Types of Articles

Research
Perspectives
Impact
Creative
Common Ground
Reviews, Recognitions, Critiques

Research Articles

Aid readers in understanding the social, political, or economic issue in Lancaster or the surrounding region with the goal to provide the landscape for readers to grasp what the problem/issue is, why it is a problem/issue, who is involved, how they are involved, and when/how long this has been a problem/issue.

Articles must be backed by research and evidence and can do one of the following:

  • Define or explain an issue (including specific examples)
  • Discuss the history of an issue (the issue’s origins and how it has changed over time)
  • Synthesize the current literature of an issue, pulling together and discussing current scholarly work

Maximum length: 10 single-spaced pages (or 20 double-spaced pages)

Impact Articles

Aid readers in understanding what is being done and what can be done about the social, political, or economic issue in Lancaster or the surrounding region with the goal to show how the problem/issue can be solved by examining theories and practices associated with the issue.

Articles must be backed by research and evidence and do one of the following:

  • Examine social, political, or economic theories and make concrete suggestions for applying the theories in the Lancaster community
  • Discuss current problems, events, activities, or challenges associated with an issue, how they affect the local community, and how they can be resolved
  • Analyze and discuss current initiatives, legislation, or proposals associated with an issue and how they impact the local community
  • Analyze, compare, and evaluate politicians’ stances and actions/policies on an issue and how they affect the local community and could be brought together to address the issue 

Maximum length: 10 single-spaced pages (or 20 double-spaced pages)

Common Ground Articles

Aid readers in seeing how social, political, and economic issues in Lancaster or the surrounding region can be discussed collaboratively; how individuals with different perspectives and beliefs can empathize with each other and find a path toward change. Articles must show multiple perspectives of the issue with the end goal of finding or highlighting common ground on an issue on which authors disagree.

This submission requires:

  • Back and forth dialogue between perspectives that states multiple positions on issues, emphasizes rationales for positions, acknowledges opposing positions, asks questions, responds to questions, and continues until common ground is found/highlighted 
  • A concluding reflection that does the following:
    • Summarizes the dialogue (what the multiple perspectives have in common, how they differ, and where there is common ground)
    • Discusses the process of writing the article (the difficulty/ease in finding common ground, what authors learned, and the like)

Maximum length: 10 single-spaced pages (or 20 double-spaced pages)

Perspectives Articles

Aid readers in seeing how social, political, and economic issues in Lancaster or the surrounding region impact individuals by giving voice to important or ignored issues.

Articles must do the following:

  • Share personal stories of how an issue has impacted the writer personally and specifically
  • Use narrative structure to tell a story about what issue has affected them (and how)
  • Include reflection on the larger social, political, and/or historical context in which their own personal experience has occurred

Maximum length: 5 single-spaced pages (or 10 double-spaced)

Creative Articles

Aim to explain, define, or bring awareness to a political, social, or economic issue in Lancaster or the surrounding region.

Artifacts can include the following:

  • Art (drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography) submitted as .jpg files
  • Videos or movie shorts 
  • Short stories, poetry, or scripts (for plays, movies, episode for television show)

Maximum lengths:

  • videos limited to three minutes
  • film shorts limited to five minutes
  • scripts and short stories 10 single-spaced pages (or 20 double-spaced pages)

Reviews, Recognitions, and Critiques

Reviews

Evaluate books, films, music, art, television shows, or the like that tackle key political, social, or economic issues nationally or in Lancaster and the surrounding region.

Recognitions

Recognize an engaged individual, group, or organization doing effective work on a political, social, or economic issue in Lancaster or the surrounding region.

  • Tells what the individual/group/organization is doing, why it is beneficial, and how to get involved
  • Discusses the issue, tells how the engaged individual/group/organization is working toward that issue, and examines the impact of its work on the local community

Critiques

Identify an individual, group, or organization hampering or impeding a political, social, or economic issue.

  • Tells what the individual/group/organization is doing and why it is impeding an issue 
  • Discusses the political/social/economic issue, tells how the selected individual/group/organization is impeding that issue, and examines the negative impact on the local community

Maximum length: 3 single-spaced pages (or 6 double-spaced)