public health writing question
Assignment:
A. Write a concise and compelling op-ed piece (no more than 750 words) that advances an argument for action on any issue in the field of environmental health and development with a technical or scientific component.
B. Identify one or more possible venues for publication.
Requirements: 750
1 ESPM C167 / PH C160 Spring 2023 Op-Ed Assignment Advocacy writing is a critical tool for environmental policy-making, public education and activism. One purpose of this class is to support students in developing and framing arguments about technical issues in language appropriate to policy settings and public venues outside of academia. Traditionally op-ed pieces have been written by people who are not staff members of a newspaper to present an argument or perspective on current issues, and are found on the page opposite the editorials (hence the term op-ed). You are strongly encouraged to submit your op-ed piece for publication. Possible venues for publication include online publications, blogs, national and local newspapers, and radio commentaries. Assignment: A. Write a concise and compelling op-ed piece (no more than 750 words) that advances an argument for action on any issue in the field of environmental health and development with a technical or scientific component. B. Identify one or more possible venues for publication. Submission and grading: Submit your op-ed, with by-line and publication venue(s). Draft 1 due in section for peer review: Week 8 (3/6-3/10) 0 points Final Draft due on bCourses: 10pm, Friday (3/17) 150 points Late submissions and will be marked down 20%. Topical focus and course of action: Your op-ed should focus on one issue or question and advocate that a specific course of action be taken. Part of your argument should be based on technical or scientific information. Selecting your topic: You may select any topic related to environmental health and development, including topics we have discussed in class, a topic of interest to you, or one that is relevant to your work. You may want to write about a topic that is directly related to your TSPB, or pursue an entirely different area of focus. In selecting your topic, you need to define a question or issue that has a policy or advocacy solution. Linking the topic, the science and your argument: Your piece should identify the policy issue of concern, discuss the technical or scientific findings that illuminate the topic and support your position, and present an argument for action that should be taken to address the issue or question. Examples: See op-ed pieces in newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, etc. or other online publications such as Medium for examples of this form of writing. Byline: Include a one-sentence byline describing yourself as the author at the end of your op-ed. A byline can be something as simple as: Jane Doe is the co-founder and president of the UC Berkeley Environmental Action Network. This ensures that readers know who you are and who you represent. Publication outlet(s): Indicate at the end of your op-ed, the outlet(s) to which you plan to submit your piece. You are strongly encouraged, but not required to submit your work for publication. Numerous students have had their work published, so please submit your work. You have nothing to lose!
2 Tips for writing good op-eds: 1) Op-eds are NOT short research papersinstead hammer home a single idea. Unlike your team science-policy brief, the op-ed requires you to write as an advocate for a diverse audience that may not have any knowledge about your topic. Get to the point quickly, dont cite sources, and immediately tell people what you think they should do. The key to a successful op-ed is to clearly explain what you are addressing and why people should care about it. Although you’ll have to make several points along the way to show readers you’re both knowledgeable and credible, those points should all support one opinion that you want readers to understand when they’re done reading. If you can’t state your op-ed’s main thesis in one clear, declarative sentence, stop writing and focus your energy here. 2) Be specific. In making an argument about a policy action, be specific about who should take the recommended action. In general, it is better to say that Congress should pass a law, or the governor should issue an order, or that residents of Berkeley should alter their behavior than to say that society should care about or address something. Specifics and details make writing compelling and interesting. 3) Be interesting first. You’ll need facts and data to back up your argument, but readers need to be interested before they will fully engage. Therefore, tell a story, ask a question, use a common phrase, or make it personal to draw in your reader. If you can introduce real people into your op-ed, do so before you dive into the data. Use accessible language and select arguments and evidence that are likely to be most persuasive to the readers of the newspaper that you would send the piece to. Jargon, abbreviations, and technical terminology are not appropriate for op-eds. 4) Know your audience. If you write for the New York Times, or Huffington Post, you have a national audience. If you write for the SF Chronicle, the Daily Cal, or the Berkeley Daily Planet, you have a local audience. One will know what the East Bay is; the other wont have a clue. 5) Make it sound good. Like good speeches, op-eds should sound good when read aloud. They should have a cadence, intermingling short sentences with longer ones. If your piece reads smart but sounds boring, it is probably the latter. Say your piece and get off the stage. The longer and more complex your op-ed, the harder it will be to understand. Do not show off your UC Berkeley education with five-syllable words. Leave out anything that isn’t completely necessary. Less is more. Always. 6) Use a catchy title to capture readers attention. 7) Avoid acronyms and jargon. To really understand why this is important, read David Tullers The Jargon Trap which is located in the op-ed assignment folder on bCourses. Op-ed resources: See the Op-ed folder on bCourses for examples of op-ed pieces from pros and students. These examples show you different approaches that authors use for this style of writing. Read the op-eds in their entirety, but look closely at how the authors open their pieces (i.e. do they pose a question, make a shocking statement, make it personal, or use a blunt approach?). Look also at how they conclude their op-eds. These endings tend to be short and to the point. In many of these pieces you can read the title, introduction and concluding paragraph and know what the piece says without having to read the whole thing. You should strive for that objective in your pieces as well. Op-ed resources: Here are some additional resources to support your project. The Op-ed Project How to Write an Op-ed Column And Now a Word From Op-Ed (New York Times) For tips on writing good op-ed pieces check out resources on media points for Environmental Health: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/environmental-health.html Also, check out these writing tips from New York Times Op-Ed editor, Bret Stephens: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/opinion/tips-for-aspiring-op-ed-writers.html?mcubz=0 If you are interested in also doing something visually creative to supplement your written work, you can try TikTok. There is an Eco Tik Tok site and here are some TikTok videos recommended by Grist.
3 Format: No more than 750 words; 1.5 spacing / 1 margins / 12-point font. Images are very rarely appropriate. Titling & pagination: Op-ed title: Grab the readers attention with a catchy, succinct title at the top of the page. First page titling: In the upper right-hand corner include the following in 10-point font, right justified: o your first and last name o the date o your GSIs name o your section number File titling: Title your file Op-ed – Your Last Name, Your First Name – S23 Submission: Submit your op-ed, with by-line and publication venue(s). Draft due in Section for Peer Review: Week 8 (3/6-10) Final Draft due on bCourses: 10pm, Thursday (3/16) Late submissions will be accepted up to one week after the due date, and will be marked down 20%. Grading: A satisfactory assignment submission will receive full credit (150 points out of the 1000-point total for the course).
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