Last Monday, Kevin Finneran, Editor in-Chief of Issues in Science and Technology, came to where I work (CSPO ASU) to give a workshop on how to write op-ed. It was a useful and enjoyable one-hour-and-half workshop.

Here are some tips from him as copied from my notes… plus some pics from google!

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Ten worst role models for writing op-ed (for general audience)

10. George Lucas: Writing the title before writing the article.

Lucas wrote the titles before making the movies. Movies were made to fit the titles. It worked for sometime, but eventually became too forceful. Don’t spend much time to get a ‘right’ or ‘cool’ title, just write your articles. Editors love to write and change titles, so let them do it!
(my note: very different with academic publications, no editors will change your titles, so you have to decide for what kind of titles you want to be remembered)

9. Ozzy Osbourne: Writing in a language that cannot be understood.

Osbourne speaks the language nobody else speaks. It’s kinda cool, but what’s the point?
Don’t speak jargons. Think about the reader. Have someone who doesn’t know about the subject read your article before send it.

8. Ozzie and Harriet: Unbelivably out of date.

Ozzie and Harriet who??? Nobody know them, they were famous, but in the very past!
Op-ed should be timely. Something that appears in headlines this morning, you write it in the afternoon. The world is interested in what’s in the headlines. What you think important is not important, except if you’re so famous and really good

7. The Matrix: Very interesting, but too abstract.

It’s hard to figure out what the Matrix is all about. Op-ed has to be incredibly concrete. We cannot establish any theoretical framework in 800 words, so don’t even try to do it! Tell people what to do. Do the thinking for them.

6. The computer salesman: Telling too much detail.

Be rigorous. Don’t pile too many information. Readers have short attention span and space, every sentence should have relevance.

5. The Foghorn Leghorn: Too much introduction.

Don’t start with “it’s a sunny day, but the world is tumbled, and children lose hope”
Go straight to what the problem is and how to fix it.

4. Kramer (Seinfeld): No introduction.

Kramer’s world revolves around him. He thinks/assumes everybody has been following his story. He goes back telling the story after just popping up from the middle of everything.
Op-ed should have very short, very brief and catchy introduction. Not everybody is in tune, so  first sentence is actually the hardest. It’s the most important, not the title. The clearest one. And the catchiest would be the last sentence.

3. Gilda Radner: Choosing the wrong problem (see the conversation below from her show)

Emily Littela (Gilda Radner): And in other news, there’s too much violins on TV. There’s too much violins on television. They should put the violins on at eleven after the kids are asleep.
Chevy Chase: Um, Emily, that’s violence, not violins.
Emily Littela (Gilda Radner): Never mind.

Problem should be something that is needed to be solved, leading to the decision. Be aware whether it’s weekly, monthly issue. Publish in the right space, right time frame. Books are for longer-term problems. Daily news is for more urgent problem. Weekly, monthly, quarterly each have its own characteristic.

2. Phoebe Buffay (Friends): Having too many problems.

Phoebe always attemps to solve many problems but can only focus at one problem at a time.
Focus on one problem only. Everything works in reverse than in academic discussion. Using academic expertise for your judgment. Keep it straight, because you only have 800 words to say things. Other things that go on behind are known/recognized yet they aren’t mentioned.

1. Homer Simpson: Eating donut and drinking beer, thinking about writing, going back to eating donut and drinking beer.

First thing about writing op-ed, is to write. Write first, don’t think too much about wanting to write it!

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OK. That’s the first part, folks.
I’ll post the second part tomorrow or the next day. I am very sleepy now. Hope this is useful!