Taking a Stand
Responding to an Image
The signs in this image identify a group and its position. What issue motivates this group? What concerns might have led to this position? Based on the image, what event do you think it portrays? What might the photographer have wanted to convey?
Both in and outside of class, you’ll hear controversial issues discussed — health care costs, immigration policy, bullying, gun legislation, disaster responses, global outsourcing of jobs, copyright issues. Such controversies may be national, regional, or local. Even in academic fields, experts don’t always agree, and issues may remain controversies for years. Taking a stand in response to such issues will help you understand the controversy and clarify what you believe. Such writing is common in editorials, letters to the editor, or columns on the op-ed page in print and online news outlets. It is also the foundation of persuasive brochures, partisan blogs, and Web pages that take a stand.
Writing of this kind has a twofold purpose — to state, and to win your readers’ respect for, an opinion. What you say might or might not change a reader’s opinion. But if you fulfill your purpose, a reader at least will see good reasons for your views. In taking a stand, you do these things:
- You state your opinion or stand.
- You give reasons with evidence to support your position.
- You enlist your readers’ trust.
- You consider and respect what your readers probably think and feel.
Why Taking a Stand Matters
In a College Course
- You take a stand in an essay or exam when you respond, pro or con, to a statement such as “The Web, like movable type for printing, is an invention that has transformed human communication.”
- You take a stand when you write research papers that support your position on juvenile sentencing, state support for higher education, or tax breaks for new home buyers.
In the Workplace
- You take a stand when you persuade others that your case report supports a legal action that will benefit your clients or that your customer-service initiative will attract new business.
In Your Community
- You take a stand when you write a letter to the editor appealing to voters to support a local bond issue.
When have you taken a stand in your writing? In what circumstances are you likely to do so again?