Editorial Writing - Part 1.

Due April 22, 2020 2:30 PM

Instructions In this unit you will learn the purpose of editorials, how good editorials are structured, and then

write one yourself on a topic that you choose.

Start by watching this video overview created by the News Literacy Project in cooperation with

USA Today. It will give you an overview of what a good editorial does and how it is structured.

Look over the PowerPoint for more direction on what to consider as you plan your editorial.

Open the 130 NY Times Editorial Prompts and choose a topic - or come up with one of your own.

Note - each of the prompts is a link to a New York Times story on the topic - a good way to start

your search for facts.

Choose a topic and open the Editorial-Writing-Prompt. This will provide a brief outline of what

you want to say in your editorial after you have chosen your topic. Once you have done this,

please return it to Mr. Costello.

Resources

Opinion Writing PowerPoint

Editorial Prompter Form

https://bridgeportedunet-

my.sharepoint.com/personal/lbeecher_bridgeportedu_net/Documents/Journalism/Editorial%20Wri

ting/Editorial-Writing-Prompt.pdf

139 Editorial Prompts from annual editorial writing contest

Sponsored by the New York Times

Click on the links to access an article on the topic.

Technology & Social Media 1. Do Memes Make the Internet a Better Place?

2. Does Online Public Shaming Prevent Us From Being Able to Grow and

Change?

3. How Young Is Too Young to Use Social Media?

4. Should the Adults in Your Life Be Worried by How Much You Use Your

Phone?

5. Is Your Phone Love Hurting Your Relationships?

6. Should Kids Be Social Media Influencers?

7. Does Grammar Still Matter in the Age of Twitter?

8. Should Texting While Driving Be Treated Like Drunken Driving?

9. How Do You Think Technology Affects Dating?

School

10. Are Straight A’s Always a Good Thing?

11. Should Schools Teach You How to Be Happy?

12. How Do You Think American Education Could Be Improved?

13. Should Schools Test Their Students for Nicotine and Drug Use?

14. Can Social Media Be a Tool for Learning and Growth in Schools?

15. Should Facial Recognition Technology Be Used in Schools?

16. Should Your School Day Start Later?

17. How Should Senior Year in High School Be Spent?

18. Should Teachers Be Armed With Guns?

19. Is School a Place for Self-Expression?

20. Should Students Be Punished for Not Having Lunch Money?

21. Is Live-Streaming Classrooms a Good Idea?

22. Should Gifted and Talented Education Be Eliminated?

23. What Are the Most Important Things Students Should Learn in School?

24. Should Schools Be Allowed to Censor Student Newspapers?

25. Do You Feel Your School and Teachers Welcome Both Conservative and

Liberal Points of View?

26. Should Teachers and Professors Ban Student Use of Laptops in Class?

27. Should Schools Teach About Climate Change?

28. Should All Schools Offer Music Programs?

29. Does Your School Need More Money?

30. Should All Schools Teach Cursive?

31. What Role Should Textbooks Play in Education?

32. Do Kids Need Recess?

College & Career

33. What Is Your Reaction to the College Admissions Cheating Scandal?

34. Is the College Admissions Process Fair?

35. Should Everyone Go to College?

36. Should College Be Free?

37. Are Lavish Amenities on College Campuses Useful or Frivolous?

38. Should ‘Despised Dissenters’ Be Allowed to Speak on College Campuses?

39. How Should the Problem of Sexual Assault on Campuses Be Addressed?

40. Should Fraternities Be Abolished?

41. Is Student Debt Worth It?

Mental & Physical Health

42. Should Students Get Mental Health Days Off From School?

43. Is Struggle Essential to Happiness?

44. Does Every Country Need a ‘Loneliness Minister’?

45. Should Schools Teach Mindfulness?

46. Should All Children Be Vaccinated?

47. What Do You Think About Vegetarianism?

48. Do We Worry Too Much About Germs?

49. What Advice Should Parents and Counselors Give Teenagers About

Sexting?

50. Do You Think Porn Influences the Way Teenagers Think About Sex?

Race & Gender 51. How Should Parents Teach Their Children About Race and Racism?

52. Is America ‘Backsliding’ on Race?

53. Should All Americans Receive Anti-Bias Education?

54. Should All Companies Require Anti-Bias Training for Employees?

55. Should Columbus Day Be Replaced With Indigenous Peoples Day?

56. Is Fear of ‘The Other’ Poisoning Public Life?

57. Should the Boy Scouts Be Coed?

58. What Is Hard About Being a Boy?

Arts

59. Can You Separate Art From the Artist?

60. Are There Subjects That Should Be Off-Limits to Artists, or to Certain

Artists in Particular?

61. Should Art Come With Trigger Warnings?

62. Should Graffiti Be Protected?

63. Is the Digital Era Improving or Ruining the Experience of Art?

64. Are Museums Still Important in the Digital Age?

65. In the Age of Digital Streaming, Are Movie Theaters Still Relevant?

66. Is Hollywood Becoming More Diverse?

67. What Stereotypical Characters Make You Cringe?

68. Do We Need More Female Superheroes?

69. Do Video Games Deserve the Bad Rap They Often Get?

70. Should Musicians Be Allowed to Copy or Borrow From Other Artists?

71. Is Listening to a Book Just as Good as Reading It?

72. Is There Any Benefit to Reading Books You Hate?

Sports

73. Should Girls and Boys Sports Teams Compete in the Same League?

74. Should College Athletes Be Paid?

75. Are Youth Sports Too Competitive?

76. Is It Selfish to Pursue Risky Sports Like Extreme Mountain Climbing?

77. How Should We Punish Sports Cheaters?

78. Should Technology in Sports Be Limited?

79. Should Blowouts Be Allowed in Youth Sports?

80. Is It Offensive for Sports Teams and Their Fans to Use Native American

Names, Imagery and Gestures?

87. Who Should Decide Whether a Teenager Can Get a Tattoo or Piercing?

88. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past?

89. Should Parents Track Their Teenager’s Location?

90. Is Childhood Today Over-Supervised?

91. How Should Parents Talk to Their Children About Drugs?

92. What Should We Call Your Generation?

93. Do Other People Care Too Much About Your Post-High School Plans?

94. Do Parents Ever Cross a Line by Helping Too Much With Schoolwork?

95. What’s the Best Way to Discipline Children?

96. What Are Your Thoughts on ‘Snowplow Parents’?

97. Should Stay-at-Home Parents Be Paid?

98. When Do You Become an Adult?

Ethics & Morality 99. Why Do Bystanders Sometimes Fail to Help When They See Someone in

Danger?

100. Is It Ethical to Create Genetically Edited Humans?

101. Should Reporters Ever Help the People They Are Covering?

102. Is It O.K. to Use Family Connections to Get a Job?

103. Is $1 Billion Too Much Money for Any One Person to Have?

104. Are We Being Bad Citizens If We Don’t Keep Up With the News?

105. Should Prisons Offer Incarcerated People Education Opportunities?

106. Should Law Enforcement Be Able to Use DNA Data From Genealogy

Websites for Criminal Investigations?

107. Should We Treat Robots Like People?

Government & Politics

108. Does the United States Owe Reparations to the Descendants of

Enslaved People?

109. Do You Think It Is Important for Teenagers to Participate in Political

Activism?

110. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16?

111. What Should Lawmakers Do About Guns and Gun Violence?

112. Should Confederate Statues Be Removed or Remain in Place?

113. Does the U.S. Constitution Need an Equal Rights Amendment?

114. Should National Monuments Be Protected by the Government?

115. Should Free Speech Protections Include Self Expression That

Discriminates?

116. How Important Is Freedom of the Press?

117. Should Ex-Felons Have the Right to Vote?

118. Should Marijuana Be Legal?

119. Should the United States Abolish Daylight Saving Time?

120. Should We Abolish the Death Penalty?

121. Should the U.S. Ban Military-Style Semiautomatic Weapons?

122. Should the U.S. Get Rid of the Electoral College?

123. What Do You Think of President Trump’s Use of Twitter?

124. Should Celebrities Weigh In on Politics?

125. Why Is It Important for People With Different Political Beliefs to Talk to

Each Other?

Other Questions 126. Should the Week Be Four Days Instead of Five?

127. Should Public Transit Be Free?

128. How Important Is Knowing a Foreign Language?

129. Is There a ‘Right Way’ to Be a Tourist?

130. Should Your Significant Other Be Your Best Friend?

Editorial Writing – Part 2

Instructions:

Now that you have chosen your topic, start the research you will need to present a

sound argument.

• You will need at least two reputable sources. Wikipedia is not acceptable.

Just type in the the keywords for your topic and then choose articles from

reputable sources. For instance, when I looked for "four day week" I found

articles from NPR and Forbes on the first page of results. I hope you

remember those from the assignment on reputable sources about a month

ago. If you have any doubts, just contact Mr. Costello or Mrs. Beecher. This

is a learning process, not a "gotcha."

• Open up the worksheet attached and start taking notes. Be sure and copy the

web address from your source. That way you can easily go back to it to get

more information if you have to.

• Complete the worksheet and return to Mr. Costello. Remember, this is a

rough draft. But make sure your arguments are clear in your mind so that

you can write a good editorial in Part 3 of this project.

• The editorial must be between 300 and 450 words. To see what that looks

like - and also get a taste of what an award winning editorial looks like, see

the resources below. They were among the winners of the New York Times

student editorial contest in 2019. In case you are wondering, they are about

450 words long.

• The rubric used to grade your editorial is the one used by the Times in its

contest. You can see it below. It will be posted in part three of this project,

too.

Editorial WritingPrompter

1 What is the topic?

2 What is your stance?

3 supporting Fact #1 for your stance 4 supporting Fact #2

for your stance 5 supporting Fact #3 for your stance

6 Rebuttals forArguments against your stance:

offer a logical solution to the problem:

7 8 Restate Your Info and offer a call to action:

The New York Times Learning Network Student Editorial Contest Rubric

Excellent (4) Proficient (3) Developing (2) Beginning (1)

Viewpoint: Editorial states a clear opinion and issues a call to action through argument based on evidence.

Evidence: Editorial uses compelling evidence to support the opinion, and cites reliable sources.

Analysis and Persuasion: Editorial convincingly argues point of view by providing relevant background information, using valid examples, acknowledging counter-claims, and developing claims -- all in a clear and organized fashion.

Language: Editorial has a strong voice and engages the reader. It uses language, style and tone appropriate to its purpose and features correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Guidelines: Editorial follows all contest guidelines, including the citation of at least one Times and one non-Times source

This Essay is by 17-year-old Eva Ferguson, who was one of the 12 winners of the 2019 New

York Times student editorial contest.

U.S. Citizens Are Dying and We Can Save Them

I have a luxury that 27.3 million Americans don’t: health insurance. Without it, my family would

be hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt or I’d be dead.

In June of 2017 when my blood became dangerously acidic and my kidneys started to fail, I went

to the ER. In June of 2017 when Alec Raeshawn Smith’s blood also became dangerously acidic,

he died before anyone could save him. Alec didn’t have to die though; the insulin prescribed for

his Type 1 diabetes could have saved him from the diabetic ketoacidosis that killed him. Alec,

who had recently turned 26, could no longer afford his insulin because he was kicked off his

mother’s health insurance plan. Unable to afford the $1,300 a month cost for his insulin, he

turned to rationing the insulin and died within one month of becoming uninsured. In the weeks

after both of our incidents with acidosis, I went back to hanging out with friends and enjoying

my summer. Meanwhile, Alec’s family was left making funeral arrangements.

There is only one way to prevent innocent people like Alec from dying: adopt national health

insurance. With a single payer-program where the government subsidizes the cost of treatment,

any and all citizens would be able to receive and afford any medically necessary treatment. Many

fear that this program would cost an exorbitant amount of money and it is true that U.S. citizens

would have to pay more in taxes to support it. However, US families, would save more money

because they are no longer paying as much for health care costs like co-pays, premiums and

deductibles. According to some studies, Senator Bernie Sanders’s health care plan, which

includes restrictions on drug markups, could save the U.S. government $2.1 trillion in the long

run.

I have health insurance. Insurance that covers hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills,

but that coverage runs out in nine years. My life after 26 is uncertain. Will I have a job that

provides health benefits or will I be left hoping I won’t get sick again? Health insurance can no

longer be a political bargaining chip that gets thrown around as if people aren’t dying without it.

To make nationalized health insurance a reality, people like you need to decide health care is no

longer a partisan issue; it’s an American issue. If we adopt a nationalized health care system, I

will no longer live in fear for the day I might not be okay; I’ll know my name will never be

splashed across newspapers reminding politicians that they’ve killed one more citizen with their

complacency.

Works Cited

Berchick, Edward. “Who Are the Uninsured?” The United States Census Bureau, 14 Sept. 2017.

Epstein, Randi Hutter, M.D., and Rachel Strodel. “Diabetes Patients at Risk From Rising Insulin

Prices.” The New York Times, 22 June 2018.

Haavik, Emily. “Mother Calls for Lower Insulin Prices in Wake of Son’s Death.” 10NEWS, 13

May 2018.

Stanley, Tiffany. “Life, Death and Insulin.” The Washington Post Magazine, 7 Jan. 2019.

This essay is by 17-year-old Narain Dubey, who was one of the 12 winners of the 2019 New

York Times student editorial contest.

Breaking the Blue Wall of Silence: Changing the Social Narrative About Policing in

America

As a child, I thought of police officers with veneration — if I saw a cop in the park, I felt safer. I

told myself that when I got older, I would be wearing the badge too.

At 12 years old, I learned about police brutality. When I first saw the video of Eric Garner being

thrown to the ground by police officers, I thought it was a movie. Despite knowing that the

officers were at fault, I refused to change my internal rhetoric; I thought the media was only

portraying the bad side of the people I saw as heroes.

Then on July 31, 2017, a police officer shot and killed my cousin, Isaiah Tucker, while he was

driving. Isaiah wasn’t just my cousin. He was also a young, unarmed, African-American man. I

no longer dreamt of becoming a police officer.

But the issue is much larger than what happened to Isaiah. As highlighted in The New York

Times, the Center for Policing Equity found that African-Americans are 3.6 times more likely to

experience force by police officers as compared to whites.

Despite this blatant disproportionality, there is still overwhelming ignorance about it. Just last

August, a group of people marched in Philadelphia, countering Black Lives Matter protests with

signs and chants of “Blue Lives Matter.” People are quick to challenge discussions of police

violence with the idea that “not all cops are bad cops.”

But when we argue in defense of the morality of individual police officers, we are undermining a

protest of the larger issue: the unjust system of policing in the United States.

When I met Wesley Lowery, a journalist from The Washington Post, he was adamant that the

social narrative regarding police brutality in the United States needs to change. “Conversations

about police reform and accountability are about systems and structures, not about individuals,”

said Lowery.

It is not that some police officers aren’t doing admirable things in our communities, but revering

police officers for not abusing their power is dangerous — it normalizes police violence and

numbs society to these issues. The idea that “not all cops are bad cops” belittles attempts to

uproot the system. When we go out of our way to controvert this fight, we are perpetuating the

inherent problems with racialized policing.

So as you think about policing in America, think of Eric Garner. Think of Alton Sterling, my

cousin Isaiah, and the families that were left behind.

We have a responsibility as citizens of this country to call out corruption in systems of power.

Policing in America is rooted in racism, oppression and privilege — it’s time that we recognize

that.

I learned to change my perspective. So can you.

Works Cited

Williams, Timothy. “Study Supports Suspicion That Police Are More Likely to Use Force on

Blacks.” New York Times. 7th July, 2016.

Lowery, Wesley. (2018, August 2nd). Personal communication at Asian American Journalist

Association’s JCAMP.

READ 2 COMMENT

Name: ________________________

Topic:

Purpose for your editorial (circle one)

● Explain or interpret ● Criticize ● Persuade ● Praise

Sources:

Source 1: Citation – Name of author (if available), publication, date (if available), web

address

Notes from that source: (Facts, statistics, quotes)

Source 2: Citation – Name of author (if available), publication, date (if available), web

address

Notes from that source: (Facts, statistics, quotes)

Your argument/statement:

(Who, What, Where, When, Why, How - what’s the problem/issue/ what should be done?)

Body Opposition: Acknowledge the other viewpoint and then prove them wrong!

Conclusion:

Restate claim including summarizing main points

Editorial Writing – Part 3

Instructions

You will use the worksheet that you completed in Part 2 of this assignment and turn it into a

polished editorial.

Look over the attached Writing Tips to remind yourself how to go about this.

The editorial should be between 300 and 450 words. Use the Word Count feature to check this.

Check the rubric.

Tips for writing an editorial

1. Open with a clear explanation of the issue or controversy.

2. Present the opposition to your argument

3. Refute the opposition

4. Provide other reasons to support your position

5. Conclude with punch. You can -

a. Provide a solution to the problem or ..

b. Issue a challenge to the reader

c. A quotation can be effective, especially if from a respected source

d. A rhetorical question can be an effective concluder as well (If the

government doesn't defend the interests of children, who will?)