FOLLOWING A COLUMNIST PROJECT

Some of the most prominent practitioners of stylish written rhetoric in our culture are newspaper columnists. Sometimes they are
called pundits that is, sources of opinion, or critics. In this semester long project, your will complete the following tasks.

A list of well-know newspaper columnists is provided for you. Select one (or another one that I approve of) and complete the tasks
below. Please start a new page and label as Task #: Entry # _ each time you start a new entry. All tasks, unless specified, should be
typed.

1. Brief Biography (Task 1: 100-200 words)
Write a brief (100-200 word) biography of the columnist. Make sure you cite each source(s) at the bottom of the page or onto the
next page if necessary. Import a picture of the author if possible. Be sure to include the citation for the photo. (You only need one
biography as you are following a columnist for this unit; some have pieces in the Bedford Reader)

2. Annotated Columns (Task 2: handwritten)
Attach a hard copy of the column behind your columns entry. Your annotations should emphasize such things as:
- the central idea (CLAIM) of the column
- identify appeals to logos, pathos, or ethos
- (by what means does the columnist seek to convince readers of the truth of his central idea?)
- the chief rhetorical and stylistic devices at work in the column
- the tone (or tones) of the column
- errors of logic (if any) that appear in the column
- the way the author uses sources, the type of sources the author uses (Be sure to pay attention to this one!)
- the apparent audience the author is writing for
- ingredients of the rhetorical prcis

Add a few final comments to each column that summarizes your general response to the piecedo not summarize the column! Your
final comments should defend, challenge, or qualify the columnists argument. You can choose to write a prcis paragraph, with
specific evidence, as your final comments. Be sure to include the citation for each column. Task 2s annotations on the column are
hand-written; the final comments are typed (250 words).

3. In-Depth Analysis of One Column and Two Extras. (Task 3: 500-750 words)
Choose a favorite column from 2 and compare it to two other treatments of the same subject:
- a straight, un-slanted news report about the topic of the column or
- another columnists opposing take on the issue or
- an editorial or
- a letter to the editor that disagrees with the original column.
Informed by the two extras you found and your own thinking and reading on the subject, write a brief assessment of the original
column. Is it sound? Is it convincing?

4. Final Remarks: (Task 4: 250- 500 words, MLA)
Add a statement titled Final Remarks. In this reflect on what your learned, what value this had, what you think of the writer or
subject matter, etc.



Deadlines for each task are as follows:
Task 1: Due:

Task 2: Entry #1:
Entry #2:
Entry #3:
Entry #4:
Entry #5:
Entry #6:
Entry #7:

Task 3:

Task 4 and PORTFOLIO:





Originated by J. Veal; modified by V. Stevenson; Further modified by M. Hughes and C. Rhude



PROMINENT NEWSPAPER COLUMNISTS

The Washington Post:
Charles Krauthammer
David Broder
E.J. Dionne
Fareed Zakaria
Fred Hiatt
George Will
Kathleen Parker
Katrina Vanden Heuvel
Michael Kinsley
Richard Cohen
The New York Times:
Charles M. Blow
David Brooks
Frank Rich
Gail Collins
John Tierney
Maureen Dowd
Nicholas D. Kristof
Paul Krugman
Roger Cohen
Ross Douthat
Thomas Friedman
Boston Globe:
Derrick Z. Jackson
Jeff Jacoby
Joanna Weiss
Lawrence Harmon
Scot Lehigh
Los Angeles Times:
Doyle McManus
Gregory Rodriguez
Jim Newton
Jonah Goldberg
Meghan Daum
Patt Morrison
Tim Rutten
Wall Street Journal:
Bret Stephens
Kimberley A. Strassel
L. Gordon Crovitz
Mary Anastasia O'Grady
Peggy Noonan
William McGurn
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Bob Barr Cynthia Tucker Jay Bookman
The New Yorker:
James Surowiecki Jeffrey Toobin Jon Lee Anderson
Slate.com:
Anne Applebaum
Christopher Beam
Dahlia Lithwick
Eliot Spitzer
Emily Bazelon
Fred Kaplan
John Dickerson
National Review:
Andrew C. McCarthy
David Pryce-Jones
Deroy Murdock
Jonah Goldberg
Rich Lowry
Victor Davis Hanson
Syndicated Columnists:
Thomas Sowell Mona Charen