Environmental Health

August 4, 2017

Op and Ed 600 for each doing for two parts
the topic which is environmental health
instructions which is at additional materials
Consumer health H 315

Consumer Health (SPH-H 315)
Op-Ed Assignment
Fall 2017; Class # 9212
Due dates – 9/8 and 9/15
Objective: Students will compose their own opinion-editorial (op-ed) pieces related to
consumer health issues. The purpose of this assignment is to help students form their own
informed opinions regarding health issues and construct strong arguments that support their
opinions. The instructor will provide a list of health topics that students can use for their opeds.
Students will choose one specific issue related to that topic. Only one student can focus
on one specific issue. Students will then compose 2 op-eds addressing that issue. One op-ed
article will present the issue with a conservative viewpoint. The other op-ed will have
progressive viewpoint. This will help students to have broader perspectives. The instructor has
uploaded two PDF files onto Canvas from two universities. These 2 universities provide
instructions on how to compose an op-ed. Students must review them.
Each op-ed must be between 550 to 750 words and follow the Word document guidelines
below. Each op-ed must have a clear viewpoint, explain to the reader why they should care
about the issue noted in op-ed, have a strong personal and active voice, provide good
examples, have a strong ending, and must be well researched. Students must cite 3 or more
references in each op-ed. The majority of references must be primary sources (e.g., peerreviewed
journals and government data).
Extra credit will be given to a student if their op-ed is published in a real news organization,
such as Herald Times and Indy Star. It must be published before the 9th of October 2017.
Word document guidelines: assignments must be a Word document (e.g., .doc), 12-point font,
Times New Roman, and 1-inch margins. Essays must be double-spaced (not including the
title of the assignment, student name, and date). Reference must be in a separate page.
Proper APA citation is required. Students must follow assignment rubrics and guidelines.
Otherwise, no credit will be given. The grader will not give credit to student if grammar and
spelling issues make it difficult to comprehend the assignment(s).
Below are examples of news organizations who regularly publish op-eds. Review a couple of
op-ed articles to get a sense of how they were written and why they were chosen to be
published. Look for articles that are related to health topics. Students are encouraged to go to
other reputable websites and review the types of op-eds that are featured and the qualities
they have.