OPINION WRITING
JOURNALISM 145A
SPRING 2017
Professor: Eileen McNamara
Time: Tuesday and Friday 9:30 p.m.- 10:50 pm
Place: 218 Brown
Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and by appointment
Office: 321 Brown
Telephone: 781-736-3049 (Office), 781-929-1934 (Cell)
e-mail:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Everyone has opinions. Not everyone is adept at expressing them. This is a course in the theory and practice of opinion writing. We will read and analyze the best practitioners of the craft, past and present. Students will write opinion pieces, learning the crucial relationship between good reporting/research and persuasive writing. We will experiment with style and voice and sharpenour analytical skills by tackling a broad range of topics, serious and whimsical. This class will function as seminar and writing workshop.All electronic devices must be turned off before class.
REQUIREMENTS:
This is a reading intensive as well as a Writing Intensive course. We learn to write by reading good writing. Students will require athorough knowledge of current events. Read assigned material prior to class, as well as the daily front page, editorial and op-ed page of The New York Times.Read much more broadly than that. Attendance is mandatory. Students will write every week, commenting on the assigned reading and either producing original work or critiquing the work of classmates.You will write six columns, two of which will be assigned early in the semester and four of which will be in styles and on topics of your own choosing. Expect to revise your work.By 9 p.m. each Sunday, students must post a response to one or more of that week’s assigned readings on Latte. That deadline is firm. If you are writing an original column in a given week, you must post it by noon Thursday to provide time for commentsbefore we meet on Friday.If you miss that deadline, you must choose a later column category. Bring a typed, double-spaced, stapled copy of your column to class on Friday. Revisions will be due one week after the edited column is returned. The original must be stapled to the revision.Those deadlines and instructions are firm.This is a deadline business so late columns will not be accepted.Plan ahead and manage your time or you will end up a column or two short and there will be no make-ups at the endof the semester. Self-discipline is key.
GRADING:
Grades will be based 30 percent on attendance and participation (including your posted comments) and 70 percent on the quality of your written work (that includes fact-checking, proof-reading, grammar, spelling and punctuation; sloppiness in those areas will lower your grade, no matter how stirring your prose.)Students should inform me by e-mail in advance of absences for health reasons or family emergencies.
REQUIRED READING:
Columns, editorials and essays posted on Latte. Readings could be added as the semester progresses so check our Latte page regularly.
SUGGESTED READING:
The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
On Writing Well, by William Zinsser
Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
On Writing, by Stephen King
ASSIGNMENTS: The first twograded writing assignments (a letter to the editor and an editorial) will be required of all students.Afterthe Winter Break, you must choose four from the next eight categories (Observer, Storyteller, Pundit, Critic, Scold, Diarist, Wit, Philosopher). You must post your 700-word columns by noon Thursday of the week due to allow time for comments.Remember to bring a hard copy to class on Friday.If you miss the deadline, you must choose a later category. This is journalism – do not ask for extensions. The original column must be stapled to therevision, which will be due one week after it is returned. Your grade will be lowered if you fail to follow any of these directions.
ACCOMODATIONS: If you are a student who needs academic accomodations because of a documented disability, please contact me and present your letter of accomodation as soon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations, you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in Academic Services (x6-3470 or .)Letters of accomodation should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodationscannot be granted retroactively.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: You are expected to be honest in all your academic work. The University policy on academic honesty is section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. If you have any questions, please ask.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
January 17-20: Introduction
Who cares what you think?If everyone has an opinion, why doesn’t every opinion command our attention? Reading: On Latte
January 24-27: On Writing Well
All writing is hard work; opinion writing is harder still because of the popular misconception that it is easy.Reading: On Latte
January 31-February 3: Voice and Tone
What is your goal in a column? To provoke?To educate?To amuse?To scold? How you write, your voice and tone, is as important as what you write. Reading: On Latte
February 7-10: Letters to the Editor
Having an opinion is one thing. Distilling an argument into 200 concise, well-chosen words is a test of the clarity of your thinking. Reading: On Latte
Letter to the Editor, 200 words, post by Feb. 9 at noon; turn in copy Friday
February 14-17: Editorials
An editorial is the position of a newspaper on an issue of public importance. (Think “Nixon Must Resign” or “Close Guantanamo.”) An editorial board determines a position after discussion. We will form two boards to debate an issue. You will each write 400 wordsreflecting the consensus of your board. Reading: On Latte
Editorial, post by Feb. 16, at noon; turn in copy Friday
February 21-24: WINTER BREAK
February 28-March 3: The Observer
Effective writing begins with careful observation. We consider what it takes to see the significant in the smallest things and to record the telling details that bring a scene to life.
Reading: On Latte
The Observer, post by Thursday, March 2 at noon; turn in copy Friday
March 7-10: The Storyteller
Sometimes a writer just needs to get out of the way (after armloads of reporting) and let the story tell itself.Reading: On Latte
The Storyteller, post by Thursday, March 9 at noon; turn in copy Friday
March 14-17: The Pundit
More than most opinion writers, political and sports columnists risk getting it really wrong or, sometimes, exactly right. Reading: On Latte
The Pundit, post by Thursday, March 16 at noon; turn in copy Friday
March 21-24: The Critic
Criticism is the first cousin of commentary. It is not enough to like a movie or to hate a book. The critic brings knowledge and perspective. Reading: On Latte
The Critic, post by Thursday, March 23 at noon; turn in copy Friday
March 28-March31: The Scold
Outrage is the fuel that fires more than a few opinion writers. We consider the value of ranting and railing. Reading: On Latte
The Scold, post by Thursday, March 30 at noon; turn in copy Friday
April 4-7: The Diarist
First person columns - often disguised as second or third person columns - allow the writer to mine personal experience for universal truth (a.k.a. how to exploit your friends and family in service of your brilliant career.)Reading: On Latte
The Diarist, post by Thursday, April 6 at noon; turn in copy Friday
April 11-14: Spring Break
April 18-21: The Wit
Humor and satire are the most difficult forms of essay writing and the form most often attempted by the least talented writers. Let’s proceed with caution.Reading: On Latte
The Wit, post by Thursday, April 20 at noon; turn in copy Friday
April 25-28: The Philosopher
“Race,” “Democracy,” “the Meaning of Life” - now and again a columnist feels compelled to address the big topics. Take a shot. Reading: On Latte
The Philosopher, post by Thursday, April 27 at noon; turn in copy Friday
May 2: Summing Up