WRD 103: Composition & Rhetoric I: Winter Quarter 2015 Rotating Header Image

Op-Ed Essay Project

Criteria: an issue for which you are passionate, that you care deeply about, that affects you or affects people you know
Audience
: smart, educated, curious readers and critical thinkers
Length: 1000-1250 words

Brainstorming inquiry questions from class:

Then, in an exploratory essay of 250-350 words … 

Connect & Analyze

  • What am I a part of? What matters to me?
  • What problems exist that I can treat as opportunities?
  • What do I see well, and what am I blind to? How does my own perspective impact what I see?
  • What are the “parts” of the world, and within those parts what deserves my creativity, affection, and sustained effort?

Contextualize

Imagine & Design

  • What is possible? What would be awesome?
  • What am I uniquely suited to do? How can technology amplify my potential?
  • Who can I work with to improve the response?
  • What absolutely has to happen for this to work?

Act & Socialize in an Op-Ed Essay

  • What is the most meaningful action I can take in response?
  • Who is my primary audience? How can I best reach them?
  • How can I best package my work so that others understand & are moved by it?
  • How will I know if what I’m doing is working?