Neighborhood Institute Workshop Preview: “Writing for Community Advocacy” by Claudia Diamond

If you are a local resident or nonprofit professional looking to improve the quality of your persuasive emails and letters, “Effective Writing for Community Leaders” by Claudia Diamond would be a great presentation for you. You can register for the Neighborhood Institute here.

Community leaders often find themselves needing to write letters and emails to promote change for their neighborhood. These documents can range from letters of support for community projects, to grant applications, to zoning appeals, and more. Oftentimes, these letters are directed at elected officials, bureaucrats, or large institutions, and attempt to influence policy decisions within a neighborhood. A poorly written or ineffective appeal might harm a neighborhood’s chances to improve its quality of life.

Claudia Diamond with law students outside of the Lyric. (photo courtesy of University of Baltimore)

Claudia is the Director of Academic Support at the University of Baltimore School of Law and is a veteran legal writing professor. In her workshop, Claudia will share skills taught in law school to help you write powerfully and convincingly. Tips and tricks will include common writing and grammar mistakes and ways to organize your writing to make the best possible case. After exploring these strategies, workshop participants will engage in a collaborative drafting exercise to work on specific appeals they might need to make.

GHCC’s annual Neighborhood Institute is on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at the Baltimore Design School (1500 Barclay Street). Register for the event by following this link. This year, the Institute will feature 36 workshops on a variety of topics relevant to community issues and city-wide opportunities. Check back here regularly for a preview of some of the workshops and presenters you can expect to see at this year’s Institute.