Learn at Lunch: Jim Engell '73

Make Your Voice Heard:

How to Write and Submit an Op-Ed

Beginning in 1978 Jim Engell AB '73 taught literature and then also environmental issues at Harvard. He retired in 2024 as Gurney Research Professor of English and Comparative Literature. For 20 years he taught a course on rhetoric, too. Its online HarvardX version, "Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking,” has enrolled more than 900,000 learners. In that course he includes writing op-eds and speeches and has published op-eds in major and local newspapers. He believes that education in writing and speaking should include a sense of civic engagement.

Jim will present pointers on writing and submitting an op-ed and a letter to the editor. These pointers are not specific to a particular issue, they are applicable to almost all issues. You’re able to submit an op-ed or letter to the editor of many newspapers and publications, not your local ones only. There will be ample room for questions.