Paper #1 Op-ed. Canada’s housing system and rental housing (15%)

May 13, 2020: the papers have been graded and posted on Quercus. Here is advice from Philippa Campsie who assisted me in grading the papers. Philippa Campsie Op-ed #1 advice

Write a 850 word (maximum) op-ed based on the instructions in this assignment page: PDF of Paper #1 Op-ed Assignment

Covers readings in Sessions 1 and 2. In addition to our readings and classroom discussion, examine what some of the reports listed in the attached bibliography propose.
Due at the end of the day on the Thursday after Session 2 (May 7).

Assume you have been asked by a newspaper to write an op-ed. Everyone has their complaints about aspects of housing in Canada. Based on your well-known expertise, you have been asked to think broadly and address the following: Canada’s housing system: Addressing the affordable rental housing problem.

Draw on your knowledge of Canada’s housing system and what Carver (1948) called the ultimate housing problem, rental housing for lower income Canadians. In a short article you cannot address everything but can be very specific about what should be changed.

- - Geography: This is about Canada and Canada's housing system. But you can choose to refer to Toronto, or Ontario, or simply all of Canada.
  - Use of first-person singular: In op-eds it is sometimes helpful and interesting to refer to personal experience or some first hand knowledge of something relevant (facts, an incident, an example). Use of first person singular is fine. Use of First Person in APA Style
  - You are the author of your paper. You don’t have to use phrases like, “I believe,” or "in my opinion," or “it seems to me.” We, the readers, already know that.

How to Write an Op-ed, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard PDF

Tips for Aspiring Op-Ed Writers, Bret Stephens, The New York Times PDF

Evaluation Criteria for Papers 1, 2, and 3.

These short papers need to demonstrate your ability to analyze, synthesize and critically assess the nature and politics of these housing issues.
Assert a certain position/understanding and then explain and defend yourself. This is based on classroom discussion and the readings. It is normative, i.e., your norms and values are unavoidably involved and explicitly sought.
These exercises seek a thoughtful, insightful concise summary of your current understanding and assessment of the issue (an analysis, not a description). These are not research papers – in the sense that further research is expected. Do not use footnotes or extensive quotes.
There are no wrong answers; excellent papers will demonstrate strong evidence of original thinking, good organization, capacity to analyze and synthesize; a superior grasp of the subject matter with sound critical evaluations; evidence of a knowledge base derived from extensive reading of the literature in this course.

Examples of Op-eds

- - Why Inequality Matters, by Paul Krugman, December 15, 2013 PDF
  - COVID-19 is wake-up call for governments on household financial security, by Alan Broadbent et al., March 24, 2020 PDF

Governments have professionals draft op-eds to help them define/frame a policy issue

- - Canada’s renewed commitment to housing, by Adam Vaughan MP and Jean-Yves Duclos, MP, minister responsible for housing, May 4, 2017 PDF
  - Housing should be affordable, by Evan Siddall, president and CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. June 27, 2019 PDF

Two of my op-eds

- - No, Ottawa has not put forth a national housing strategy, by David Hulchanski, December 4, 2017 PDF
  - The invention of homelessness, by David Hulchanski, September 18, 2010 PDF