Opening

·       I am writing in response to …’s article, published in last week’s edition of your paper

·       Your readers will not have failed to notice that recent events in … have been in the news lately

·       I read with interest your editorial, which claimed that…

·       The issue of … has been in the news lately

·       It seems that … is a growing trend among [teenagers].

Agreeing and disagreeing

·       I could not agree (/disagree) with your journalist more…

·       I question whether…

·       I think your journalist has overlooked…

·       There’s some truth to the argument that…

·       I wholeheartedly applaud x’s efforts to…

Contrasting opinions

·       Whilst it may be true that …, I nevertheless maintain….

·       X raises an interesting point about…, but ultimately the facts don’t add up

·       Although we can’t deny…, we must nevertheless assert that…

Giving examples

·       As we can see from…

·       For examples of… we need look no further than…

·       For instance…

·       …such as…

Formal language

·       I would like to address the issue of…

·       I feel compelled to mention…

·       The benefits of … notwithstanding, I nevertheless contend that…

·       It would be most beneficial if we were to…

Ending

·       I trust that I have shown…

·       I hope your readers will agree with my analysis

·       I hope that this letter has demonstrated…