Autism
Paper instructions:
The Op-Ed.
The Op-Ed.
For your final assignment this semester, you will write an Op-Ed based in the research you completed for your Research Project. In the Analysis section of the RP, you responded to the scholarly conversation surrounding your problem as presented in your Literature Review. In the Op- Ed, you’ll build on that work to take a clear position and persuade a specific audience of that position. The Op-Ed will be more narrowly focused than the Analysis and will address a very different rhetorical situation: different purpose, different genre, and most importantly, different audience.
While your essay should include a “they say,” what defines that “they say” is up to you. Your goal, above all, is to persuade. Whether you refute an existing view, take on a cultural assumption, or present a new approach to an old problem, successful essays will clearly state what motivates them and will articulate a clear argument in response. Audience is of particular importance here and successful essays will use the variety of rhetorical moves we’ve studied this semester to reach their specific audience. While the Analysis addressed an audience within the academy, your Op-Ed should address an audience in the wider world. Overall, your rhetorical decisions should be made with audience and argument in mind: the more rhetorically aware you are, the more successful you’ll be. The Op-Ed is your chance to enter American public discourse and to apply the various skills we’ve studied this semester to a real world genre.
I will grade your essay using the following rubric:
– Is the writer clearly trying to reach a specific audience? Has the writer implemented a clear
rhetorical strategy to reach and persuade that audience?
– Does the writer clearly present their motivating “they say”? Does the writer articulate a
strong, clear “I say” in response?
– Is the essay logically organized? Does it use strong transition sentences to move the reader
from one idea to the next? Does it maintain a unified, coherent argument from start to
finish?
– Does the essay use specific evidence to support its claims? Is the evidence appropriate and
fully integrated?
– Does the conclusion address the stakes and “so what?” question?
– Is the paper properly formatted using MLA standards?
– Is the paper carefully edited?
While your essay should include a “they say,” what defines that “they say” is up to you. Your goal, above all, is to persuade. Whether you refute an existing view, take on a cultural assumption, or present a new approach to an old problem, successful essays will clearly state what motivates them and will articulate a clear argument in response. Audience is of particular importance here and successful essays will use the variety of rhetorical moves we’ve studied this semester to reach their specific audience. While the Analysis addressed an audience within the academy, your Op-Ed should address an audience in the wider world. Overall, your rhetorical decisions should be made with audience and argument in mind: the more rhetorically aware you are, the more successful you’ll be. The Op-Ed is your chance to enter American public discourse and to apply the various skills we’ve studied this semester to a real world genre.
I will grade your essay using the following rubric:
– Is the writer clearly trying to reach a specific audience? Has the writer implemented a clear
rhetorical strategy to reach and persuade that audience?
– Does the writer clearly present their motivating “they say”? Does the writer articulate a
strong, clear “I say” in response?
– Is the essay logically organized? Does it use strong transition sentences to move the reader
from one idea to the next? Does it maintain a unified, coherent argument from start to
finish?
– Does the essay use specific evidence to support its claims? Is the evidence appropriate and
fully integrated?
– Does the conclusion address the stakes and “so what?” question?
– Is the paper properly formatted using MLA standards?
– Is the paper carefully edited?
