{"id":5954,"date":"2009-07-04T09:31:00","date_gmt":"2009-07-04T14:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=5954"},"modified":"2009-07-04T09:31:40","modified_gmt":"2009-07-04T14:31:40","slug":"5954","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2009\/07\/5954\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of an Op Ed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"dukeellington-anatomy\"I authored an opinion piece in support of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court that was published in the June 28, 2009 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.\u00a0 You can read the piece here<\/a> (and you can read a “dueling” piece authored by Rick Esenberg here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u00a0What follows is a deconstruction of my own op ed piece.\u00a0 The final product as it appeared in the newspaper has its origins in the fundamentals of logic and rhetoric.\u00a0 Law students, in particular, may be interested in the way in which I employ several classic techniques of persuasive writing in order to make my case.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Believe in Your Argument<\/em>: It is not necessary to have an angel for a client, but it helps.\u00a0 The most accomplished persuasive writing techniques will not hide the fact that your argument is a stinker.\u00a0 My task is to persuade the reader that my belief – that Judge Sotomayor is a moderate jurist who should be confirmed to the Supreme Court-is one that they should adopt as well.\u00a0 If I do not believe my own argument, I will not succeed in convincing the reader.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Know Your Audience<\/em>:\u00a0 My language is directed towards the non-specialist, so I consciously avoided legal technicalities.\u00a0 Also, I assume that the average newspaper reader will be skimming the text rather than fully engaged in my arguments.\u00a0 Therefore, I utilize simple and direct sentences as opposed to rhetorical questions or complex syllogisms that require greater concentration to follow.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I also presume that a large segment of the public is already persuaded to either support or oppose the Sotomayor nomination.\u00a0 This segment of the public is not likely to be swayed by my arguments.\u00a0 Therefore, the tone and the specific arguments that I adopt are specifically designed to appeal to persuadable Republicans and\/or wavering Democrats.\u00a0 This leads to a focus on mainstream issues such as crime and away from “hot button” issues such as Affirmative Action.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Establish Connection Between Reader and Subject Matter<\/em>: Hispanics can be perceived as the “other” in our society, which immediately renders Hispanics as objects of suspicion or distrust in the media.\u00a0 By opening with a Spanish phrase, I attempt to confront this perception by bringing it to the foreground.\u00a0 However, I reveal that the Spanish phrase I invoke actually reflects a shared, non-threatening value (people should treat each other with common decency).\u00a0 This invites the reader to focus on the commonalities between Hispanics and non-Hispanics, rather than on the differences.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Maximize the Gender Gap<\/em>:\u00a0 Among my target audience, women are more likely to be open to persuasion given Judge Sotomayor’s position as the third woman nominated to the Supreme Court.\u00a0 In my conversations with women about the nomination, I have noticed that the first subject that comes up is invariably the excellent qualifications of Judge Sotomayor.\u00a0 Many women in the workplace feel that male co-workers ignore or minimize their qualifications, focusing on their gender rather than their talent.\u00a0 These women will respond to arguments that Judge Sotomayor is being treated the same way.<\/p>\n

\u00a0On the other hand, the “empathy” argument invoked against Judge Sotomayor plays on gender stereotypes.\u00a0 Women are often portrayed in the media as nurturing and caring, and therefore not strong enough to protect society from threats such as violent crime.\u00a0 At the same time, a fear of violent crime is often used as a rhetorical device to prevent wavering women voters from abandoning a political party’s preferred candidate (i.e., the Willie Horton example).<\/p>\n

\u00a0By focusing on Judge Sotomayor’s “tough-on-crime” reputation, I anticipate and counter both the negative aspect of the “empathy” charge as well as a particular wedge issue of concern to many women.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Appeal to the Reader’s Emotion<\/em>: The piece makes a very clear and specific appeal to the emotions of the reader.\u00a0 The words “shame” or shameless” are employed three times-twice in the opening paragraphs and again in the final paragraph.\u00a0 The reader is asked to conclude that Judge Sotomayor is being subjected to unfair criticism, and to feel sympathy towards her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Appeal to Authority<\/em>: I do not expect the reader to believe my arguments based solely upon my own authority.\u00a0 Therefore, I appeal to other sources of authority in order to support the point that Judge Sotomayor is a moderate judge.\u00a0 I refer to objective reviewers of her record, and in fact there are many such objective reviews available on the internet (on SCOTUS Blog or from the Congressional Research Service).\u00a0 I also consciously include a sentence that summarizes the results of a review of 100 opinions in which Judge Sotomayor participated involving race-based claims.\u00a0 Used judiciously, numbers and statistics can impart an aura of objectivity to a piece of persuasive writing.\u00a0 I also appeal to endorsements of Judge Sotomayor by national law enforcement organizations and by other appellate judges.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Do Not Dodge Your Opponent’s Best Argument<\/em>: I do not find the “wise Latina” debate to be particularly interesting or significant.\u00a0 However, given that those opposed to Judge Sotomayor’s nomination have made this the centerpiece of their campaign, it is necessary to raise and respond to this argument.\u00a0 The most effective way to do this is to simply place her words back into the context from which they were severed.\u00a0\u00a0 I also try to turn the “empathy” criticism into a positive by invoking Judge Sotomayor’s empathy towards the victims of crime.\u00a0 This signals to the reader that a judge’s empathy can benefit groups that are not defined along racial or gender lines, and that empathy can be a desirable attribute in a judge.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Turn Your Opponents Rhetoric on Its Head<\/em>:\u00a0 The task of Judge Sotomayor’s opponents is to argue that she is an extremist and that the evidence supports this characterization of her record.\u00a0 I argue that by opposing a true moderate, it is her opponents who are extreme.\u00a0 I invite the reader to question the very ideological framework that conservative critics are using when they evaluate Judge Sotomayor.\u00a0 If she is not acceptable to them, who is?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Persuasive writing is a skill that is learned, and not a talent that comes naturally.\u00a0 Go back and re-read the piece in light of this deconstruction.\u00a0 By revealing the anatomy beneath my opinion piece, I hope that our students will understand why this is a skill worth developing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I authored an opinion piece in support of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court that was published in the June 28, 2009 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.\u00a0 You can read the piece here (and you can read a “dueling” piece authored by Rick Esenberg here). \u00a0What follows is a deconstruction of my 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