Assignment: Editorial Essay

We have recently examined female representations in popular advertising, pornography, and hip-hop. And as we've seen, there are a variety of perspectives on what are acceptable and unacceptable ways in which to portray women. Your task is to write an editorial in which you explore the issue of female representation in one of these fields. The specific subject matter (e.g. a controversial ad or video) is up to you so long as it is A) a current issue or B) pertains to female imagery in either advertising, pornography, or hip-hop.

About editorials:

Editorials are opinion-based writings. They should, however, still be fact-based. The goal is not to fill two and a half pages with just your opinion, rather, it is to state an opinion and support it with evidence. Editorials are much like persuasive essays in that the goal is to convince your readers of your point of view. However, editorials give you more leeway to personalize your appeal. In other words, editorials can rely more on emotion (e.g. outrage, humor) to convince readers. This also means it is acceptable to write in the first person. Here, using "I" is an acceptable and effective technique in relaying your thoughts on a topic. Another key difference with persuasive essays is the tone of editorials, which are less rigid, and might even be sarcastic or condemning (keep in mind, however, that a little of these go along way). In persuasive essays, a formal academic tone is ideal. In editorials, the tone is a stylistic choice; you choose the tone that best conveys your point of view. In this way, your voice is perhaps more prominent than in other styles of writing. But whatever approach you take, your editorial must be anchored in facts.

Here are some sample editorials about several current issues:

• "Pedophilia Scandal Deserves Full Vatican Disclosure" from The Dallas Morning News
• "Porn Corrupts America" from The Washington Times
• "Ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell'" from The New York Times
• "Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead and Kevin, the Gay Guy" from The Seattle Times
• "Sexual Assaults Deserve a Locker-Room Rebuke" from Bloomberg Business Week

Requirements:

• MLA format, including parenthetical citation
• 2.5-page minimum

The best papers:

• Focus on a specific issue from either advertising, pornography, or hip-hop
• Have a concise thesis which clearly outlines a position
  
• Clearly support their thesis with solid evidence
  
• Have a clear and compelling voice
  
• Properly cite evidence using MLA's parenthetical citation method
  
• Are in compliance with MLA Style

Due: Monday, May 3rd