The individuals who develop a distinctive voice and a definable point of view are often loved or abhorred-but always read. They may have begun their careers assigned to mundane reporting, but their style distinguished them. Columnists have bylines and a standing column with a header.

While this list does not contain every classification of the work of columnists, it serves our purpose for a short overview of columnists.

The columns may be labeled:

1. curmudgeon
2. humor
3. review-restaurant
4. review of arts
5. science/technical
6. social commentary
7. sports
8. world/political/legal

Whether analytical or lighthearted, the columnist must structure his columns. The rhetorical strategies that we have discussed and analyzed are skillfully employed within the limited column length to effectively communicate.

The columnists will write the expected and the unexpected. Nat Hentoff will give the fullest application of The First Amendment legal position, but he will select cases that are not necessarily headliners. Marilyn Schwartz of the Dallas Morning News writes of finding a column idea: "I knew I had my column when I began to realize that politics and beauty pageants have somehow become confused with each other: 'Would someone please tell me what's going on? Why is it that Miss Montana can't wait to discuss Manuel Noriega and George Bush only seems to want to discuss his grandchildren?'"

Experiment with writing some or all of the eight types of columns. You may enjoy finding your voice. Here is a suggestion for setting up the cover page.

Cover Sheet: Title of Your Standing Column, followed by "Headline for This Particular Column." Then write a paragraph in which you state the type of column you are writing, who your column is modeled after or what strategies you are utilizing. This is to be followed by a paragraph in which you state the intended audience and why your column will appeal to this audience.

FOR EXAMPLE:

A.M. with Allison Morgan
"Dinosaurs and Other Amorphous Clumps"

COLUMN:

This is a humorous column about crazy mishaps that were personal experiences when the writer was a lifeguard. The writer focuses on two events and conveys humor through tone.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

High school students are most likely to understand the downfalls of a low-paying summer job. They can picture the neighborhood pool and the characters that gravitate toward the lifeguard. The writer assumes that the reader understands simple pool terms such as "skimmer."