How to write an appeal letter

Hi everyone,

I've been searching the internet and allnurses.com for a while now and I haven't been able to find this topic so I'm starting one myself.

Here's the problem. I graduated from nursing school in June of this year. I have a background with 2 expunged felonies (which, yes, are closely related to the duties of a nurse) but knowing all this and knowing that I would have a difficult time with the board, I still applied to nursing school and finished. I knew I would be in this position after all that hard work and I did it simply because I love nursing and I felt it was my calling.

Anyways, after I submitted my application to the board with all their requirements (letter of explanation, proof of rehabilitation, tons of letters of recommendation, certified court and arrest records, etc, etc.) I got a letter from them via certified mail (which by the way they sent to the WRONG address and thankfully my mailman knows me so he delivered it to me) and they told me that they were denying my application because my background was significantly related to the functions and duties of a nurse. They also said that I can appeal and if I sign a waiver I can sit for the NCLEX but wont know my results until after they have reached a decision.

So the question is, how do I write an appeal letter without getting a lawyer? I don't want to hear that as an answer because I'm up to my neck in debt and I simply can't afford a lawyer. Pro bono or not I'm not adding to the pit of debt that I have. I just need to hear from the people that wrote an appeal to the board and WON. What did you include in your appeal letter?