Reading Response Two Assignment

College Writing
Professor McNeil

Reading Response No. 4
Due: October 16, 2008

Your job for Response #4 is to track down a magazine or newspaper editorial, read it, and then offer your critical summary of the writer's argument, giving an outline of his/her main structure and your opinion as to the effectiveness and validity of the writer's opinions.

For Response # 4you will need to do the job of finding an editorial on a subject that may interest you from a published source, such as a newspaper or magazine.

Some examples of these might include:

An editorial from your hometown newspaper about some issue of local interest
An editorial from the Campus Lantern about a campus issue
An editorial from a large city newspaper--the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, or the Boston Globe, etc.--on a general national or region-wide topic of concern
An editorial from a special interest magazines like a sports magazine (Sports Illustrated, ) or an entertainment magazine (Entertainment Weekly, Premiere), or something else

The best way to go about this is to conduct an online search of written editorials. Search EbscoHost using a key word and "editorial." Keep in mind two or three different possibilities before picking the one you will use. Check out newslink.org/ctnews for an online list of most of Connecticut's newspapers.

No matter what you choose, your editorial needs to

Have an argument,
Be from a reputable magazine or newspaper source (even if online)
Be at least 5 paragraphs long

When analyzing and commenting on the editorial in your response, you may wish to pay particular attention to the following:

What is the author's "evidence." How does the author back up opinions? What evidence does the author offer to substantiate his or her ideas? Any background information, facts? Statistics, etc.? Does the writer overly rely on personal experience?
Is the author fair to the opposing side? Does the author accurately state the opposing view even though the author may disagree?
Is the argument well-organized, logical, or clearly stated? Can you outline or list the author's main points? Can you sum-up the point in one or two sentences?
Avoid devoting space on YOUR opinion about the topic. Remember, your primary job is to summarize the argument of the editorial.

Your summary should be about 600 words (about 2 pages). Try to organize your own thoughts in your
response as much as possible. Your response should be typed format, and double-spaced. Please staple your editorial to your exploration when you turn it in.