Meet the winners of our Op-Ed Writing Competition, who impressed Guest Judge Francisco J. Rivera Rosario with their well-researched and emotive arguments. Read on to learn more about the young writers behind these impressive pieces.
Winner: AWriter (China)
In your winning piece, you wrote about reimagining our definition of masculinity and male identity. What made you decide to explore this topic?
My piece on masculinity and its reimagination stems from my personal experiences with this concept. Growing up as a queer kid, I have always felt that a part of me does not fit well with the conventional hallmarks of masculinity. For one, I never liked football, basketball, or any other team sports that many would expect boys to be avidly engaged in.
I think it is precisely because I have this peculiar relationship with the not-so-fitting masculinity that it becomes such a source of contemplation in my adolescent years. When my intrinsic desires, such as wanting to form a platonic relationship with girls, clash with what people think and assume about male behaviors, my intuitive reaction is to question and fight back: why should “men” act in this particular way? Why should men, or anyone, act in any particular way?
Naturally, this would have been a convenient stop for my adolescent contemplation — masculinity is bad, we should boycott it. But as I grew older, I realized that masculine traits, like any other traits, are (or at least can be) beneficial if used appropriately. What I have also realized is that not every boy has quite as problematic a relationship with masculinity as me, and it is probably not going to be very compelling if I were to ask people to abandon something they believe in and cherish.
Considering this complexity, I revisited my long-term contemplation on the idea of masculinity in a more holistic and objective lens, giving it the credit it deserves while also cautioning against an uncritical and wholesale subscription to all of its nebulous ideals. This long and contemplative journey, in turn, formed the basis of my essay.
Do you have any advice for your peers about writing and researching an op-ed?
Personally, I think an op-ed should be personal and persuasive. In fact, I think the persuasiveness of an op-ed lies precisely in its personal nature. When I write an op-ed (or any other type of writing, actually), I always want to go for things and topics that I have a genuine interest in. To me, the benefit of writing from personal interest is three-fold. One, it makes your essay engaging. When I write about something that I care deeply about, the odds are I will have some personal connection to this issue or topic that I can include in my essay to make it feel more grounded, intricate, and genuine. Take my essay on masculinity for an example, I was able to include snippets of my personal relationship with masculinity, such as my rebellious dress-wearing, that make the essay feel more accessible and (I would hope) interesting to the audience. While many of us might struggle to picture “the restraining influence of masculinity,” most of us should be able to picture a boy secretively wearing a dress and looking back at himself from the mirror.
A second benefit of writing from personal interest is that you are going to come across as more convincing. Your lived experiences or connections to this topic serve as your credentials and make you, as a writer, relevant and more trustworthy in the conversation. Suppose if I were to write this piece with the same argument but without any of the personal details. Not only will it make the piece boring, but also seems quite meaningless: after all, why should people spend their time reading something that looks similar to what they could have gotten from ChatGPT?
Another benefit accorded by writing with personal interest is that your arguments are likely to be a lot more nuanced than they would otherwise be. Many times, it takes lived and living experiences to actually know how a topic and issue works in the real-world context. Because I lived, albeit uncomfortably, with ideas and expectations of masculinity for my whole life, it was easy for me to pinpoint what was not working (i.e., its overly restraining influence on my personal choices and behaviour) and what was working (i.e., certain values and principles behind “masculine expectations”) and what we should do to progress into a better age with a more inclusive notion of masculinity. Say if I were to write about femininity and its relationship to girls, an equally important and discussion-worthy topic, I would not be able to contribute as much as I could for the discussion on masculinity because I do not have the same experiences in relation to femininity.
While there are definitely more reasons why it is important to be personal in an op-ed, I think this is the bottom line. An op-ed is, first and foremost, a type of journalism that gives agency and voice to each and every individual. So to make your op-ed truly representative of you and your voice, you need to write from a place that you know best.
Runner-Up: Annika Reine A. Remigio (Philippines)
Guest Judge Francisco J. Rivera Rosario commented that your essay showed "an author who is thinking deeply about what they value in life". Where did these reflections come from and how did you develop them into an op-ed?
Last summer, I visited my family on my dad’s side for the first time in Canada. I was blown away by the modern city life and the amazing people, but the trip came to me as a personal reflection. With my cousins, aunts, uncles, and even my older siblings living there, I realized how lonely I was living across the world from them, which drove me towards my dreams of studying abroad. However, in school, the talk of “serving your country” followed me everywhere, because being a scholar kind of forces you into such a mindset. College plans were also all my friends and I talked about, so the mixed thoughts made me doubtful of my decisions. When I joined the competition, this was my greatest dilemma, so I felt compelled to share my take on it knowing that my fellow students also feel uncertain about their future. I was determined to flip the negative perspective of brain drain around and show that there’s nothing wrong with dreaming beyond your shores.
How did you find the right balance between personal experience and fact in your piece?
Through my experience as a STEM student, I aimed for my piece to convey both my personal beliefs and the facts that support them. I wanted to share my story as a young scholar who is navigating through the endeavors of making career decisions, because I was taught by my English teachers that personal anecdotes can make a piece more relatable and impactful. At the same time, I chose to include relevant facts and details to enhance the credibility of my work and highlight the presence of the issue, as instilled in me by my mentors in science and research. Overall, the balance between fact and experience in my piece comes from an integration of all my acquired skills from both the humanities and the sciences, showing that both are equally great at making a writing piece stand out, no matter the type.
Best Peer Review: Emily Brown (Australia)
What first drew you to review this piece?
Something I love about the Write the World community is that no one needs to be afraid of asking for help as they grow—whether that be through requesting feedback, comments, or just plain encouragement as they continue their writing journey. I was honoured to be asked to review this piece. There's nothing quite like the feeling of being asked for your opinion, and having your feedback be valued. Since I'm a homeschooler myself, this incredible young writer's article on homeschooling drew me in immediately as it was a topic close to my heart. And even if it hadn't been, I make a point to read and value a writer's creation before critiquing their words. Writing is such a vulnerable art! I try to take the time to recognize that.
Reviewing is about much more than just the first impression of a piece, so what initially drew me to review this piece was not what kept me there. I'm extremely grateful that I was asked to review this piece—not because my review placed in the competition (although I'm so happy about that too!) but because I was given the opportunity to be helpful to another writer. That, ultimately, is what I love most about reviewing.
What are your favourite genres to peer review?
Tough question! I suppose I would have to go with the genres I have the most experience with writing myself: poetry, fiction, and songwriting. I feel like I have the most to offer in these genres.
I struggle to review pieces in styles I'm not accustomed to, or that have content I don't agree with. Surrealist pieces, or horror stories, for example—I wouldn't know where to start! I might be able to catch typos and punctuation mistakes, but not plotholes or stereotypes, or anything along those lines.
That said, I'm happy to review just about any genre, as long as the writer understands that I have my own beliefs and opinions, and may not be the most experienced person when it comes to their genre.