The Craft of Writing Editorials

Today in class we are going to learn about writing editorials.

First, we will read an article from Jim Wooten of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in which he explains to AJC readers what an editorial is and how to write a good one (and for that matter a bad one.

I will eventually post the article and worksheet her for absent students but I will have copies available in class today.  You will read the article, complete the short discussion worksheet and then we'll talk through the answers.

After the discussion, you will take a closer look at an excellent editorial, the first in a series of Boston Globe editorials, for which Kathleen Kingsbury won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.

The piece is long but good so stick with me on this.

As you read the editorial, please write down the answers to these questions.  I will have print copies of the editorial available in class, but you can also read it by clicking here if you prefer.

There are two objectives here. One, to learn about the subject she wrote about so well. Two, to generalize about what makes a great editorial. You may be writing one soon. :)

(1) Describe the lead. What is Kingsbury's strategy here? How does the lead serve to introduce the topic and hook the reader?

(2) What two related trends provide the context of this editorial (and the series that followed it)?

(3) What economic argument does Kingbury dismiss in the third paragraph of her story? How does she dismiss it?

(4) What counter arguments does she offer in favor of raising wages for restaurant employees?

(5) What statistics support her claim that restaurant workers are more likely to be poor? (5)

(6) What does she say consumers must do? How about lawmakers?

(7) What is the role of the National Restaurant Association in all of this? And what is the "tipped minimum wage"?

(8) What arguments do restaurant owners offer to explain the low wages and poor working conditions of their industry?

(9) How does Kingsbury counter those claims?

(10) Why do so many Boston restaurant workers work multiple jobs?

(11) Describe what the paragraph about Filiberto Lopez adds to the editorial.

(12) According to Kingsburgy, how do restaurant owners routinely violate the law?

(13) How common is wage theft in Boston?

(14) What concrete actions does she advocate that the mayor's office take?

(15) Describe how the conclusion paragraph is written. Do you think it's effective? It is typical of other conclusions that you've written for other types of assignments?