|
 
Opinion Piece Assignment
Due by 7:30 am.
Estimated maximum
time required to complete this assignment:
- Writing preliminary draft: 50
minutes to 1 hour.
- Revising preliminary draft: 1
to 2 hours.
- Having it checked over: 1
hour.
- Total: About 3 to 4 hours.
Value: 10 points (out of 100). |
Questions to answer before you begin:
- What discourse communities regularly use this particular genre of
writing (opinion articles) and for what purpose?
- What purpose and goals do you want to accomplish by writing this opinion
piece assignment?
- What audience cares about or would want to see this piece of writing, or
might even pay good money to read it?
|
  INSTRUCTIONS:
Option 1. Write a letter to your old high school newspaper, addressing
some problem the school might have in preparing students
like yourself for college. From your point of view as a
distinguished graduate of that school, you will argue for a
specific solution to that problem.
Option 2: Write a letter to the editor of
the UTEP Prospector addressing some problem you see at UTEP.
Argue for a specific solution to the problem
Audience:
Your audience will be the
administrators in your old high school, plus seniors
at your old high school, or your fellow students. . Only you know whether they
will already be familiar with your topic, or whether
it will come as something new and unexpected to
them.
 (Extra credit available if you really send in your
Opinion Piece to your high school newspaper or to
the Prospector.
Additional extra credit is available if you can show
your writing was actually published.)
Link for
submitting letters to the editor to the
Prospector:
|
Constraints
for the
assignment include:
- Clear introduction to
issue.
- Effective, concise
discussion of your issue's problem and solution.
- No less than 250
words in length, no more than 400 words.
- Express an opinion. Argue your point.
Urge action. Warn of danger. That's what opinion pieces are
about. They are not about presenting background material
with a "on-the-one-hand-but-on-the-other-hand" approach. (Copied from
http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/facultyopinions/tips.html
, item 7. Used under fair use.)
|
Questions to answer after you finish the assignment:
-
How well does your writing serve your intended audience?
-
How well does your writing your own purposes?
-
How might you use this type of writing in the future?
|
|
OW 8/10
|
|
For educational purposes only.
|
"Speak your mind" graphic from
www.northernsun.com, used with permission.
| Owen M. Williamson - Education Bldg 211E - phone: (915) 747 7625 - fax: (915) 747 5655 |
Open Courseware | OCW |This work is dedicated to the Public Domain..