The Petition Format

To create a petition it is not only necessary to formulate a thought, to find a campaign or to collect enough signatures – the petition format also plays a big role to appeal to the responsible institution in a competent way. It is already of no doubt how to start a petition and how to write it. Here are the facts concerning the petition format.

The Key Points concerning the Petition Format

It does not matter if the issue of a petition deals with a rather small (“Why the Brith Oak should receive the sobriquet ‘Potter-Smith-Anderson Tree'”) or a big and socially important problem (“Why the Olympic Games of 2040 have to take place in Milford, New Hampshire”): The petition format always stays the same one and includes two parts:

  1. The written request and its justifications: The upper part of the petition displays the exact and short presentation of the issue with all its facts and arguments.
  2. The list of signatures: The second part of the petition should contain a list of all the supporters and being titled with the formulation “This request is supported by the following persons”.

The exact Composition Format of a Petition

Petition format

Petition Format (1931) by Seattle Municipal Archives CC

The composition of the petition should be well-arranged and include all the necessary information like the name and the address of the petitioner, the signature(s) and all the required facts concerning the issue. Finally the document is put forward to an official office – and the petitioner wants the members of staff to take it for serious and furthermore to cause a positive decision relating to the issue. Here is a list of all the positions that one after another have to be displayed in an elaborate petition:

  1. The headline
  2. The petition is handed in because of which issue?
  3. The recipient’s address
  4. Statement of the signing supporters
  5. The list of signatures