Op-ed workshop… What is an Op-Ed? 1.- It is a short OPINION piece in which you develop a STRONG argument. What is an Op-Ed? 2.- You can defend ANY opinion you want, IF AND ONLY IF, it is well-argued, fact-based and does not incur in hate speech. What is an Op-Ed? 3.- You need to provide evidence to support your argument. (a) This evidence cannot be anecdotal, or draw from secondary and partisan sources. • Official data • Scientific data (peer-reviewed and accredited sources) • This data has to be weighted against other data (e.g. if you pick an opinion poll on, say, approval ratings for the president, find if other polls give different results What is an Op-Ed? 3.- You need to provide evidence to support it. (b) If you are basing some of your argument in a news article (or another op-ed) you need to identify the primary sources for that article and make sure that the article has not misconstrued the argument for its purposes What is an Op-Ed? 4.- You need to provide evidence to support it. This evidence cannot draw from secondary or partisan sources. a.- YOU NEED TO USE THE IDEAS AND AUTHORS FROM THIS COURSE TO BUILD YOUR ARGUMENT (which does NOT mean that you have to agree with them) b.- You must also do RESEARCH to include other ideas or authors and relate it to class material? What is an Op-Ed? 5.- Reach a wide audience. So you need to avoid obscure or technical terms that only a few can understand (for example, don’t talk about “signifiers” and “signifieds”!! .- If you absolutely need to use a “weird” word, then YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN it so that your uncle/untie understand it. For example, “this is what some authors have called “gender performance”, which is the idea that our gender identities are not given when we are born, but are being constantly done in our everyday lives by, for example, repeating gender codes, (like the one that says that only women wear skirts”… WHAT ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT? Each week provides you with a possible “variable” to write your Op-Ed For example: WEEK 2: how does the work of representation shapes the political discourse in our democracies? .- (e.g. does the work of representing “the other” (the migrant, the refugee, the Muslim) have some effect in the political discourse? What about how women are represented? Or men? Or minorities? Or majorities? .- are there different ways of seeing? Can you identify some? Do you think they have effects? WEEK 3: How do ways of talking shape the categories through which political debate takes place? You need facts, fact, facts, facts! “society will not do“ “Western media“ “People don’t understand “ “Most media is propaganda“ “Politicians are “ “The media has a racist/sexist bias..” “News always have a motive” “Muslims/Asians/Blacks/Whites are always represented “ Media always represent The elites don’t want us to You need TO DO RESEARCH! -find polls -find scientific studies -find official data TO BACK UP ALL THE CLAIMS YOU MAKE You need a good title! “Social media and Democracy” “Internet and Politics” “Op-Ed for Comm 10” You need a good title! “Social media and Democracy” “Internet and Politics” “Op-Ed for Comm 10” “Facebook is ruining Democracy” “Why you are wrong about Donald Trump” “Why UCSD is more a business then a public university” “You read fake news, and you don’t know it” You need a topic AND A CASE Media and Democracy is your topic NOT YOUR CASE A topic might be… . Hot topics (election results, climate change, etc.) .Specific policies (travel ban, Dreamers, immigration reform, Healthcare reform) . The effects of specific media platforms in politics (fake news, media bias. Etc.) . Specific examples of discrimination and/or stereotyping against different groups .Specific personal examples that reveal wider problems Don’t summarize readings! Don’t talk about generalities “social media is good/bad for democracy”, You need to express your opinion about a particular case, so choose something you have a strong opinion about For the Op-Ed you will be asked to use topics discussed in class and sections to write a personal opinion column, like the ones you read in newspapers. Op-Ed Assignment: Length: min. 250 words max. 500 words Description: - The aim is to write a reasoned and fact-based personal opinion on one topics discussed in the course. Things to take into consideration: - The theme is deliberately open-ended so that you can choose your specific angle to tackle the question. - You are free to argue whatever you want as long as: . a) You provide arguments, evidence and facts to support your position. . b) Your argument does not include “hate speech” , which is speech that incites hatred against a group of persons defined in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or the like. Stylistic notes: - Op-eds are meant to be wide-read. So avoid jargon and technical terms. Here some good examples: Good Op-Ed writers: http://www.nationalreview.com/author/charles-kraut... https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/george-f-wil... https://www.nytimes.com/column/paul-krugman 4 https://www.nytimes.com/column/charles-m-blow https://www.nytimes.com/column/gail-collins https://www.theguardian.com/profile/georgemonbiot https://www.theguardian.com/profile/pollytoynbee Places to find good Op-Eds https://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html http://www.newyorker.com/contributors https://www.theatlantic.com/ http://www.nationalreview.com https://www.ft.com/opinion https://www.wsj.com/news/opinion https://www.theguardian.com/us/commentisfree http://www.economist.com/ Op-Ed Dos and Don’ts DOs DO choose a compelling, specific title DO hammer home your point as clearly and simply as you can DO tell your reader why they should care!! DO base your writing on something specific: an event, an article you want to refute, a new law, etc. DO use specific examples to illustrate your argument DO back up your argument with hard data DO step your reader through your logic DO provide recommendations about how to grapple with the problem you’re discussing DO point out contradictions if you see them DO use the active voice and short sentences and paragraphs to emphasize your points DO use snappy language to engage your reader (but use it sparingly!) DON’Ts DON’T start in one place and end in another (DO keep your argument consistent throughout) DON’T include details that don’t directly support your main argument DON’T make comparisons between disparate situations (false equivalencies) DON’T use bitter or resentful language DON’T use strawman arguments (don’t argue against an opponent who doesn’t exist or deliberately misrepresent someone’s points to make them easier to attack) DON’T use rhetorical questions (questions you already know the answer to). Instead, rephrase the question as a statement 
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