Personal and Social Responsibility
ASSIGNMENT 6: PROJECT - What If? Be the Change.
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Learning Target (Curricular Competencies):
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How can writing change people’s worldview? How can it influence public opinion? How can it lead to meaningful action? Persuasive writing is more than just an academic exercise — it is very much alive in the real world. Perhaps one of the best and most widely recognized examples of persuasive writing in action is the classic newspaper editorial, three to four of which The New York Times publishes every day.
Task: Using all the steps of the writing process and persuasive techniques, write a newspaper editorial on a topic that you care about.
Step One: Find a topic that you care about.
Finding the right topic is essential. You should pick something that a) you genuinely care about; b) other people would want to read about; c) an argument can be made about it d) and evidence can be found to support your claim.
Consider these questions:
- What would you like to change if you could? What problems or policies do you think should be addressed — whether something global, like climate change, or something closer to home, like a later start time for your high school classes? Make as long a list as you can.
- What issues, topics and fields are you passionate about? Make a list. Your list might include fields as broad as “music” or as specific as “the early days of hip-hop.” What questions or controversies in these fields do experts or fans often argue? Where do you stand?
- What do you do outside of school? What are some things you’re an expert on? What aspects of those hobbies or interests do you find yourself having to explain to others? Why?
- What issues or ideas do you often find yourself discussing or arguing about with friends, your family or online?
- What issues or controversies have you followed recently in current events? What are your opinions about them? What might you need more information about?
Here are some links to topics to consider:
200-prompts-for-argumentative-writing
Student opinion prompts-explore and read further to develop a topic
Step Two: Gather ideas and facts: Using the same strategies in unit 2, complete your research.
Step Three: Create an Outline
Step Four: Write Your Draft
Step Five: Proofread and Edit based on this Checklist
Assessment: Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.
Learning Target: (Exemplary 6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective. Final product demonstrates exemplary ability to access information for diverse purposes and from a variety of sources to inform writing and to form a strong opinion with evidence.
Content: (Exemplary 6/6): The content contributes to a clear, central idea and makes insightful connections. Student demonstrates an exemplary ability to provide evidence from suitable sources. The content clearly reflects the student's sense of social responsibility.
Organization: (Exemplary 6/6): The final product demonstrates a thorough understanding of the format of the multi-paragraph composition. There is a clear main idea that is seamlessly developed with engaging and convincing support. The concluding idea makes a strong final statement of the main idea.
Written Expression: Exemplary (6/6): Sentence structure and vocabulary are varied, skillfully written, and carefully chosen. Work has been proofread and there are few or no errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar.
Submission:
Use the "4.6 PROJECT: What If? Be the Change" link on the main page of this section of the course to upload your assignment to your teacher for marking.