Step 1: Select an opinion/editorial online on a topic that you are interested in. This could range from serious international policy (Iran nuclear agreement) to something social (Kanye West’s remarks on slavery). Pretty much anything that you have strong opinion on and that someone else has written on as well. Once you have located this by headline DO NOT READ THE ARTICLE. You may want to check that it at least 3-4 “screens” in length.
Step 2: Write your own opinion on the topic that you chose. You’ve been in this class for a while, so you will want to consider how to use rhetoric and persuasive techniques to express your opinion. This should be 1-1 ½ pages typed (double spaced).
Step 3: Read the original article that you found online. Be thinking about how the author’s argumentation compares to yours.
Step 4: Write an analysis/evaluation comparison between your argument and the article that you read online. You might consider breaking each up into sections (beginning, middle, and end) and comparing/contrasting which techniques you and the other author use and for what purpose. Then consider which approach was the most effective in achieving the argument. You may want to consider comparing the use of devices and techniques such as tone, diction, figurative language, syntax, rhetorical appeals, logical fallacies, etc. This written evaluation should be a minimum of 2 pages typed (double spaced) and contain quotations from each article.
Step 5: You will be turning in printed copies of your own article and the analysis you wrote comparing the two. Please be sure to include a web location for the article that you read online somewhere.
