![Picture](/uploads/4/2/8/8/42887885/9087074_orig.jpg)
You are an intern for a popular education blog at a local newspaper. Though many bloggers are known for writing passionate but unsupported rants, the head blogger at the paper is known for writing balanced, carefully-reasoned and thoroughly-researched posts related to education trends, policy, and practices. The blog has quite a following, in fact; parents and politicians from both inside and outside the state read the blog and post comments. Sometimes the blog even gets picked up by the national media. Impressed with your writing abilities, your boss has assigned you to write a long-ish (2,500-3,000 words) post on what has been called "the crisis of college"—specifically, the rising cost of a university education and the marketplace value of a degree. Student debt is high in the U.S.—reaching now well over a trillion dollars—and some people now wonder, "Is college still worth it?"
Since this question is way too big to tackle in an online publication, you decide to look for a specific angle that interests you. For example, you've heard about online higher education: independent study, online training, for-profit online programs, massively-open online courses. Do these programs solve the problem of a costly college education? What about student loans? Maybe you wonder, "What's the most profitable major?" What about dropping out or going to trade school; would that be better than getting a degree that might not mean anything to any potential employer? You think about your own experience and wonder how to make your writing project personal and meaningful to you as a college student.
Think about these issues and write a blog post arguing a specific position on this issue. Your audience is diverse, but as you write, you may want to write to policy makers who have the power to divert public funds into online education; or, you may want to write to parents or students giving them advice about the value of online learning. (Keep your audience in your mind as you write) Your blog post should have sources as hyperlinks, or in a works cited, or both. But like all good writing, the sources should have authority and convincing power. Use at least one graphic (image or table, chart, or graph) in your post. And keep in mind that your audience is not always on the same page with you. Every time you post, you receive both supportive comments and angry counter-claims.
Since this question is way too big to tackle in an online publication, you decide to look for a specific angle that interests you. For example, you've heard about online higher education: independent study, online training, for-profit online programs, massively-open online courses. Do these programs solve the problem of a costly college education? What about student loans? Maybe you wonder, "What's the most profitable major?" What about dropping out or going to trade school; would that be better than getting a degree that might not mean anything to any potential employer? You think about your own experience and wonder how to make your writing project personal and meaningful to you as a college student.
Think about these issues and write a blog post arguing a specific position on this issue. Your audience is diverse, but as you write, you may want to write to policy makers who have the power to divert public funds into online education; or, you may want to write to parents or students giving them advice about the value of online learning. (Keep your audience in your mind as you write) Your blog post should have sources as hyperlinks, or in a works cited, or both. But like all good writing, the sources should have authority and convincing power. Use at least one graphic (image or table, chart, or graph) in your post. And keep in mind that your audience is not always on the same page with you. Every time you post, you receive both supportive comments and angry counter-claims.