Yours faithfully.

LETTER WRITING SCAFFOLD

Formal title and
address of recipient

Formal greeting to
recipient

Introductory statement
that outlines the
purpose of the letter

Statement of the
desired outcome of the
letter

Description of the
specific action required
to meet the desired
outcome

Formal sign off to the

letter
Your signature

10

SELF ASSESSMENT FOR MY LETTER

Student name:........................................................................ Date: .....................................
Expected quality

Indicators of student performance

High

Medium

Low

I argued a clear point

of view about my chosen
topic.

I argued a generally

I argued a point of

I supported my point

I supported my

I supported my

I demonstrated

I demonstrated

My exposition had a

I used a highly

I had a clear and

I had an introduction

consistent introduction
and conclusion.

and/or conclusion.

Style appropriate for

intended audience and
purpose

I consistently

I employed some

I used one of

Control of written language

I used effective

My choice of

I occasionally used

I used accurate

My spelling and

Relevant and detailed

content organised to support
a point of view

of view effectively with

appropriately-selected
and highly relevant
factual information.
Structure and organisation

logic, coherence and

controlled development
of ideas.

engaging introduction
and highly effective
conclusion.

employed language
styles appropriate
to expositions eg
emotive and persuasive
language, in an effective
manner, and for the
intended audience and
purpose.
vocabulary and
accurate and persuasive
language.

paragraphing, spelling
and punctuation.

clear point of view about

my chosen topic.

point of view with

some relevant factual
information.

logic and controlled

development of ideas to
some extent.

language styles
appropriate to
expositions and the
intended audience and
purpose, but I did not
do so consistenly.

vocabulary was generally

effective and I used
accurate language.

view.

point of view with some

information.

number of ideas.

the language styles

appropriate to
expositions.

accurate language,
including spelling and
punctuation.

punctuation was
generally accurate.

Adapted from NSW DEET 2009

11

Please photocopy and post this form back every time you send letters, cards and
other actions to Amnesty.

RETUR

NING
YOUR
ACTIO
NS

THE NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL ______________________________________________________________________________________

TYPE OF ACTION (EG PETITION, LETTER) ____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ARE YOU AN AMNESTY SCHOOL GROUP? ____________________________________________________________________________
BEST CONTACT DETAILS FOR THE SCHOOL __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW MANY ACTIONS?______________________________________________________________________________________________
Mail to: Amnesty International, Locked Bag 7, Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia

Please photocopy and post this form back every time you send letters, cards and
other actions to Amnesty.

RETUR

NING
YOUR
ACTIO
NS

THE NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL ______________________________________________________________________________________

TYPE OF ACTION (EG PETITION, LETTER) ____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ARE YOU AN AMNESTY SCHOOL GROUP? ____________________________________________________________________________
BEST CONTACT DETAILS FOR THE SCHOOL __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW MANY ACTIONS?______________________________________________________________________________________________
Mail to: Amnesty International, Locked Bag 7, Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia