Global Issues: 2 Assignments

Each student is required to compose an op-ed piece (700-900 words) in which you describe a suggested action to resolve a current global issue. If you want, you can use the same topic you used for one of your local connections journals b/c you should already have some background information on the issue.  There are guidelines for writing an op-ed piece linked for you here: Op-ed guidelines.docx

An Op-Ed is a letter, usually written by an expert or someone with specific experience, published in a newsletter in which the writer is trying to convince the readers to support a particular point of view.  When newspapers publish an endorsement of a specific candidate, that is called an editorial b/c the newspaper staff wrote it. When a citizen writes in, that is usually called an Op-Ed (opinion editorial).  For this assignment you would be writing a letter trying to convince readers that specific policies would be able to solve, or at the least mitigate, the current global issue of your choice.  If you open the Op-Ed guidelines linked above, it provides you with suggestions/guidelines.  

Here's a link to Washington Post op-eds today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/?utm_term=.36c6de8f6c6d (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)

Here's a link to Washington Times op-ed: http://www.washingtontimes.com/opinion/editorials/ (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)

Please see the attached rubric.

Op-ed Guidelines

Op-eds get their names from their placement in the newspaper; they are opinion pieces written by members of the public. Newspapers, magazines, and other news publications regularly run op-eds to ensure that they present a diversity of opinions on topics of importance to their readers. Since they are longer than letters to the editor, they offer an opportunity for a better-developed argument.

 

Good op-eds require:

· Strong opinions, articulately stated.

· Timely topics. News gets stale quickly; so don't give opinions if they're simply a rehashing of what already has been said.

· Brevity and clarity. Your op-ed should be 700-900 words so you will have to be concise.

· Write about a subject based on a particular expertise, either because of a scholarly background or personal experience.

· Choose a topic and stick to it, rather than diluting one's own argument by simultaneously tackling more than one subject.

· A call to action. This requires that the arguments outlined in the op-ed come to a logical conclusion—and that a solution is presented. Do not simply outline a problem.

 

General writing tips for op-eds:

· Put your main point on top. You have no more than 10 seconds to hook a busy reader, which means you shouldn’t “clear your throat” with a witticism or historical aside. Just get to the point and convince the reader that it’s worth his or her valuable time to continue.

· Summarize the thesis quickly. Your op-ed should be 700 to 900 words; caution should be taken in not using too many words to "set up" the argument. Enough space should be reserved to provide evidence or examples to back up the thesis.

· Connect the topic to the readership of the publication. Writing about war in the Middle East for submission to the local daily? Tell local readers why they should pay attention. Focusing on a national issue but submitting to an international publication? Be sure to show why the issue has broad appeal.

· Consider using a short list—"Here are three reasons the proposal should be defeated" or "Here are four possible solutions that won't cost the taxpayers a nickel"—to help articulate the major points in a way that is accessible to the readers.

· Back up the arguments with facts—and be sure to confirm those facts before they are used. Don't use footnotes, but attribute figures to their sources when using them: "Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that . . ." or "Data from the 2000 Census clearly show that . . . ."

· Convictions should be firm. If the author is refuting arguments from an opposing side that are common knowledge, be sure to use more space arguing the point than articulating those held by others.

· Be precise in grammar, spelling, sentence construction, and other essentials of composition. Lack of attention to these aspects of the work reflects poorly on the author as a legitimate source of information.