Editorial

THIS IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A RTF FILE

Below is the opening paragraph of an imaginary editorial sent to the school newspaper. This paragraph provides a portion of an argumentative essay that you might use to clarify the sample of reading guides on pages 00. This sample guides students through analyzing argument or position essays in a rather specific way.

The university’s administration is at it again. Faculty members here are repeatedly told that they really aren’t very important--from the salaries they are paid (compare them with those of administrators) to those indirect messages like the price of parking permits. This year the price to park your car when you go to work has gone up again--$75. And what do you get for your money? Last spring during finals I came in to administer an exam. After pressing my gate card and parking permit to the scanner outside Gittinger Hall where my exam was to be held, I circled the lot finding no spaces. I saw vehicles belonging to teaching assistants, staff members (both secretaries and janitors), and watched the last space available filled by a physical plant vehicle carrying workers who were repairing the air conditioning. I went through the exit and repeated the futile search on a larger scale in the Dale Hall lot. Finally, I had to park at a meter because I was already ten minutes late.