PLS 339: Asian Politics
Op-ed Assignment
What is an Op-ed?
Op-ed stands for “opposite the editorials.” Op-eds are opinion pieces, generally about 800-1,000 words, on important topics of local, national, or international concern. Although we describe op-eds as opinion pieces, they should be rigorously argued, your argument supported with convincing evidence. Op-eds tend to be less scholarly than academic works, though, and aimed at a general audience.
Op-eds are generally run daily in most newspapers (and via internet media, too), though some days’ op-eds are more equal than others. In The Washington Post, for example, the premium op-eds are generally published on Sunday. It would probably improve your final product if you examined a number of op-eds to determine for yourself what makes a successful piece (I happen to be a sucker for catchy openings with a tight peg to a current news event). Good places to find op-eds on issues of international affairs are: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
Op-ed pieces tend to be tied to current issues or on-going problems and have an “agenda” attached to them: approve this policy, disallow that one, recognize this emerging and problematic trend . . .. Be sure that your agenda is clear from your clever title. Make sure that it is argued in the opening of your op-ed. Make sure that the content of the op-ed supports the agenda. Finally, hammer home the agenda again at the end.
Experts usually write op-eds on topics about which they are extremely knowledgeable. Since you all are future experts well-on-your-way, you might as well start your op-ed writing career sooner rather than later! Be sure to include concrete data/evidence to support your points. Generalizations will not suffice to persuade the audience that your point of view is the correct one.
What is this assignment—exactly?
Your assignment is to write an op-ed on an issue relevant to contemporary Asian domestic politics or international relations. With your op-ed, you should also submit the name of the publication for which the piece is written (even if you don’t choose to submit it). One way to think about writing the op-ed is to see it as advice to the U.S. president as to how to deal with a particular issue involving Asia.
You are free to gear your op-ed toward any publication and write on any issue you choose. Keep in mind that timeliness is an important quality of op-eds. Also, keep in mind the type of publication that might be interested in an op-ed of the type that you write (sometimes smaller or specialist publications might be more willing to accept your piece than one of the biggies!). Also, be sensitive to the audience for which you are writing. You probably need to write for a general readership, explaining people, events, theories in a way that a general reader can understand (I often pretend that I am writing for my Mom).
You are free to run ideas past me and talk over prospective arguments.
Thought op-eds do not typically use footnotes, please refer to the Writing Well handout as to how to format your references in the American Political Science Association style. The Writing Well handout has further helpful information regarding common writing issues and problems that will help you to proofread your work.
Good luck and try to have fun with the assignment! This is your chance to create something new and develop your own ideas about the world.
Revised: April 27, 2011.
Return to Dr. Tan's homepage: http://people.uncw.edu/tanp/