Op-Ed

Assignment Guidelines

Objective: Write a persuasive piece that advocates for a policy change of some sort at the campus, community, or state level.

Procedure:

1. Choose a topic relating to an issue that interests you and about which you can argue persuasively.
2. Take notes identifying current policies that shape the communityÕs approach to this topic and possible ways to improve these policies. Identify an existing policy that, in your view, needs to change.
3. Sign up for a one-on-one meeting with the instructor to discuss topics (I will make a sign-up sheet available).
4. Formulate a thesis statement and list three to four subtopics that you will address to back this thesis up, and share this in advance of the one-on-one meeting with me.
5. Write a working draft of at least 500 words, and be ready to share it with a classmate on 28 January 2021 for peer-editing.
6. Revise this draft with the help of peer-editing feedback, and submit the final version on 9 February 2021 through the Canvas assignment page.

Topics:

This is not an exhaustive list. Please feel free to refine topics as needed, or come up with your own:

Campus-level:

• Covid-19 social-distancing policies on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus
• The definition of and approach to bullying
• Improvements to student life on campus such as amenities, infrastructure, or campus community
• Connections between college curriculum and future employment
• Addressing sexual harassment and sexual assaults in the UMD community
• Strategies for maintaining an ethnically diverse campus community

Community-level:

• The relationship between UMD and the City of Duluth
• Rental ordinances and college housing
• Ways to expand employment opportunities in Duluth
• Transportation in Duluth: cars, buses, bikes, and sidewalks
• Building better neighborhoods

State-level

• Addressing the urban-rural divide
• K-12 education policies
• Higher-education funding
• Environmental protection
• Taxation
• Agriculture
• Criminal justice

Grading standards

This paper is worth 10% of your final grade, and I will base your grade on the following criteria:

1. Clarity and focus of an arguable stance on your topic.
2. Appropriate support of claims in the op-ed.
3. A coherent approach to a specific audience, including acknowledgment of possible counterarguments (plant your naysayer).
4. Effective organization of an argument, sign-posted with clear topic sentences, transitional expressions and keywords. Each paragraph should have a clear main topic.
5. A command of Edited Standard Written English demonstrating that the writer has carefully revised and proofread to remove grammatical and spelling errors.