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Liberals And Conservatives Fight Labels And Stereotypes

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Overview | How can writing change people's worldview? How can it influence public opinion? How can it lead to meaningful action?

The persuasive essay is a quintessential high school writing assignment. With the Common Core standards, it seems to have taken on a new urgency in many school districts and classrooms. But students should know that evidence-based 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.

In this lesson, we offer suggestions on how to guide students through the writing process when writing editorials - from brainstorming a topic to publishing their work - and all the steps in between. This lesson can be used in conjunction with our Student Contest on editorial writing, or with any argumentative writing project you do with students.

Materials | Computers with Internet access. Optional copies of one or more of these three handouts: Debatable Issues (PDF), Problem-Solution Organizer (PDF), and the rubric for our Student Editorial Contest (PDF).

Step 1 | Brainstorming: What Do You Care About?

Finding the right topic is essential. Students should pick something that a) they genuinely care about; b) other people would want to read about; c) they can make an argument about; and d) they can find evidence about to support their claim.

You might get students started brainstorming ideas by having them journal about or discuss with partners questions like:

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 included 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?

Students can then share their ideas and, as a whole class, compile a list on the board or on a class blog or wiki.

To open the class to even more ideas, you might then invite students look through our list of 200 Student Opinion questions that invite argument. Not only can this list help students pick a topic, but each question links to a relevant New York Times article, which may be very helpful when students begin to look for evidence.

A Note on Collaboration: The editorial writing process at The New York Times is done collaboratively. That means, a team of writers works together from choosing a topic through researching it and drafting the writing. Teachers may want to give students opportunities to collaborate on their editorials as well, whether for only one step of the project, such as research, or from beginning to end.
Step 2 | Modeling: What Is An Editorial?
To help students envision what they will be writing, it is worth spending time discussing what an editorial is and looking at some examples.

Ask students: What is an editorial? Have you ever read any? Where would you find one? What do you think is the purpose of an editorial?

We selected three recent examples from the Times editorial page that students can look over as models, though you or your students may pick others from the thousands in the Opinion archives:

Have students choose an editorial to read on their own or as a whole class. As they read, have them note:

What is the opinion or call to action in this editorial?

What evidence does it use to make its argument?

How persuasive do you find the editorial? Is it effective?

What do you notice about the language and tone of the editorial? About other choices the writer(s) have made?

Students may want make annotations or use highlighters as they read, then discuss their findings as a class.

Note: You may want students to look at the rubric you will be using to grade their editorials before they start the research and writing process. Here is our the rubric (PDF) that we are using for our Student Contest.
Step 3 | Researching: What Do the Experts Say?
Once students have selected a topic, they should begin their research by gathering background information. That might mean reading newspaper articles, consulting an encyclopedia, finding reliable websites or reaching out to an expert to make sure they have enough context about why their topic is important to write a strong persuasive essay.

As they do their research, students can take notes using index cards or in a notebook, or they can use our Debatable Issues (PDF) handout. Alternatively, if students plan to offer a solution to a problem in their editorial, they may want to use our Problem-Solution Organizer (PDF).

For more detail about the nitty-gritty of the research process, the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University provides a guide to conducting research that can be helpful with areas such as evaluating source reliability and doing Internet searches.

Students can find articles in The Times by using the search feature. For our contest, we ask that students have at least one Times and one non-Times source for their evidence, although of course we hope most will read far beyond that requirement as they learn about the topic.

Students might be grouped by common interests to work together during the research portion of this process, then write individual editorials, or they might do the entire assignment in partners or as a group.
Steps 4 and 5 | Outlining and Drafting; Revising and Editing: How Do You Write an Editorial?
Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor at The Times, explains in this brief video that a good editorial consists of "a clear position that is strongly and persuasively argued." He then goes on to recommend seven pointers for students.

1. Know your bottom line. "You have to know what you want to say. You have to have a clear opinion - what we call a bottom line."
2. Be concise. "You need to get to the point of your editorial quickly. You have to state it clearly and you have to be concise."
3. Give an opinion or solution. "There are basically two kinds of editorials. One expresses an opinion about a situation, like if you want to write about human rights abuses in some part of the world or the country that you're concerned about. The other kind of editorial proposes a solution to a specific problem. For example, if you want to write about traffic congestion in northern New Jersey, where I live and there's a lot of traffic, you should have an answer to how to fix the traffic problem."
4. Do your research. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, you're not entitled to your own facts. Go online, make calls if you can, check your information, double-check it. There's nothing that will undermine your argument faster than a fact you got wrong, that you did not have to get wrong."
5. Write clearly. "Good writing is important. Make your writing clear and easy to understand. Write as if you're sending a letter to a well-informed friend who cares about what you think. But don't use any slang. OMG - no. Use examples whenever you can. It's better to use an example than just to use a word or an adjective that describes something. If you want to say that the mayor's pre-K policy is wrong, explain how - don't say it's just stupid. In fact, never use the word stupid."
6. Every writer needs an editor. "After you've written your editorial, give it to someone you trust to read and listen to what they say. If they don't understand it, that means it's probably not clear."
7. Be prepared for a reaction. "When you write something and you publish it, be prepared for a reaction. If you write a good editorial, people are going to respond to it. And if you criticize people, they definitely are going to respond. So if someone writes you a letter, write them back. Be prepared to defend your position. Don't get defensive, just explain why you said what you had to say. And if they question your facts, be ready to show that you were right."

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University has a guide to writing argumentative essays that may also be helpful for students as they think about organizing their editorial and developing a logical argument.
Step 6 | Publishing: How Can My Editorial Reach an Audience?
Students will have the chance to publish their editorials as comments on the Learning Network on or before March 17, 2014, as part of our Student Contest. Along with our partner, the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University, we will then choose the best to publish in a separate post. But even if your students aren't writing for our contest, the genre is meant to have an audience. That audience can start with the teacher, but it ideally shouldn't end there.

Students can read their editorials to the class or in groups. Classmates can have a chance to respond to the author, leading to a discussion or debate. Students can try to publish their editorials in the school newspaper or other local newspapers or online forums. It is only when editorials reach a wider audience that they have the power to make change.

Teachers: How do you teach the persuasive essay? Let us know, below. And if you ever use The New York Times to do it, consider writing in to our Reader Ideas column.

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For the Sake of Argument: Writing Persuasively to Craft Short, Evidence-Based Editorials

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Overview | How can writing change people's worldview? How can it influence public opinion? How can it lead to meaningful action? The persuasive essay is a quintessential high school writing assignment.

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Library Guides: Evaluating resources: Home

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Library Guides: Evaluating resources: Home

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http://www.foxnews.com/category/world/conflicts/north-korea.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/world/asia/trump-north-korea.html

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Now, however, the time has come, as Daphne Merkin suggests, to question our reflexive responses. What constitutes abuse, and are there degrees of it? Should we take historical context into account when determining its severity? What punishments are appropriate for different degrees of abuse? Is redemption possible?

And we need to redefine roles and rules at work, in relationships and beyond. Only then can we establish boundaries that are safe, respectful and comfortable for both sexes.

ELIZA MIGDAL, BROOKLYN
To the Editor:
I'm a 28-year-old from London, and Daphne Merkin's article came as a relief to me.

As a recent survivor of rape, I have felt infuriated and confused by the laziness in the language of the topic, all too often conflating the life-changing event of being raped with an unpleasant but largely forgettable event like being patted on the knee.

To lump together sexual assault and sexual harassment is to draw focus away from the victim. Indeed, it is another symptom of a society so obsessed with patriarchy that even within one of the widest social movements in modern history (#MeToo), a fixation with men is the driving force.

LUCY HALL, LONDON
To the Editor:
Daphne Merkin claims that women she knows are saying "grow up, this is real life" and "what ever happened to flirting?" What would be the condition of women today if we had accepted as real life the longstanding oppressions and disenfranchisement of women that existed a mere century ago?

Most of the accusations that have been reported have involved forced sexual contact. And she must know some very brave women who, she says, have "taken the risk" that comes with rejecting sexual advances in the workplace.

She seems to confuse sexual interest with affection: "Is kissing someone in affection, however inappropriately ... necessarily predatory behavior?" Most adult women have learned that sexual interest and affection are often birds of a very different feather.

SYLVIA STAUB
SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
To the Editor:
Daphne Merkin worries that the #MeToo movement is imparting to young women a "victimology paradigm in which they are perceived - and perceive themselves to be - as frail as Victorian housewives." I believe that the movement is doing the opposite: empowering women, including me, to interrogate power with the support of other women.

Saying "back off" to a man's inappropriate advances is often fraught with consequences - the loss of a job perhaps, or the tarnishing of a reputation.

When men hold most of the power, it's naïve to think that women aren't all vulnerable. That doesn't mean that we need to be shrinking violets, but it does mean that acting as an individual is less effective than acting collectively.

Nancy Reagan's "just say no" antidrug campaign was ineffective because it ignored the larger forces that make people say yes. Similarly, encouraging individual women to "just say no" to a man's sexual advances ignores the context in which the balance of power is heavily skewed against them.

CAI EMMONS, EUGENE, ORE.
To the Editor:
The nuances that Daphne Merkin sees in levels of harassment, assault and rape do not mean that the victimized person does not realize a lifelong impact from such actions.

With that in mind, I offer the following: Humanity is a strange, fragile, stark, gentle, brutal, courageous, beautiful thing. Those humans who would deny others respect and dignity - even in the name of humor - must ultimately lose a measure of their own.

Perhaps each of us needs to ask whether our words, actions and omissions are beneficial or destructive. That is a standard we can all apply.

MARCIA PETERSON
OBERLIN, OHIO
To the Editor:
I am one of those women on the "supermarket lines" sick of this Salem witch hunt. Having worked in the so-called man's world for my entire career, I, too, experienced various degrees of inappropriate behavior. I just made sure that the best man for the job was a woman: this woman.

STELLA SCHINDLER, NEW YORK
The writer is a retired judge. To the Editor:
While Daphne Merkin shares her concerns that the #MeToo movement might put a damper on office "flirting" and devolve into an "outright witch hunt," I have other concerns.

During my career, I have lost both minimum-wage jobs as a youth and six-figure contracts as a public relations professional simply because I refused to have sex with my boss or client. While some of these men touched me inappropriately while propositioning me, most did not, but the result was the same: I lost valuable income.

There was no flirting going on; these were married men who were exerting their power to have sex with me, and when I declined, I lost my job.

Ms. Merkin contends that "expressing sexual interest is inherently messy" and could lead to confusion in the workplace. In my experience, there is no such confusion. These men know exactly what's going on, and they wield their power to get their way.

And unless women are willing to challenge these assaults and fight back, we will continue to be victimized.

MARY ANN BOHRER
PITTSBURGH
To the Editor:
Sexual harassment does not require a degree of hostility, but rather a belief that it's harmless, engendered by the age-old concept that boys will be boys, regardless of their age. This belief can evolve into something hostile and rancid, resulting in truly heinous behavior, but for many boys and men it provides the rationale that it's O.K. to act on normal desires without consideration of what their female counterparts want.

The real hostility here is in Daphne Merkin's contempt for women who don't just say no, as she and her friends have done. (I have always been able to say no.) But to have the expectation that every girl, ingénue or grown woman has that ability is to demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the trauma of victimization and its long-term effects.

We do need to differentiate among sexual behaviors and the appropriate response to them. An Al Franken is not the same as a Harvey Weinstein, but neither should he get a pass because he's not as bad.

JESSE ALLEN, SANTA FE, N.M.
The writer is a retired psychotherapist who specialized in trauma.

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Now, however, the time has come, as Daphne Merkin suggests, to question our reflexive responses. What constitutes abuse, and are there degrees of it? Should we take historical context into account when determining its severity? What punishments are appropriate for different degrees of abuse? Is redemption possible?

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Contests

One of our 2017 editorial winners wrote about China's unofficial ban on Korean cultural exports, such as the boy band Exo. Credit... Starnews, via Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

The challenge is fairly straightforward. Choose a topic you care about, gather evidence from sources both within and outside The Times and write a concise editorial (450 words or less) to convince readers of your view.

Because editorial writing at newspapers is a collaborative process, you can write your entry as a team effort or by yourself. When you're done, submit it using the contest form below by Thursday, April 5, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Be sure to read the rules, also below, before posting.

Our judges will then use this rubric (PDF) for selecting winners to publish on The Learning Network.

As teachers know, the persuasive essay has long been a staple of high school education, but the Common Core standards seem to have put evidence-based argumentative writing on everybody's agenda. You couldn't ask for a more real-world example of the genre than the classic newspaper editorial - and The Times publishes, on average, two of them a day.

And at a time when breaking out of one's "filter bubble" is more important than ever, we hope this contest also encourages students to broaden their news diets by using multiple sources, ideally ones that offer a range of perspectives on their chosen issue.

So what issue do you care about? Gun violence? Sexual harassment? Social media? You decide.

Good luck, and please post any questions you might have in the comments. We'll answer you there.

_________
Note: The submission form has been removed from this page. The contest is closed.
_________

Video

The New York Times's editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal provides seven tips for writing an effective editorial.

To help with this challenge, Andrew Rosenthal, in his previous role as Editorial Page editor of The Times, detailed seven pointers in the video above. And we have published related lesson plans, including " For the Sake of Argument: Writing Persuasively to Craft Short, Evidence-Based Editorials," " I Don't Think So: Writing Effective Counterarguments" and " 10 Ways to Teach Argument-Writing With The New York Times," that offer additional teaching ideas.

We have also culled a list of 401 prompts for argumentative writing organized by category, to help inspire you - although, of course, you are not limited to those topics.

We encourage you to look at both our comments on last year's winners and the winning essays themselves. They can serve as excellent models, and they cover topics from active-shooter school lockdowns to Korean television shows in China.

In addition, you can watch our free, archived webinar, featuring the Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristof and Kabby Hong, a high school English teacher.

1. Use at least one Times source. You can write your editorial about any topic, as long as you use at least one source from The Times. That should pretty much open the whole world to you, as you may be surprised how much you can find in The Times.

Be advised that nytimes.com has a digital subscription system in which readers have access to five free articles each month, but after that you will be asked to become a digital subscriber. The Times also offers K-12 digital subscription plans for schools. But all Learning Network activities for students, including our daily writing prompts, as well as Times articles linked from them, are free, so you can access them without exceeding the five-article limit.

2. Use at least one non-Times source. But make sure that the source you use is a reliable one. We encourage you to find sources that offer different perspectives on an issue.

3. Always cite your sources. Our submission form contains a required field for entering your citations. We include an example as well, though you can use M.L.A. or A.P.A. styles, or just list the website URLs. Even if you use a print source or an expert interview, you must provide a citation. Readers (and judges) should always know where you got your evidence.

4. Be concise. The editorial must not exceed 450 words. Your title and list of sources are separate, however, and do not count as part of your 450-word limit.

5. Have an opinion. Editorials are different from news articles because they try to persuade readers to share your point of view. Don't be afraid to take a stand.

6. Write your editorial by yourself or with a group. If you are working as a team, just remember to submit all of your names when you post your entry. But please submit only one editorial per student. If you're submitting as part of a team, you should not also submit as an individual.

7. Be original and use appropriate language. Write for a well-informed audience, but include enough background information to give context. Be careful not to plagiarize: Use quotation marks around lines you take verbatim from another source, or rephrase and cite your source.

8. Submissions must be from students who are 13 to 19 years old, and they may come from anywhere in the world. Unlike in previous years, students can now use their entire name if they want.

9. All entries must be submitted by April 5 at 11:59 p.m. Easternusing the contest form above. If you have questions about the contest, feel free to post them in the comments section, and we'll respond to you there.

10. Follow these instructions if you need proof that you entered this contest. Within an hour of submitting your editorial, you should receive an email from "The New York Times" with the subject heading "Thank you for your submission to our Student Editorial Contest." If you don't receive the email within an hour, even after checking your spam folder, then you can resubmit your entry. Be sure your settings allow emails from nytimes.com.

After two attempts and waiting over one full day, if you still have not received a confirmation email, you can contact us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com with the email address you used in the contest form. Use the subject heading "Please send me an email confirmation for my editorial contest submission." Be sure to include your name and editorial title (or subject) in your email. You may have to wait up to a week for a reply.

11. We will use this rubric (PDF) to judge entries, and the winning editorials will be featured on The Learning Network.

" Writing an Editorial" Unit Plan, by Lindsay Thompson

" Reader Idea | He Said, She Said, I Say: A Researched Argument Essay," by Danielle Harms

" Reader Idea | Using an Op-Doc Video to Teach Argumentative Writing," by Allison Marchetti

" Reader Idea | Using Room for Debate to Teach Argumentative Writing and Discussion Skills," by Gerard Dawson and Justin Rex

" Reader Idea | An Argument-Writing Unit: Crafting Student Editorials," by Kayleen Everitt

Good luck and have fun. We welcome your questions and comments if we have omitted details that might be useful. Let us know how we can help.

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The Learning Network runs contests for teenagers all year long. See our full calendar.

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Our Fifth Annual Student Editorial Contest: Write About an Issue That Matters to You (Published 2018)

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Contests The challenge is fairly straightforward. Choose a topic you care about, gather evidence from sources both within and outside The Times and write a concise editorial (450 words or less) to convince readers of your view. Because editorial writing at newspapers is a collaborative process, you can write your entry as a team effort or by yourself.

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Here's one way: Start strong. Grab our attention in the first few sentences, but don't take too long to state your argument.

Here's another: Pick a fresh topic, or a new angle on a popular topic, and be very clear about what you are arguing. Often when students narrow in on a specific concern, their editorial becomes more persuasive.

What else? Write with an original, confident voice and avoid formulaic language and structure. And if appropriate, acknowledge, and deftly dispatch, counterarguments.

Below, we list 10 winners, 15 runners-up and 45 honorable mentions. We also include a PDF of all the finalists, including 58 who made the cut to the third round of judging, but didn't quite reach the winner's circle.

Starting May 22, we will be publishing one of the Top 10 essays each weekday in posts that we hope you will spread on social media, hang on school bulletin boards and perhaps even use as "mentor texts" for next year's contest.

Thank you for participating - and we hope you'll take part in our Summer Reading Contest, starting June 16.

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Student Editorial Contest Winners

Each category below lists our favorites in alphabetical order by title. Where titles were missing, we came up with our own.
Top 10 Winners
" A Psychedelic Cure?" by Reagan Briere, age 16
" In Nothing We Trust" by Francesca Kelley, age 18
" Leave the Citizens to Their TV Shows" by Yijia Hu, age 17
" Losing the Internet" by David Scharts, age 15
" Reform the Prison, Then the Prisoner" by Katherine Leonard, age 16
" Stopping Bullets With Locked Doors and Silence Is Already Pulling the Trigger" by Daina Kalnina, age 15
" The Anguish of the Rich" by Yiqi Wang, age 17
" The Asian Misnomer: What the Affirmative Action Debate Misses" by Matteo Wong, age 16
" The Collateral Damage of Defending Democracy" by Sarah Heiland, age 18
" The Missing Anthropological Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History " by Alec Farber, age 16
_________ Runners-Up
"America First" by Safa Saleh, age 17
"America? More Like Ameri-Can't Vote" by Gianni Carcagno, age 17
"Climate Literacy: A Critical Step Toward Climate Stability" by Ella Shriner, age 14 and Hannah Witscher, age 15
"Cultural Appropriation: A Measure of Empathy" by James Chang, age 16
"Discourse Is Democracy: Allowing Uncensored Speech on College Campuses" by Abigail Hogan, age 17
"Drone Warfare: The Failing Fight Against the Modern Hydra" by Michael Levinger, age 16
"Generation Code Red" by Grace Scullion, age 16
"Humane Human Zoo?" by Ella Ward, age 15
"Paper or Plastic? How About a Paper ON Plastic!" by Melody Markert, age 17
"The Future Disintegration of American Democracy Through Athletics" by Julianne Yu, age 16
"The Case for Teaching News Literacy" by Mary Hannah Grier, age 17
"The Unspoken Alphabet Problem" by Stephanie Zhang, age 14
"The 'War on Drugs' Will Never Work; Legalization Will" by Kristina Vakhman, age 18
"There Is No Happily Ever After Without Once Upon a Time" by Bridget O'Leary, age 17
"When Will This Class Be Useful?" by Casey Stark, age 15
_________ Honorable Mentions
"#WorldChanger" by Joyce Zhou, age 17
"A Case for Impassiveness" by Lea Marchl, age 16
"A Scoop in the Right Direction" by Emma S., age 18
"AP Tests Don't Leave Enough Room for the Human Side of History" by Tom Malmgren, age 16
"Are My Shoulders Distracting You?" by Mairi Alice Dun, age 17
"Autism: Educated and Extraordinary" by Isabella Zhang, age 17
"Bittersweet" by Rena Rachlin, age 15 "Child Labor in the U.S. Today" by Jasmine Campos, age 16 and Charlotte Principal, age 16
"China Needs Silver Lining" by Wangchen Zhou, age 17
"Colleges Should Abandon Race-Based Affirmative Action to Achieve True Diversity" by Eric Davis, age 18
"Embrace the Mess" by Chi Yu, age 14
"Fast Fashion Is Destroying Our World" by Melissa Wang, age 17
"Food Stamps Need a Change" by Patrick Meara, age 17
"Governor Cuomo Frees the Plastic Bagss" by Jiayan Chen, age 17
"Help Wanted: Moderate Politicians" by Ireland Degges, age 17
"High School Should Not Just Be About Sports" by Swathi Kella, age 16
"How Far Can Post-Truth Democracy Take Us?" by Jiahe Yang, age 18
"How to Revitalize the Public Education System" by Dhara Yu, age 18
"Last Man Standing" by Kathryn Porter, age 16
"Leave Me Alone" by Celia Silver, age 17
"More Than a Morning Kick" by Emma Cary, age 16
"Multiple Choice: Not Multiple Enough" by Yi-Mei Templeman, age 17
"Picking Cotton: An Immigrant's Perspective" by Allan Njomo, age 16
"Post-Democracy" by Nadav Ziv, age 17
"Should Juvenile Offenders Receive Life Sentences Without Parole on Their First Offense?" by Tayler Gavetti, age 16
"Should Obamacare Be Repealed?" by William Pharo, age 16
"Single Payer: A Cure for America's Healthcare Woes" by Akshay Manglik, age 13
"Streaky Friendship" by Yuxin Long, age 16
"Technology: A Hindrance to Learning" by Zachary Weiss, age 17
"Teens, Technology, and The Pursuit of Happiness" by Sam Jagolinzer, age 17
"The Bluest Note" by Nicholas Dasoveanu, age 18
"The College Conspiracy" by Serenity W., age 17
"The Cost of Health Care May Be in Your Genes" by Sophia Lo, age 16
"The Demoralizing of the Elizabethan Language" by Olivia Seymour, age 14
"The Disposable Nightmare" by Tianxin Guo, age 14
"The Education Gap" by Adam Traweek, age 16 "The Environment in the Age of Trump" by Elliot Tuttle, age 17
"The Growing Problem of Screen Addiction" by Kaitlin Craig, age 16
"The Picture of Education We Must Change" by Danielle Naidrich, age 17
"Tipping the Pay Scale" by Ruhee Damle, age 14
"Untitled" by Melinda Hartz, age 16
"We Should Be Teaching Rap Music in Schools" by Jack Zuckerman, age 19
"What Do You Call Someone That Only Speaks One Language? An American." by Paige Patton, age 16
"Where Are All the Rainbows?" by Storm Viridian Murray, age 17
"Where Trump's Ban Stands Legally" by Marcus Linde, age 16
_________ And All the Finalists, Including 58 More Great Editorials That Made It to Round 3 (PDF) Judges: Amanda Christy Brown, Shannon Doyne, Caroline Crosson Gilpin, Michael Gonchar, Annissa Hambouz, Thomas Houston, Shira Katz, Willow Lawson, Linda Leavitt, Sue Mermelstein, Anna North, Roxie Salamon-Abrams, Katherine Schulten, Matt Schwarzfeld, Natlie Shutler and Kate Spence-Ado

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A Call to Action: Winners From Our Fourth Annual Student Editorial Contest

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Here's one way: Start strong. Grab our attention in the first few sentences, but don't take too long to state your argument. Here's another: Pick a fresh topic, or a new angle on a popular topic, and be very clear about what you are arguing.