Writing Workshop Writing an Editorial

1. Writing WorkshopWriting an Editorial Feature Menu Assignment Prewriting Choose a Specific Issue Analyze Your Audience Plan Your Thesis Gather and Shape Support Organize Your Support Practice and Apply

2. Writing an Editorial Assignment: Write an editorial that conveys a well-defined perspective and a tightly reasoned argument. What happens when you read a compelling editorial? Do you sit up and pay attention? think about the subject of the editorial? decide to take action? In this workshop, you will write an editorial for your school paper that will get readers thinking and persuade them to act. [End of Section]

3. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Choose a Specific Issue How do you find a compelling issue? • Investigate the concerns of friends and classmates. • Read editorials or letters to the editor in newspapers and magazines. • Attend student council, school board, or city council meetings.

4. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Choose a Specific Issue Evaluate the topic you select. The school board is debating whether to hire teachers to teach computer technology. • Is the issue narrow enough to be argued in a short editorial? • Can each side of the debate make a strong case for its position? • Do people have strong feelings about the issue? [End of Section]

5. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Analyze Your Audience How much do my readers know about the issue? Not much. I’ll have to explain the basics to him. • A lot! I can get useful feedback from her. • A little. I’ll have to find out what she knows and what she doesn’t know.

6. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Analyze Your Audience What do I do about readers who may disagree with my position? anticipate their objections ignore them address possible objections fairly What tone will my readers respond to positively? respectful alarmed logical and calm curious in-your-face argumentative [End of Section]

7. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Plan Your Thesis The thesis of your editorial is the statement of your stand on the issue—an opinion statement. the issue + your opinion = your thesis The district shouldhire teachers to teach computer technology. [End of Section]

8. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Gather and Shape Support Your opinion must be backed up with reasons that appeal to Computer skills are necessary for many jobs. Logic Emotion Parents and teachers care for students and want to do what’s best for them. Ethics Providing computer education to every student is the right thing to do.

9. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Gather and Shape Support Use evidence to support your thesis. relevant facts statistics expert opinions memorable examples interesting anecdotes

10. Reason Evidence Analysis Many fields of work require this knowledge. Students must learn to work with computers. Students may not have a computer at home. Reasons appeal mostly to logic. Evidence consists of personal observation, expert opinion, and statistics. Government claims computers are used in 85% of workplaces. About 90% of jobs require computer skills. Only a third of students practice computer skills at home. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Gather and Shape Support Here are ways to support the thesis:

11. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Gather and Shape Support Use rhetorical devices to make your writing more effective. • Repetition • Parallelism • Rhetorical questions • Argument by analogy [End of Section]

12. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Organize Your Support Decide on the best pattern of presentation. Here are two ways to organize your support: Start with your strongest argument to grab readers’ attention. Work toward your weaker support. Open with your weaker support. Save your most impressive, strongest support for last, to leave readers thinking. [End of Section]

13. Writing an EditorialPrewriting: Practice and Apply Follow the guidelines in this section to choose an issue; analyze your audience; and gather, shape, and organize support for your editorial. [End of Section]

14. The End