Here are some famous, nationally syndicated columnists:
Dave Barry CSK David Brooks Gail Collins AWP
Ann Coulter ESW E.J. Dionne Ross Douthat
Maureen Dowd Thomas Friedman PAM Bob Herbert CXC
Seymour Hersh Naomi Klein LS Charles Krauthammer
Nicholas Kristoff Paul Krugman CVHU Dana Milbank
Peggy Noonan Anna Quindlen George Will
David Ignatius Fareed Zakaria Joe Conason
Anne Applebaum Mitch Albom MJH Carl Hiassen
Connie Schultz MJC Frank Rich Michelle Singletary
Nikole Hannah-Jones Jelani Cobb LKF Sally Jenkins
Bret Stephens DCM
1. Browse: read at least one column by each of 10 of these columnists. Take very quick notes on each: Title, author, topic, claim, impression.
2. Narrow: Choose three columnists whose work interests you. Find and print out five articles from each of those three. Don't choose the same three as your friend did. Make sure you tend to disagree with at least one of the three columnists.
3. Annotate: Bring the arguments to class, along with pencils and highlighters. Some things to comment on:
What kind of lead, or hook, opens the argument?
How's the author set up a central claim? Where does s/he present that claim?
What's the structure? How's it organized?
Where do the appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) come from? anecdotes? interviews? statistics? assertions? observations?
What figurative language do you notice? What rhetorical devices?
How inflamatory or reasonable is the diction? How simple or complex is the syntax?
What is the columnist assuming about the reader? Who is her/his audience?
What holes can you poke in the reasoning?
How does the last line of the column function? how's s/he close?
Annotate five works by your columnist (you should be the only one in the class working on that author).
4. Write your own column in the style, and with the concerns, of your columnist.
5. Critique your column. What rhetorical strategies did you use to create the imitation? To what extent did you succeed? Where did you fall short? This is the most important part of your work.