Project: Take a position on a debatable issue that we’ve encountered in the NYT so far, or that you’ve come across yourself, or that keeps you up at night because it’s a burning issue for you.
Genre: Op-Ed piece for the New York Times
Audience: Educated, aware, curious readers, some of whom may be skeptical critical thinkers
Learning Outcomes: Rhetorical Knowledge; Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing; Knowledge of Conventions; Processes
Length: 1000-1250 words
Due Dates:
- Thursday 2/6: Preview
Tuesday 2/11: Statement of Purpose[postponed]- Thursday 2/13: First Draft
- Thursday 2/20: Draft #2 made available to Peer Reviewer
- Tuesday 2/25: Second Draft and Peer Editing Feedback
- Thursday 2/27: Final Draft
Take a position on a debatable issue that we’ve encountered in the NYT so far, or that you’ve come across yourself, drawing on your sense of the issue’s stasis and exigency.
Some possibilities — note how framing them as inquiry questions helps to narrow your issue to something that is persuasively answerable:
- What does “privacy” mean to your generation? What should it mean?
- What is College For?
- What should you do in college once you get there?
- Is the New York Times a “Liberal” newspaper?
- What is “Style”?
- There is a statue outside of the Student Union – “A Twentieth Century Priest” — of Msgr. John Egan, inscribed with the quote, “What are you doing for justice?” I assume that this is a rhetorical question. But the questions it raises! What is the difference between fairness and justice? Should college students in general, and DePaul students in particular, be active in social-justice issues? Why or why not? How has the NYT covered and represented student activism, social justice, and community organizing? What can this tell us about what people value?
- Is there such a thing as a suburban ideology?
- Does technology connect us or isolate us?
- What is a “millennial”? Are you one?
Background
The New York Times lays it out nicely: “we look for timeliness, ingenuity, strength of argument, freshness of opinion, clear writing and newsworthiness.” (“And Now a Word From Op-Ed”)