You will write a 750-word op-ed (which stands for opposite the editorial page, and which is also known as an opinion piece). This is a hybrid assignment. The argument of the actual op-ed text needs to stand on its own. But you must also provide extended footnote citations and commentary (including additional data, context and evidence) in the footnotes. In your footnotes, draw on readings and films from the syllabus as well as additional readings (both scholarly and news-style sources) you uncover on your own.
Elements we will be looking for when we grade the op-ed:
1. A News Hook — are you able to connect your topic to something in the news or something relevant today? (e.g., “It’s been almost three decades since Oslo and a peace process is nowhere to be seen….” — or the recent violence in Jerusalem — or….)
2. An engaging opening — are you able to draw the reader in?
3. A clear question (stated implicitly or explicitly): is it clear to the reader what you’re asking? (remember that it’s a prescriptive question — Should….? or How should…? (in other words, who should do what and why?)
4. A clear answer to that question
5. A persuasive argument
6. Engaging writing
7. Anticipating your critics and rebutting them successfully
8. Evidence of research: citing at least 8 sources (half of which should be scholarly sources)
9. Linking your topic to the scholarly literature — going “up the ladder of abstraction” to link your specific topic/question to broader themes.
10. Footnotes with added background, data, historical context, etc. (For an example of this style of footnote, revisit Jeremy Pressman’s article “Visions in Collision” (this is attached below).
Global Affairs Canada — Canadian Policy on Key Issues in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict http://www.international.gc.ca/name-anmo/peace_process-processus_paix/canadian_policy-politique_canadienne.aspx?lang=eng
Alexia Underwood, “The Controversial U.S. Jerusalem embassy opening, explained,” Vox
https://www.vox.com/2018/5/14/17340798/jerusalem-embassy-israel-palestinians-us-trump
Democratic Candidate interviews on the subject of policy towards Israel, New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/politics/2020-democrats-israel-foreign-policy.html
Salam Fayyad, “Trump’s Peace Plan: What is there to be Upset About?” Brookings (21 February, 2020)
“Up for Debate: The Biden Administration’s Approach to Israel and Palestine,” Middle East Institute (21 June 2021)
https://www.mei.edu/publications/debate-biden-administrations-approach-israelpalestine (Read essays by Kurtzer and Dajani)
I can provide more readings. Just let me know.
Here are some tips from the professor for writing this paper:
1. To structure the piece, come up with a question, then an answer. The answer should form a prescriptive statement: “who should do what and why.” Sometimes a good way to start is to type the question as the headline of your op-ed. (Usually the editor, not the writer, supplies the headline, but this is a good way to orient yourself as you draft the piece). For example: “Should Canada institute mandatory vaccination?” (The answer is either yes — Canada should institute mandatory vaccination; or no — Canada should not institute mandatory vaccination. The support for your answer — evidence, logical reasoning, etc. — forms the body of your argument.)
2. Make sure to anticipate your critics: who has, or might, disagree with you? Articulate their arguments, citing them when possible or available, or else coming up with hypothetical criticisms if they don’t yet actually exist in print — and then tell the reader where you think those arguments fall short. Being able to anticipate your critics, and rebut their arguments, will make your argument appear stronger and thus more persuasive.
3. Write in a conversational style that engages the reader. Use short paragraphs. Vary your sentence structure. Depending on the context, don’t be afraid to begin a sentence with “but” or “and.” (No comma after but or and!) Read, and re-read a bunch of op-eds to internalize the style. (To find more op-eds, google Washington Post and “opinion,” or New York Times and “opinion,” or Globe and Mail and “opinion,” or Haaretz and “opinion.”
4. Your op-ed should demonstrate that you are an expert on the question/topic you’ve posed. Show that you’ve done research. Persuade your reader through employing a brief story, perhaps, as well as through data and evidence. Bringing data to bear, and employing logical reasoning, are the same skills you’d use in any research essay. The difference between an op-ed and an essay is basically three-fold: 1. length; 2. snappier writing style; 3. generally a prescriptive argument (“who should do what and why”) rather than the explanatory type of argument that is more common in research essays (explanatory arguments are ones like “why did x happen”).
5. To come up with a topic, here are some tips: 1. have you read something in the news on our course topic that riled you up? 2. Was there a particular reading assignment week where you felt especially engaged in drafting that reading-forum post? 3. Do you find that when it comes to question x, “some people tend to argue A; others tend to argue B, but what I think they are missing is C”? That “C” could form the basis for your argument in answer to the “question x.”