Editorial comment
Assignment Instructions: As a social worker, you may be asked by your agency to write an Editorial comment publicly at
a meeting, or serve as an expert witness in court regarding a social policy or law. As such, you
must be able research effectively, summarize the content of your sources, assess their
usefulness, and share information with others who may be less familiar with the law or social
policy.
Assignment
You have already selected a recent Texas law or a policy that was enacted in September 2023 or
you selected an issue of public policy or a proposed law currently being debated in the 2025
Texas State Legislative session. You have written an annotated bibliography and used that
assignment to write an academic synthesis. Now that you have done the preparatory work, it is
time to write your researched, argumentative social policy paper.
For the final assignment of the semester, you will take your research and write an argument
where you take a position on the law or the public policy you selected. This will take the form
of a letter to the editor. For our purposes your essay will be longer than the examples in our
text (see pgs. 98-105). You are strongly urged to recycle your text from the annotated bib and
the synthesis. But be careful. What I don’t want to see is simply a copy & paste from the
synthesis into the social policy paper. Be smart. Be selective.
Sources
You will need a minimum of 6 sources. You must use at least 4 of the sources from your
synthesis. You can add fresh sources and may need to do so for your counterargument.
Audience
You will select a real publication for your letter to the editor; although, you are not required
to send it out. The purpose here is for you to have a real audience for your argument. To tailor
your argument to your audience, you will have to have an idea of who reads/views the
publication. That way you can connect your argument to Houston and/or Texas, specifically.
You are free to select any Texas or Greater Houston area publication, and it can be in any
form, ranging from traditional print to social media to websites. The publication can also be in
any language you choose, but you will write this assignment in English.
If you are at a loss for how to find a publication, start searching these websites:
https://www.stateofdigitalpublishing.com/digital-media-publishing-companies/houston/
https://www.outreachlabs.com/media-outlets/houston-publications/
https://queondamagazine.com/
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/la-voz/
https://www.texastribune.org/
Tips for writing
• Do not omit information, exaggerate or misrepresent
• Cite relevant facts and/or experiences
• If you are directly affected by the law or policy, be sure to acknowledge this and explain how
and why
• If you include a proposal that has financial costs, say what they are and defend them.
• Always connect your argument to relevant human values
Format/Length
A minimum of four (4) pages or 1000 words, not including the Reference page. Present your work
using the APA format, with a title page and a running head. NO abstract is needed.
Rubric/Criteria
? an introduction that states why you care about this law or policy
? a background section that defines the law or policy and its importance
? an arguable, clear thesis that states your position
? multiple, focused supporting paragraphs for your position that uses relevant examples
and sources to humanize the law or policy
? a counterargument that represents an alternative position
? a conclusion that briefly summarizes the reasons for your position AND makes
recommendations for action
? meets word count of at least 1000 words, not including reference page
? sentences are relatively free from error so that the meaning is understandable
? effective use of sources that are documented using APA throughout the body.
? an APA formatted Reference page
Paper Format: APA
Answer preview to Editorial comment
APA
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