Writing Workshop Writing an Editorial

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

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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?

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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Analyze Your
Audience
How much do my readers know about the issue?
Not much. Ill have to explain the basics to him.
A lot! I can get useful feedback from her.
A little. Ill have to find out what she knows
and what she doesnt know.
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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
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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Plan Your Thesis
The thesis of your editorial is the statement of
your stand on the issuean opinion statement.
the issue your opinion your thesis
The district should hire teachers to teach
computer technology.
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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
Parents and teachers care for students and want
to do whats best for them.
Emotion
Ethics
Providing computer education to every student is
the right thing to do.
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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Gather and Shape
Support
Use evidence to support your thesis.
relevant facts
statistics
expert opinions
interesting anecdotes
memorable examples
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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Gather and Shape
Support
Here are ways to support the thesis
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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Gather and Shape
Support
Use rhetorical devices to make your writing more
effective.

• Repetition

• Parallelism

• Rhetorical questions

• Argument by analogy

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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Gather and Shape
Support
Repetition is the repeated use of a word, phrase,
or clause more than once for emphasis.
Teachers use them. Doctors use them. Office
assistants, judges, and truckers use them.
Workers in many different fields rely on
computers to get their tasks done quickly and
well.
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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Gather and Shape
Support
Parallelism is the repetition of the same
grammatical form to express equal, or parallel,
ideas.
The school board must approve the hiring of
qualified computer technology teachers. Our
students deserve to be prepared, to be fully
educated, and to be comfortable in the world of
computers.
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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Gather and Shape
Support
Rhetorical questions are questions that are not
meant to be answered but are asked for effect.
Should we let our students fall behind? Doesnt
the school board consider computer tech training
important?
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Writing an EditorialPrewriting Gather and Shape
Support
Argument by analogy draws a parallel between
basically dissimilar events or situations.
Allowing students to graduate without having
achieved computer literacy is rather like tying
the hands of someone trying to climb a mountain.
It will lead to failure, not success.
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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.
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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.
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The End