Opinion / 107STEP 8: Proofreading—Checking the Details
When you have revised to the best of your ability, prepare your final draft. Then,
check for punctuation, grammar, mechanics, and usage. Refer to Part IV for rules
and examples to guide your proofreading process.
saMPle oPinion PaPer
The following opinion essay adheres to the characteristics set out above. [Compare
with the Sample for Social Sciences in Chapter 13, Persuasion, and with Editorial
Letters in Chapter 26, Letters. These samples show how the same subject is handled for
different purposes.]
The Eighth District Congressional Race
Two qualified candidates have conducted their equally active campaigns to influence the voters
of the eighth District. Democrat Jerrald Kinsingtonne and Republican Rodney Brolliette repre-
sent their parties well and have conducted themselves as gentlemen in what historically has
been a sometimes less than gentlemanly race. Both deserve commendations for that. One man,
however, has offered voters in the Eighth District at least three reasons to earn their support.
As a conservative, Brolliette has taken a tough stand against illegal drugs, demanding unan-
nounced testing of all city, state, and federal employees. Kinsingtonne, while also opposing
illegal drug use, believes the drug testing proposed by his opponent may well be illegal. His
respect for individual rights and concern for innocent victims makes him wary of possibly illegal
measures. He cites test cases in which non-drug users tested positive as a result of recent
surgery or as a result of legal, doctor-prescribed medications. At the same time, known users
tested negative because they bought “legal” urine and made a quick transfer of specimens.
Instead of such testing, then, Kinsingtonne believes a crackdown on illegal drug dealers—
more arrests and stiffer penalties—may better serve to halt the drain on the nation’s economic
resources. His alternative protects honest citizens from undue harassment.
As a result of the recent controversy over a proposed hazardous-waste incinerator to be
located in the heart of the Eighth District, voters have had the opportunity to examine the
environmental position of the two candidates. Kinsingtonne announced his opposition early,
risking the ire of construction workers who would likely build that plant as well as the ire of the
general public who looked forward to 30 additional jobs in the area. As local environmentalists
explained to the public the inherent dangers of the incinerator and pointed out its proximity to
a major earthquake fault and the water supply for over half of the district, citizens joined the
opposition. Only then, when it seemed popular, did Brolliette take a position, ironically one mir-
roring the apparently successful Kinsingtonne stand. Perhaps only the more aggressive candi-
date will help successfully fight the proposed plant.