editorial page assignment

How To Write An Editorial (7 Easy Steps, Examples, & Guide)

Writing an editorial is one of those things that sounds like it should be pretty straightforward. Easy, even.

But then you sit down to start typing. Your fingers freeze over the keyboard. You gaze into the perfectly blank white space of your computer screen.

Wait , you think. How do I write an editorial ?

Here’s how to write an editorial:

• Choose a newsworthy topic (Something with broad interest)
• Choose a clear purpose (This will guide your entire process)
• Select an editorial type (Opinion, solution, criticism, persuasive, etc)
• Gather research (Facts, quotes, statistics, etc)
• Write the editorial (Using an Editorial Template that includes an introduction, argument, rebuttal, and conclusion)
• Write the headline (Title)
• Edit your editorial (Grammar, facts, spelling, structure, etc)

In this article, we’ll go through each of these steps in detail so that you know exactly how to write an editorial.

What Is an Editorial? (Quick Definition)

Table of Contents

Before we jump into the mechanics of how to write an editorial, it’s helpful to get a good grasp on the definition of editorials.

Here is a simple definition to get us started:

An editorial is a brief essay-style piece of writing from a newspaper, magazine, or other publication. An editorial is generally written by the editorial staff, editors, or writers of a publication.

Of course, there’s a lot more to it than simply dashing out an essay.

There is the purpose, different types of editorials, elements of a good editorial, structure, steps to writing an editorial, and the actual mechanics of writing your editorial.

“In essence, an editorial is an opinionated news story.” – Alan Weintraut

What Is the Purpose of an Editorial?

The purpose of an editorial is to share a perspective, persuade others of your point of view, and possibly propose a solution to a problem.

The most important part is to pick one purpose and stick to it.

Rambling, incoherent editorials won’t do. They won’t get you the results or the response you might want.

When it comes to purpose, you want:

• Singular focus
• Personal connection

The first two probably make sense with no explanation. That last one (personal connection) deserves more attention.

The best editorials arise from personal passions, values, and concerns. You will naturally write with vigor and voice. Your emotion will find its way into your words.

Every bit of this will make your editorials instantly more compelling.

What Are the Different Types of Editorials?

There are two main types of editorials and a number of different subtypes.

One of the first steps in how to write an editorial is choosing the right type for your intended purpose or desired outcome.

The two main types of editorials:

Opinion Editorial

In an opinion editorial, the author shares a personal opinion about a local or national issue.

The issue can be anything from local regulations to national human trafficking.

Typically, the topic of an editorial is related to the topics covered in the publication. Some publications, like newspapers, cover many topics.

Solution Editorial

In a solution editorial, the author offers a solution to a local or national problem.

It’s often recommended for the author of solution editorials to cite credible sources as evidence for the validity of the proposed solution (BTW, research is also important for opinion editorials).

There are also several editorial subtypes based on purpose:

• Explain (you can explain a person, place, or thing)
• Criticism (you can critically examine a person, place, or thing)
• Praise (celebrate a person, place, or thing)
• Defend (you can defend a person, place, or thing)
• Endorsement (support a person, place, or thing)
• Catalyst (for conversation or change)

How To Write an Editorial (7 Easy Steps)

As a reminder, you can write an editorial by following seven simple steps.

• Choose a topic
• Choose a purpose
• Select an editorial type
• Gather research
• Write the editorial
• Write the headline
• Edit your editorial

If you want a short, visual explanation of how to write an editorial, check out this video from a bona fide New York Times Editor:

1) Choose a Newsworthy Topic

How do you choose a topic for your editorial?

You have several options. Your best bet is to go with a topic about which you feel strongly and that has broad appeal.

Consider these questions:

• What makes you angry?
• What makes your blood boil?
• What gets you excited?
• What is wrong with your community or the world?

When you write from a place of passion, you imbue your words with power. That’s how to write an editorial that resonates with readers.

2) Choose a Purpose

The next step for how to write an editorial is to choose your purpose.

What do you want to accomplish with your editorial? What ultimate outcome do you desire? Answering these questions will both focus your editorial and help you select the most effective editorial type.

Remember: a best practice is honing in on one specific purpose.

Your purpose might be:

• To trigger a specific action (such as voting)
• To raise awareness
• To change minds on an issue

3) Select a type

Now it’s time to select the best editorial type for your writing. Your type should align with your purpose.

In fact, your purpose probably tells you exactly what kind of editorial to write.

First, determine which major type of editorial best fits your purpose. You can do this by asking yourself, “Am I giving an opinion or offering a solution?”

Second, select your subtype. Again, look to your purpose. Do you want to explain? Persuade? Endorse? Defend?

Select one subtype and stick to it.

4) Gather Research

Don’t neglect this important step.

The research adds value, trust, credibility, and strength to your argument. Think of research as evidence. What kind of evidence do you need?

You might need:

• Research findings

All of these forms of evidence strengthen your argument.

Shoot for a mix of evidence that combines several different variations. For example, include an example, some statistics, and research findings.

What you want to avoid:

• Quote, quote, quote
• Story, story, story

Pro tip: you can find research articles related to your topic by going to Google Scholar.

For other evidence, try these sources:

• US Census Bureau
• US Government
• National Bureau of Economic Research

You might also want to check with your local librarian and community Chamber of Commerce for local information.

5) Write Your Editorial

Finally, you can start writing your editorial.

Aim to keep your editorial shorter than longer. However, there is no set length for an editorial.

For a more readable editorial, keep your words and sentences short. Use simple, clear language. Avoid slang, acronyms, or industry-specific language.

If you need to use specialized language, explain the words and terms to the reader.

The most common point of view in editorials is first person plural. In this point of view, you use the pronouns “we” and “us.”

When writing your editorial, it’s helpful to follow an Editorial Template. The best templates include all of the essential parts of an editorial.

Here is a basic Editorial template you can follow:

Introduction Response/Reaction Evidence Rebuttal Conclusion

Here is a brief breakdown of each part of an editorial:

Introduction: The introduction is the first part of an editorial. It is where the author introduces the topic that they will be discussing. In an editorial, the author typically responds to a current event or issue.

Response/Reaction: The response/reaction is the part of the editorial where the author gives their opinion on the topic. They state their position and give reasons for why they believe what they do.

Evidence: The evidence is typically a series of facts or examples that support the author’s position. These can be statistics, quotations from experts, or personal experiences.

Rebuttal: The rebuttal is the part of the editorial where the author addresses any arguments or counter-arguments that may be raised against their position. They refute these arguments and offer additional evidence to support their point of view.

Conclusion: The conclusion is the last part of an editorial. It wraps up the author’s argument and provides a final statement on the topic.

6) Write The Headline

Your headline must be catchy, not clickbait. There’s a fine line between the two, and it’s not always a clear line.

Characteristics of a catchy headline:

• Makes the reader curious
• Includes at least one strong emotion
• Clearly reveals the subject of the editorial
• Short and sweet
• Doesn’t overpromise or mislead (no clickbait)

Your headline will either grab a reader’s attention or it will not. I suggest you spend some time thinking about your title. It’s that important. You can also learn how to write headlines from experts.

Use these real editorial headlines as a source of inspiration to come up with your own:

• We Came All This Way to Let Vaccines Go Bad in the Freezer?
• What’s the matter with Kansas?
• War to end all wars
• Still No Exit
• Zimbabwe’s Stolen Election
• Running out of time
• Charter Schools = Choices

Suggested read: How To Write an Autobiography

7) Edit Your Editorial

The final step is to edit and proofread your editorial.

You will want to check your editorial for typos, spelling, grammatical, and punctuation mistakes.

I suggest that you also review your piece for structure, tone, voice, and logical flaws.

Your editorial will be out in the public domain where any troll with a keyboard or smartphone (which, let’s be honest, is everyone) can respond to you.

If you’ve done your job, your editorial will strike a nerve.

You might as well assume that hordes of people might descend on your opinion piece to dissect every detail. So check your sources. Check the accuracy of dates, numbers, and figures in your piece.

Double-check the spelling of names and places. Make sure your links work.

Triple-check everything.

Editorial Structures and Outlines

As you learn how to write an editorial, you have many choices.

One choice is your selection of structure.

There are several editorial structures, outlines, and templates. Choose the one that best fits your topic, purpose, and editorial type.

Every editorial will have a beginning, middle, and end.

Here are a few specific structures you can use:

• Problem, Solution, Call to Action
• Story, Message, Call to Action
• Thesis, Evidence, Recommendation
• Your View, Opposing Views, Conclusion

How Do You Start an Editorial?

A common way to start an editorial is to state your point or perspective.

Here are a few other ways to start your editorial:

• The problem
• Startling statement
• Tell a story
• Your solution

Other than the headline, the beginning of your editorial is what will grab your reader.

If you want to write an editorial that gets read, then you must write a powerful opening.

How Do You End an Editorial?

You can end with a call-to-action, a thoughtful reflection, or a restatement of your message.

Keep in mind that the end of your editorial is what readers will most likely remember.

You want your ending to resonate, to charge your reader with emotion, evidence, and excitement to take action.

After all, you wrote the editorial to change something (minds, policies, approaches, etc.).

In a few sections (see below), you will learn a few simple templates that you can “steal” to help you end your editorial. Of course, you don’t have to use the templates.

They are just suggestions.

Often, the best way to conclude is to restate your main point.

What Makes a Good Editorial?

Even if you learn how to write an editorial, it doesn’t mean the editorial will automatically be good. You may be asking, What makes a good editorial ?

A good editorial is clear, concise, and compelling.

Therefore, the best editorials are thought out with a clear purpose and point of view. What you want to avoid is a rambling, journal-type essay. This will be both confusing and boring to the reader.

That’s the last thing you want.

Here are some other elements of a good editorial:

• Clear and vivid voice
• Interesting point of view
• Gives opposing points of view
• Backed up by credible sources
• Analyzes a situation

“A good editorial is contemporary without being populist.” —Ajai Singh and Shakuntala Singh

How Do You Know If You’ve Written a Good Editorial?

Many people want to know how to tell if they have written a good editorial.

How do you know?

You can tell by the response you get from the readers. A good editorial sparks a community conversation. A good editorial might also result in some type of action based on the solution you propose.

An article by Ajai Singh and Shakuntala Singh in Mens Sana Monograph says this about good editorials:

It tackles recent events and issues, and attempts to formulate viewpoints based on an objective analysis of happenings and conflicting/contrary opinions. Hence a hard-hitting editorial is as legitimate as a balanced equipoise that reconciles apparently conflicting positions and controversial posturings, whether amongst politicians (in news papers), or amongst researchers (in academic journals).

Note that newsworthy events, controversy, and balance matter in editorials.

It’s also a best practice to include contradicting opinions in your piece. This lends credibility and even more balance to your peice.

Editorial Examples & Templates

As you write your own editorial, study the following example templates “stolen” from real editorials.

You can use these templates as “sentence starters” to inspire you to write your own completely original sentences.

Phrases for the beginning:

• It’s been two weeks since…
• Look no further than…
• The country can’t…

Phrases for the middle:

• That’s an astonishing failure
• It should never have come to this
• Other [counties, states, countries, etc.] are…
• Within a few days…
• Not everyone shares my [opinion, pessimism, optimism]
• Officials say…

Phrases for the end:

• Let’s commit to…
• Finally…
• If we can…we will…

Honestly, the best way to learn how to write an editorial is to read and study as many published editorials as possible. The more you study, the better you will understand what works.

Study more editorials at these links:

• New York Times editorials
• USA Today editorials
• The Washington Post

How To Write an Editorial for Students

Writing an editorial for students is virtually the same as writing an editorial at any other time.

However, your teacher or professor might give you specific instructions, guidelines, and restrictions. You’ll want to read all of these thoroughly, get clarity, and follow the “rules” as much as possible.

Writing an editorial is a skill that will come in handy throughout your life. Whether you’re writing a letter to the editor of your local paper or creating a post for your blog, being able to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively is an important skill. Here are some tips to help you write an effective editorial:

• Know your audience. Who are you writing for? What are their concerns and interests? Keep this in mind as you craft your message.
• Make a clear argument. What is it that you want your readers to know? What do you want them to do? Be sure to state your case clearly and concisely.
• Support your argument with evidence. Use facts, statistics, and expert opinions to make your case.
• Use strong language . Choose words that will resonate with your readers and make them want to take action.
• Be persuasive, not blasting. You want your readers to be convinced by your argument, not turned off by aggressive language. Stay calm and collected as you make your case.

By following these tips, you can write an effective student editorial that will get results.

What Is an Editorial In a Newspaper?

The editorial section of a newspaper is where the publication’s editorial board weighs in on important issues facing the community. This section also includes columns from guest writers and staff members, as well as letters to the editor.

The editorial board is made up of the publication’s top editors, who are responsible for setting the tone and direction of the paper.

In addition to op-eds, the editorial section also features editorials, which are written by the editorial board and represent the official position of the paper on an issue.

While editorial boards may lean one way or another politically, they strive to present both sides of every issue in a fair and unbiased way.

Ultimately, the goal of the editorial section is to promote thoughtful discussion and debate on the topics that matter most to readers.

Final Thoughts: How To Write an Editorial

Whew , we have covered a lot of ground in this article. I hope that you have gained everything you need to know about how to write an editorial.

There are a lot of details that go into writing a good editorial.

If you get confused or overwhelmed, know that you are not alone. Know that many other writers have been there before, and have struggled with the same challenges.

Mostly, know that you got this .

Related posts:

• How To Write an Ode (7 Easy Steps & Examples)
• Jasper Commands Template: Ultimate Guide + 300 Commands
• Best AI Essay Writer (With Examples)
• The Best Writing Books for Beginners

National Institute of Health (On Editorials)

1 thought on “How To Write An Editorial (7 Easy Steps, Examples, & Guide)”

Pingback: How To Write a Manifesto: 20 Ultimate Game-Changing Tips - CHRISTOPHER KOKOSKI

Comments are closed.

The New York Times

The learning network | for the sake of argument: writing persuasively to craft short, evidence-based editorials.

For the Sake of Argument: Writing Persuasively to Craft Short, Evidence-Based Editorials

Language Arts

Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.

• See All in Language Arts »
• See All Lesson Plans »

Overview | How can writing change people’s worldview? How can it influence public opinion? How can it lead to meaningful action?

The persuasive essay is a quintessential high school writing assignment. With the Common Core standards, it seems to have taken on a new urgency in many school districts and classrooms. But students should know that evidence-based persuasive writing is more than just an academic exercise — it is very much alive in the real world. Perhaps one of the best and most widely recognized examples of persuasive writing in action is the classic newspaper editorial, three to four of which The New York Times publishes every day.

In this lesson, we offer suggestions on how to guide students through the writing process when writing editorials — from brainstorming a topic to publishing their work — and all the steps in between. This lesson can be used in conjunction with our Student Contest on editorial writing, or with any argumentative writing project you do with students.

Materials | Computers with Internet access. Optional copies of one or more of these three handouts: Debatable Issues (PDF), Problem-Solution Organizer (PDF), and the rubric for our Student Editorial Contest (PDF).

Step 1 | Brainstorming: What Do You Care About?

Finding the right topic is essential. Students should pick something that a) they genuinely care about; b) other people would want to read about; c) they can make an argument about; and d) they can find evidence about to support their claim.

You might get students started brainstorming ideas by having them journal about or discuss with partners questions like:

• What would you like to change if you could? What problems or policies do you think should be addressed — whether something global, like climate change, or something closer to home, like a later start time for your high school classes? Make as long a list as you can.
• What issues, topics and fields are you passionate about? Make a list. Your list might included fields as broad as “music” or as specific as “the early days of hip-hop.” What questions or controversies in these fields do experts or fans often argue? Where do you stand?
• What do you do outside of school? What are some things you’re an expert on? What aspects of those hobbies or interests do you find yourself having to explain to others? Why?
• What issues or ideas do you often find yourself discussing or arguing about with friends, your family or online?
• What issues or controversies have you followed recently in current events? What are your opinions about them? What might you need more information about?

Students can then share their ideas and, as a whole class, compile a list on the board or on a class blog or wiki.

To open the class to even more ideas, you might then invite students look through our list of 200 Student Opinion questions that invite argument . Not only can this list help students pick a topic, but each question links to a relevant New York Times article, which may be very helpful when students begin to look for evidence.

A Note on Collaboration: The editorial writing process at The New York Times is done collaboratively . That means, a team of writers works together from choosing a topic through researching it and drafting the writing. Teachers may want to give students opportunities to collaborate on their editorials as well, whether for only one step of the project, such as research, or from beginning to end.

RELATED RESOURCES

From the learning network.

• Student Contest | Write an Editorial on an Issue That Matters to You
• Skills Practice | Persuading an Audience Using Logos, Pathos and Ethos
• 10 Ways to Develop Expository Writing Skills With The New York Times

From NYTimes.com

• Archive of Editorials

Around the Web

• Online Writing Lab | Conducting Research

Step 2 | Modeling: What Is An Editorial?

To help students envision what they will be writing, it is worth spending time discussing what an editorial is and looking at some examples.

Ask students: What is an editorial? Have you ever read any? Where would you find one? What do you think is the purpose of an editorial?

We selected three recent examples from the Times editorial page that students can look over as models, though you or your students may pick others from the thousands in the Opinion archives :

• Firearms’ Toll Among the Young (267 words)
• Zero Traffic Fatalities (277 words)
• The Globalization of Pollution (397 words)

Have students choose an editorial to read on their own or as a whole class. As they read, have them note:

• What is the opinion or call to action in this editorial?
• What evidence does it use to make its argument?
• How persuasive do you find the editorial? Is it effective?
• What do you notice about the language and tone of the editorial? About other choices the writer(s) have made?

Students may want make annotations or use highlighters as they read, then discuss their findings as a class.

Note: You may want students to look at the rubric you will be using to grade their editorials before they start the research and writing process. Here is our the rubric (PDF) that we are using for our Student Contest .

Step 3 | Researching: What Do the Experts Say?

Once students have selected a topic, they should begin their research by gathering background information. That might mean reading newspaper articles, consulting an encyclopedia, finding reliable websites or reaching out to an expert to make sure they have enough context about why their topic is important to write a strong persuasive essay.

As they do their research, students can take notes using index cards or in a notebook, or they can use our Debatable Issues (PDF) handout. Alternatively, if students plan to offer a solution to a problem in their editorial, they may want to use our Problem-Solution Organizer (PDF).

For more detail about the nitty-gritty of the research process, the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University provides a guide to conducting research that can be helpful with areas such as evaluating source reliability and doing Internet searches.

Students can find articles in The Times by using the search feature . For our contest, we ask that students have at least one Times and one non-Times source for their evidence, although of course we hope most will read far beyond that requirement as they learn about the topic.

Students might be grouped by common interests to work together during the research portion of this process, then write individual editorials, or they might do the entire assignment in partners or as a group.

How to Write an Editorial

The New York Times’s editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal provides seven tips for writing an effective editorial.

Steps 4 and 5 | Outlining and Drafting; Revising and Editing: How Do You Write an Editorial?

Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor at The Times, explains in this brief video that a good editorial consists of “a clear position that is strongly and persuasively argued.” He then goes on to recommend seven pointers for students.

1. Know your bottom line. “You have to know what you want to say. You have to have a clear opinion — what we call a bottom line.” 2. Be concise. “You need to get to the point of your editorial quickly. You have to state it clearly and you have to be concise.” 3. Give an opinion or solution. “There are basically two kinds of editorials. One expresses an opinion about a situation, like if you want to write about human rights abuses in some part of the world or the country that you’re concerned about. The other kind of editorial proposes a solution to a specific problem. For example, if you want to write about traffic congestion in northern New Jersey, where I live and there’s a lot of traffic, you should have an answer to how to fix the traffic problem.” 4. Do your research. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, you’re not entitled to your own facts. Go online, make calls if you can, check your information, double-check it. There’s nothing that will undermine your argument faster than a fact you got wrong, that you did not have to get wrong.” 5. Write clearly. “Good writing is important. Make your writing clear and easy to understand. Write as if you’re sending a letter to a well-informed friend who cares about what you think. But don’t use any slang. OMG — no. Use examples whenever you can. It’s better to use an example than just to use a word or an adjective that describes something. If you want to say that the mayor’s pre-K policy is wrong, explain how — don’t say it’s just stupid. In fact, never use the word stupid.” 6. Every writer needs an editor. “After you’ve written your editorial, give it to someone you trust to read and listen to what they say. If they don’t understand it, that means it’s probably not clear.” 7. Be prepared for a reaction. “When you write something and you publish it, be prepared for a reaction. If you write a good editorial, people are going to respond to it. And if you criticize people, they definitely are going to respond. So if someone writes you a letter, write them back. Be prepared to defend your position. Don’t get defensive, just explain why you said what you had to say. And if they question your facts, be ready to show that you were right.”

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University has a guide to writing argumentative essays that may also be helpful for students as they think about organizing their editorial and developing a logical argument.

Step 6 | Publishing: How Can My Editorial Reach an Audience?

Students will have the chance to publish their editorials as comments on the Learning Network on or before March 17, 2014, as part of our Student Contest . Along with our partner, the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University, we will then choose the best to publish in a separate post. But even if your students aren’t writing for our contest, the genre is meant to have an audience. That audience can start with the teacher, but it ideally shouldn’t end there.

Students can read their editorials to the class or in groups. Classmates can have a chance to respond to the author, leading to a discussion or debate. Students can try to publish their editorials in the school newspaper or other local newspapers or online forums. It is only when editorials reach a wider audience that they have the power to make change.

Teachers: How do you teach the persuasive essay? Let us know, below. And if you ever use The New York Times to do it, consider writing in to our Reader Ideas column.

This resource may be used to address the academic standards listed below.

Common Core E.L.A. Anchor Standards

1   Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

2   Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

4   Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

5   Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

6   Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

8   Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

10   Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

1   Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

4   Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

5   Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

6   Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

7   Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

8   Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

1   Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

2   Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

3   Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

6   Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

What a great lesson plan. I like the emphasis on writing as a tool to empower. The Debatable Issues PDF and the other links within this article are excellent resources. Using editorials as models is also important, as students get to see real-world application of argumentative/persuasive writing skills. The succinct list of 7 direct pointers is valuable as well. Thank you.

James Mulhern, //www.synthesizingeducation.net

We are looking at the articles that are linked to the topics on school computers. After reading a few of them, students are prompted to purchase a subscription to the Times to continue looking. Is this contest designed only for schools that have a subcription already? If so, this should be made clear in the lesson plan section. Can a short subscription be purchased?

Amy, All links to New York Times articles from the Learning Network are free, so even though your students are prompted to buy a subscription, they should still be able to click through to read the article. If students are going from article to article on the rest of NYTimes.com, however, they will be stopped after they have hit the limit of 10 free articles each month. Special subscriptions are available for schools (link: //www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/edu/lp2266.html?campaignId=3JU39 ), but they are not necessary since we only require one Times article for evidence. One way to find more free articles is to have students search their topic on our blog first, since we’ve likely done more than one post on the subject in the past. Since everything we write links back to The Times and does not “count” toward the 10-article monthly limit, that should give each reader a few more free links. Thank you for asking, and we’re sorry if these work-arounds are a bit awkward, but we hope your students will still participate. — Michael and Katherine

The article that I would like to discuss is titled “How Single Motherhood Hurts Kids”. The title itself is filled with an opinion all its own, which is understandable, but I also have an opinion on this topic as well. The article discusses the topic of transitions that the child may have to go through and the difficulties that they may have to face due to having a single parent. Though all of these are very reasonable accusations and worries, from personal experience and research there is proof that children with a single mother or parent can grow up just as good if not better than a child with both parents in the home. Divorce and parents separating is and unfathomable thing for a child to go through. So one point i would like to make clear is that I am not making divorce seem like a good thing or a good benefit for the parents or the child, but what I am going to point out is the benefits that can rise out of such a dark transition for a family. “unmarried parents here are more likely to enter into parenthood in ways guaranteed to create turmoil in their children’s lives.”(Hymowitz) Yes divorce is going to cause issues in a childs life, and cause issues that may change their life, but what people do not think about is the person that the child may become because the mother or father chose to get them out of a unhealthy relationship. The child is not doomed for unhappiness because their parents no longer live together. Another topic that came up in the article was the transitions that will occur in the childs life now that they live with only one parent now. Yes it is inevitable that the single parent in time will look to possibly remarry. But there is no problem with this fact. What people should view this as is showing that there is hope to the child. By the mother or father choosing a better life for both the child and them this will help show the child how to be independent, and help them later in life. “These children are more likely to build upon their own independence in a home where they may not always have one or both parents hovering over them” (Campbell) By this pushing them to be more independent it will help them make choices later on in life. Of course having both parents at home is ideal but in the case that they are not, it is important for people to know that there are single parents out there that have the best interest for their kids and can offer them just as good of a life as two parents.

We’re about to tackle this contest with some 300 students. I’m wondering how to search the student responses in order to determine whether or not our students uploaded a sample. Is there a way for the teacher to search in order to verify based on the “code” suggested in the instructions?

Hi Shane — I wish I could tell you it was easy to do that, but unfortunately it’s not. Short of having you search for the code on each individual comment page, what we’ve suggested in the past is that teachers make students responsible for reporting the unique URL for each of their comments in order to get credit. So, for instance, this ( //learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you/#comment-1498619 ) is the URL for the most recent comment on the contest right now, by someone called R.E. Thank you for participating, and, again, I’m sorry the system isn’t easily searchable. –Katherine

Nothing Is As It Seems It is undeniable that human beings are eager and desiring individuals who acquire a consuming craving to reveal the unknown. Uncertainty brings fear and anguish into the lives of people, which is not cured until the dilemma present is clarified. Sometimes, this intense ambition to uncover the unknown leads to false culminations and makes the unjustified, justified. One of modern society’s tremendous deceptions is found in the tragedy that happened at Columbine High School. On April 20th, 1999, fifteen gunshots echoed through the halls of Columbine High School, dreadfully ending the lives of fifteen people. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were two high school seniors who obtained a consummate anger toward the world, and proved it in a brutal and cold-blooded way. Many people perceive the Columbine disaster as being the baleful outcome of bullying. This, however, was not the case. According to David Brooks of The New York Times, “Most of these misconceptions have been exposed. The killers were not outcasts.” Klebold and Harris “laughed at petty school shooters, and they sought murder in a grander scale.” Dylan and Eric weren’t bullied, but simply rebellious, enraged, and vengeful. When this heartbreaking event happened, people all over the country began to attempt to determine the two boy’s reasoning behind this mass massacre that they executed. Since death and the media was involved, it seemed even more vital to make an immediate and reasonable closure. Furthermore, with an ongoing issue with bullying throughout schools in the United States, this catastrophic occurrence appeared to have an accessible blame. Teachers and education systems across the country used this calamity to promote an anti-bullying campaign. ‘Rachel’s Challenge’, which was named after Rachel Scott, the first person killed in Columbine, was advertised in many schools to address the importance of compassion and human kindness. By turning the story of a tragic death at Columbine High School into a mission for change, Rachel’s Challenge is helping create safer learning environments and making a world-wide impact (“Rachel’s Challenge”). Although this movement immensely benefited and continues to benefit relationships between students, bullying was falsely proclaimed as the rationalization behind this movement. The calamity of the Columbine shooting serves as patent proof that humans’ craving for answers to obscurity ultimately lead to inaccurate acquisitions. Making the unjustified seem justified is a dominant characteristic of human nature. People are in constant strive for resolutions and vindication, because to us, the unknown is unbearable. It is crucial for a cessation to be made only after thorough observation and evaluation of the existent perplexity, for sometimes, nothing is as it seems.

Works Cited Brooks, David. “The Columbine Killers.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2004. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. “About Rachel’s Challenge.” Rachel’s Challenge. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

Enroll yourself in all honors and AP courses. Get A’s in all of your subjects. Get that GPA up. But be well-rounded. Colleges won’t like you if you’re not well-rounded. Do a sport; do a few sports and a few clubs too. Go to those practices and meetings every week. Volunteer at the soup kitchen, and at your church. Every week. But do make sure you get your nine hours of sleep every night. Teenagers are supposed to get nine hours of sleep every night. And if you do it right, colleges will love you. But don’t forget to throw those SAT classes into the mix, because if you have a low SAT score, the colleges won’t accept you. Then, with no college acceptances, your life has been a waste for the past 18 years and you are going to have no job and live in a cardboard box. These statements constantly echo in the average teenager’s mind. Everything we do sets us up for college… SO, we better not mess up. But is the stress and the pressure really justified? Alfie Kohn states, “…students suffer intellectually as well as psychologically because the pressure to succeed academically leaves little room for exploring ideas…” The high expectations of teens, as Kohn explains it, leave little to no room for teenagers to breathe and think, thus causing an unbearable amount of stress. Alright, point noted. But this stress doesn’t really affect anyone; it’s just one of those myths everyone tells you about high school before you’re finally there…right? “Almost 40 percent of parents say their high-schooler is experiencing a lot of stress from school, according to a new NPR poll…In most cases, that stress is from academics…Homework was a leading cause of stress, with 24 percent of parents saying it’s an issue. A survey by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of all teens — 45 percent — said they were stressed by school pressures…” as well, according to Patti Neighmond of NPR. I’m guessing that earlier assumption was wrong, then. Students, as well as their parents, experience stress due to a heavy work load. The problem has been identified. Now where’s the solution? Do we lower our academic standards as a society in order to help students achieve better grades, or do we let them suffer? Do we shorten the school day so that students have more time to do homework, study, and sleep, or do we keep it the way it is? Do we give less work to ease the stress, or do we stay with the same work load to prepare the students for college? Now, is college really anything like high school? No one really knows, do they?

Works Cited Kohn, Alfie. “Reconsider Attitudes About Success.” New York Times. N.p., 12 Dec. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. < //www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/12/stress-and-the-high-school-student/reconsider-attitudes-about-success>. Neighmond, Patti. “School Stress Takes A Toll On Health, Teens And Parents Say.” National Public Radio. N.p., 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. < //www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/02/246599742/school-stress-takes-a-toll-on-health-teens-and-parents-say>.

Jessica Bowman Mrs. Otto English II Pre-AP 16 March 2014 Is Dance a sport Or an Art? Dance – “To move one’s feet or body, or both, rhythmically in a pattern of steps, especially to the accompaniment of music.” Dance is neither defined as a sport or an art. Why do people think that dance does not fall into the sport category and is only an art? The wonderful thing about dance is that it is not a sport or an art. It is both. Sport – “An athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature”. Art – “The quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” There is a fine line with any activity between sport and art. An activity requiring a person to be active and on their feet, like basketball for instance, is truly a sport. But, is shooting a ball through a hoop aesthetic and beautiful? Not really. Art is something that a person can be creative and expressive with. I’m not talking about just painting a picture. I’m talking about different ways to express one’s self, whether it be singing, or even playing an instrument. So, where does dance fit in to all of this? Why is it that when people hear the word sport, they automatically think of football, or soccer, or baseball? Dance is an athletic activity that requires much skill and can be very competitive. For instance, in the Olympics, rhythmic dancers must work diligently in order to be better than anyone else? If competing for an Olympic gold medal isn’t competitive then I don’t know what is. Dance also requires one to be physically fit. A perfect example of this is a drill team. The dancers may make all of those high kicks look easy, but coming from a drill team girl herself, no matter how much you run you will always be out of breath after a kick routine. It takes stamina to be any kind of dancer. It takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer. Dance isn’t just all about running dances over and over again for a competition. It is so much more than that. Dance is a place where you can express your feeling through your movement. It’s a place where you can let all of your stress out and just move. Dance allows one to fully use their creativity and create shapes with their body. You can tell a story through gestures and mobility. You can translate your words through your body. Dance is both beautiful and powerful. Even though it requires strength and skill, it is also appealing to look at and very enjoyable to watch. Therefore, dance is both and art and a sport.

Work Cited Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

Jamison, Judith. “The Ecstasy, and Agony, Linking Dance and Sport.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Dec. 2001. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

“Dance.VS.Sports – Dancers: Artists or Athletes?” Dance.VS.Sports – Dancers: Artists or Athletes? N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

Steven S Block 2 Mrs. Otto English II Pre-AP 17 March 2014

Should IPhone/IPads be in youth? In this day in age, technology is at our fingertips, kids and adults having easy access to information. Technology has grown rapidly all over, but mainly in the United States. With this excessive amount of technology, teachers try to use devices such as IPads and using their phones in order to do an activity in class. Especially in the Elementary schools, kids should not be using iPad to learn. This equipment is too expensive to have for children as young as second, third, or fourth grade to be accessing. These young of kids even have iPads for themselves just to play games on them! Instead of playing outside and doing something constructive, they are wasting their time on their iPhone or IPad doing pointless things for their age. Using them to learn is one thing, but playing mindless games for hours at the age of seven? Plus, kids do not need IPads in schools to learn about the real world, how do you think other people did it? Steve Almond, a writer from the New York Times in his article about technology in youth states “Frankly, I find it more disturbing that a brand-name product is being elevated to the status of mandatory school supply. I also worry that iPads might transform the classroom from a social environment into an educational subway car, each student fixated on his or her personalized educational gadget.” I believe to that when you provide technology to kids that young, they will get distracted and not actually learn. I got my first phone about five years ago and I loved it! But today, when you have third graders with the iPhone 5c, while I didn’t even get a phone until last year and I’m sixteen, it’s just ridiculous. It really isn’t the kids fault; after all, they’re not buying the phone. The Parents are really the ones to blame in my opinion. It really all depends on the kids, if they are independent or not, but it’s up to the parents really to decide. Liz Perle from The Common Sense Media claims a reminder for parents “When you hand kids phones today, you’re giving them powerful communications and production tools. They can create text, images, and videos that can be widely distributed and uploaded to Web sites. They can broadcast their status and their location. They can download just about everything in the world.” This really puts the pressure on the parents to know when their child is mature to handle these expensive, and possibly dangerous devices.

Works Cited Almond, Steve. “My Kids Are Obsessed With Technology, and It’s All My Fault.” NY Times. N.p., 21 June 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. < //www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/magazine/my-kids-are-obsessed-with-technology-and-its-all-my-fault.html?pagewanted=all&action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry721%23%2Fchild+technology> Perle, Liz. “When Should You Get Your Kid a Cell Phone?” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014 < //www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/article-when-should-you-get-kid-cell-phone.html>

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, since 1976 has killed 1,099 people as of 2008. 57% of these people were white, 34% were black, and the other 9% were other races, according to Capital punishment is not sending out a good message to the world. It is basically saying depending on who you killed and how many you killed, your right of life is taken from you. Capital punishment is known to be biased towards a race and biased towards the value of the family economically. Capital punishment takes the right of life away unnecessarily. Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, agrees that the capital punishment should not be used. He thinks that because that the main characters, Dick and Perry, killed four wealthy people in cold blood, they don’t have to be killed in cold blood as well.¬¬¬ “… four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives.” This book shows that this case touched many people because the Clutters were loved by many and because of that the case gave too harsh consequences. This sends a wrong message to the world, it is basically saying if a person is low on the hierarchy then not many people care what happens to them as much as someone who is high on the hierarchy. Though lots of people executed may have deserved the death penalty in some eyes, a very serious problem in capital punishment is executing an innocent person. If the government convicts the wrong person and that person is executed, then an innocent person has lost their right of life for no reason and can’t be given back. There have been around 10 cases in which there has been strong evidence of innocence, yet these 10 human beings were killed. The government took these people’s rights from them and they cannot give it back. Capital punishment takes rights from people that they don’t have the right to take away. Capital punishment should be abolished and so far 18 states have come to their senses and realized that the capital punishment is wrong.¬¬ ”Capital punishment is a fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty.” Capote, Truman. In cold blood: a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences. New York: Random House, 19661965. Print. Cuomo, Mario. “Death penalty is dead wrong: It’s time to outlaw capital punishment in America – completely.” NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. “Death Penalty Focus.” Death Penalty. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. “The Slow Demise of Capital Punishment.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

Graffiti IS an art in itself

Opinions on what is considered a work of art are vast. Just ask Mark Quinn, the British artist, who created a famous piece of work by taking a mold of his head and dunking it in his own blood. He called this piece “Self”. Oh and Quinn didn’t stop there. “The first blood head was made in 1991 and shown in the Sensation exhibition in Brooklyn. Since then the artist has made a new cast every five years, documenting his own transformation and ultimate deterioration. The three earlier blood heads are all in overseas collections. The Gallery wants to present the latest series in London, as a centerpiece in its contemporary collection and as a way of engaging with issues of representation of the human figure in contemporary culture.”(National Portrait Gallery) So what makes this piece of artwork so intriguing? Well, it depends on the audience. Some people may not consider a blood dipped cast of ones head very artful. The same argument arises when discussing graffiti’s position in the art world. Art, by definition, is a word for self-expression. It’s a way for a person to communicate with others without having to use voice. Clearly art can be shown in many different forms. Just because graffiti isn’t often hanging in museums with a little red rope surrounding it doesn’t mean that its not valuable. In fact, a rather large piece of the Berlin Wall is in the Newseum in Washington D.C.. The graffiti covered stone is viewed by thousands of people every day. The attraction is not just the stone but the incredible history that is actually documented on it, in the form of graffiti. The best part about graffiti is that its free! In the New York Times article (Graffiti finds its place in contemporary art) they described a street artist “Haring, chalking his drawling’s in the subway, saw himself as bringing art to the people, according to Lewinsohn, quoting the New York art dealer Tony Shafrazi. “Twenty Million people traveling through the subway got to see his work, “Lewinsohn quoted Shafrazi as saying. “Keith considered that world to be almost a museum of its own kind. “He thought that many of those people didn’t have the means or the knowledge to go museums, so he was bringing the art to them.”(Barbieri) It’s not being made for money, but for the enjoyment of the artist themselves. Just because it is in word form or plastered on the side of a train doesn’t mean its not a form of artwork, it just means its an unpublicized creation made for all’s enjoyment. Is Graffiti art, yes it is. Like Raymond Salvatore Harmon once said ” Art is an evolutionary act. The shape of art and its role in society is constantly changing. At no point is art static. There are no rules.” So next time you hear the names Jr from France, Jaz form Argentina, or even Gaia from the U.S.A, maybe we should thank them for a more entertaining and artistic walk home.

National Portrait Gallery. “Accessibility.” National Portrait Gallery -. National Portrait Gallery, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. < //www.npg.org.uk/footer/accessibility.php>.

Barbieri, Claudia. “Graffiti Finds Its Place in Contemporary Art.” Editorial. New York Times. Claudia Barbieri, Friday May 2008. Web. < //www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/arts>.

Raised In Fear Exploitation and sexual violence against women is a plague terrorizing women as it becomes more acceptable every day. Young women are taught to cover up and be on guard from a young age as it would be their fault for triggering an attack on themselves by being “too exposed” or “too flirtatious.” Everyday sexual violence is glorified in the media and vulgar acts towards women are praised on television and in movies leaving the world in a state that can only be described as a “rape culture.” Rape culture is teaching young men that it’s okay to dehumanize women and conquer them without consequence. Not only are rape victims becoming more abundant, the victims and their attackers are becoming younger. Most of these young men aren’t creepy outcasts but they are the charming, athletic stars. Just last year two football stars are charged with the rape of a fellow female classmate and found guilty (Oppel). A guilty verdict was the move in the right direction but all too often charges are dropped because no one is fighting for the victim, such as the Montclair case where the prosecution suddenly dropped all charges against the two attackers (Gettleman). This especially dangerous because when there is no consequence the attackers continue raping and assaulting and often become more violent. Many people will argue more particularly in a younger attacker’s defense that they have their whole life ahead of them and so much potential. The gaping double- standard comes into play as the attackers are defended, but their victims are told by respected adults, friends, peers, even the police that they are at fault for being promiscuous and bringing the attack upon themselves. They are scrutinized, called vile names, and bullied to recant if they do speak out about the despicable acts that were carried out on them. Even with the abundance of survivors speaking out and thousands participating in walks to stand against sexual violence with the statistics that 1 in 3 women are victims of sexual violence and 600 women in the United States alone are raped every day, a plenty of people still say that “rape culture” against women doesn’t exist. They claim that it is a false feminist outcry, however their ignorance is the reason 40% of rapes aren’t even reported as they put the blame on the victim. This sexually violent culture needs to be eradicated. Instead of teaching young women to always be on the defense, young men should be taught that conquering and dehumanizing is wrong. No means no under any circumstance needs to be enforced. Once everyone takes a stand and stops trying to cover up the problem by supporting victims and punishing attackers, the world will be safer for everyone. Little girls should never be raised to live in fear of sexual assault.

Works Cited

Gettleman, Jeffrey. “Rape Case Against 2 Montclair Football Players Is Dropped.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Nov. 2004. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.

Horowitz, Alana. “Steubenville Rape Trial Verdict: Trent Mays, Ma’lik Richmond Found Guilty.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Mar.

Marshall University. “Women’s Center.” Womens Center. Marshall University, 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

Oppel, Richard A., Jr. “Ohio Teenagers Guilty in Rape That Social Media Brought to Light.”The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

Order of the White Feather. “Rape Culture & Statistics.” The Order of the White Feather. Order of the White Feather, 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

WOAR. “Resources & Information.” Sexual Assault Statistics – Sexual Violence and Rape Statistics. WOAR, 2005. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.

Raised In Fear Exploitation and sexual violence against women is a plague terrorizing women as it becomes more acceptable every day. Young women are taught to cover up and be on guard from a young age as it would be their fault for triggering an attack on themselves by being “too exposed” or “too flirtatious.” Everyday sexual violence is glorified in the media and vulgar acts towards women are praised on television and in movies leaving the world in a state that can only be described as a “rape culture.” Rape culture is teaching young men that it’s okay to dehumanize women and conquer them without consequence. Not only are rape victims becoming more abundant, the victims and their attackers are becoming younger. Most of these young men aren’t creepy outcasts but they are the charming, athletic stars. All too often charges are dropped because no one is fighting for the victim, such as the Montclair case where the prosecution suddenly dropped all charges against the two attackers (Gettleman). This especially dangerous because when there is no consequence the attackers continue raping and assaulting and often become more violent. Many people will argue more particularly in a younger attacker’s defense that they have their whole life ahead of them and so much potential. The gaping double- standard comes into play as the attackers are defended, but their victims are told by respected adults, friends, peers, even the police that they are at fault for being promiscuous and bringing the attack upon themselves. They are scrutinized, called vile names, and bullied to recant if they do speak out about the despicable acts that were carried out on them. Even with the abundance of survivors speaking out and thousands participating in walks to stand against sexual violence with the statistics that 1 in 3 women are victims of sexual violence and 600 women in the United States alone are raped every day, a plenty of people still say that “rape culture” against women doesn’t exist. They claim that it is a false feminist outcry, however their ignorance is the reason 40% of rapes aren’t even reported as they put the blame on the victim. This sexually violent culture needs to be eradicated. Instead of teaching young women to always be on the defense, young men should be taught that conquering and dehumanizing is wrong. No means no under any circumstance needs to be enforced. Once everyone takes a stand and stops trying to cover up the problem by supporting victims and punishing attackers, the world will be safer for everyone. Little girls should never be raised to live in fear of sexual assault.

Works Cited Gettleman, Jeffrey. “Rape Case Against 2 Montclair Football Players Is Dropped.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Nov. 2004. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Horowitz, Alana. “Steubenville Rape Trial Verdict: Trent Mays, Ma’lik Richmond Found Guilty.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. Marshall University. “Women’s Center.” Womens Center. Marshall University, 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Oppel, Richard A., Jr. “Ohio Teenagers Guilty in Rape That Social Media Brought to Light.”The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Order of the White Feather. “Rape Culture & Statistics.” The Order of the White Feather. Order of the White Feather, 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. WOAR. “Resources & Information.” Sexual Assault Statistics – Sexual Violence and Rape Statistics. WOAR, 2005. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.

Money is something that many people believe is just an object, but an object that should be treated with respect. While others think that money is not only an object but one that should be thrown around and squandered at will. But the real question is;

“Can money buy happiness?”

Technically only you can make yourself happy, money will only occupy you for so long until you realize that it cannot buy you happiness. Students and professors like Carol Hyman at the Berkley College in California have been studying whether money is something that in fact does make people happy. And have concluded that;

“Employees that are primarily motivated by the love (of work) become less happy the more money they make.”

When explained, people tend to be fooled by the things that money can do. Although it can buy you exotic trips, fancy cars, and designer clothes it will never buy the best things in life. You can’t buy laughs, making people feel good, and long hugs. Don’t be fooled by money’s desirable appearance.

The best things in life are free, the second best things in life are expensive. May you never find happiness with money, love of a pet, or share a laugh with a friend. Money can be wicked, barbaric, it can eat your soul away, till all that is left is a relentless wanting, a constant aspiration for more, and when more is not not enough, you become relentless.

“Maybe it is more about expectations, desire and a constant “wanting” than it is about actual income.”

No matter the money that you make, can u really be happy? Happiness should be a feeling we find within ourselves as human beings, not in the amount of money we contain. As katherine Schulten vocalizes, the more money you make, can only make you want more, though the less money you make, the more contained on sanity you are.

Ultimately, money should come as an object, after all, it’s only just paper, thin, green, paper. Obsessions can be developed, but only when money takes you for granted. And if you want to feel rich, just count all the things money can’t buy, the list will be eternal. Merry moments, don’t have price tags on them, they have everlasting smiles attached to them. Although money can do majestic things, money will never take the place of the best things in life.

Work cited:

//learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/can-money-buy-you-happiness/?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry559%23%2FCan+money+buy+happiness

//www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/06/16_money.shtml

I Love You, Don’t Hate Me She should love him, but she loves her. There is nothing wrong with the girl who loves her girly best friend, or the boy who dreams of marrying the guy who sits next to him in algebra. Homophobia is a form of discrimination, like someone being a racist; it’s unnecessary. People have an idea that homosexuality or being gay is a “mental illness” that can be cured through “therapy and prayer.” “Empirical evidence and professional norms do not support the idea that homosexuality is a form of mental illness or is inherently linked to psychopathology.” Homosexuality isn’t a sickness that can be made better; it is a way of life, part of the genetic makeup of a human being. People saying that having sexual feelings for the same sex is a hint that something isn’t right in the head is disconcerting for the individual that is a homosexual. To say that is wrong, there is no evidence to say that homosexuality is an illness, nor does it make sense. Religion has no place in a political argument like homosexuality. It is incorrect for someone to say that it is “unholy” to be gay or that “our Lord said it is a sin that will grant you a one way ticket to Hell” because not everyone is religious or has the same religious believes. If someone who is gay doesn’t believe in that a god like figure, then the person arguing that god said it’s unruly just lost the battle because his argument is now invalid. It’s as useless as a Christian going against a Muslim, trying to convert the other because he doesn’t believe what the other says. The arguing and name-calling is intoxicating. The amount of hate homosexuals get is enough to lead them down the path of suicide, self-hatred, and thinking that they are sick. To discriminate a human based on their love for others is inappropriate. “September 9: Billy Lucas, age 15, of Greensburg, Indiana, hanged himself from the rafters of his family’s barn… September 23: Asher Brown, 13, of Houston, Texas, shot himself in the head.” These boys didn’t know each other, but they were both bullied to the point where they believed that if you’re gay, then life isn’t worth living. If people can look past the color of another’s skin, then they should be able to do the same about another’s sexual orientation. Those kids should be in classes, not caskets. Being gay is normal. It’s more of a blessing than a sin. Words hurt and they feast on a person until there is nothing left but a hollowed out carcass. Discriminating people on their sexual orientation only kills; it helps no one.

There are around 7,219,307,200 humans alive in the world and that number is growing. Each person in this world is unique and there is no one person who is like another person. But every person on planet Earth has one thing in common. Our parents chose life. Unfortunately, some people decide to abort their child. Essentially, denying the child a life and an opportunity to thrive. All murder is seen as unlawful. So if murder is unlawful, then why is it lawful to end the life of an unborn child? Abortion is a painful and inhumane method of murder that violates the basic right of life that should be extended to all human beings. It is obvious that some people don’t think that the unborn child is a child. That became clear to the Pro-life Community when our political representatives denied the Unborn Child Awareness Act, which stated mothers who wanted to abort their baby had to first learn about what would be taking place. It also entailed that the mother could then give her child some drugs to lessen the pain, should she choose to continue with the murder. Although babies are beloved outside the womb, an unborn child has less legal protection than commercial livestock. This means that the slaughterhouse have to follow laws stating, “…killing animals is only deemed “humane” if “animals are rendered insensible to pain….” (Pain). Another argument that is used frequently in debates concerning abortion is ‘the child isn’t a child until birth. It is a zygote and cannot feel the abortion going on.’ Yet in reality, “the zygote is composed of human DNA and other human molecules, so its nature is undeniably human and not some other species.” (Schwarwalder2). This proves that science is on the side of pro-life because it proves that the unborn child is that; a child. In a perfect world, everyone would know what horror abortion brings to not only the child but also, in some cases, the mother. Childbirth, in many cases, is now safer to the mother because of recent technology that has rapidly reduced the number of deaths during delivery to almost nothing. And to add onto that, a mother who decides to abort her child can get infected, can lose the ability to have child, and will have to always live with the horror of murdering a child. Abortion is a worldwide issue, and the problem is that everyone knows the term ‘abortion’; but no one knows what abortion really is. That is where we as Pro-life citizens have to start. The problem needs to be put out to the people who are pro-choice. This is where we can start out task of saving lives.

Highschool Killed The Teenager The monster is crushing. He is excruciating, and his effects are great. He claws at skin as teachers scream “the colleges, they will love this!” He churns stomachs as work piles up, and pounds a steady beat in heads as parents whisper “don’t forget about this.” He reports back to dreams each night, reminding the subconscious mind to hold onto what the conscious brain so wants to let go. But worst of all, the monster is fed by a mandatory aspect of 3.3 million peoples lives (“Fast Facts”). High school. Coined “the best years of a teenagers life,” high school comes with high expectations and low tolerance. Homework is piled on, because the U.S needs to get better; at math and science and reading and writing, and the only way to tell if you are an adequate member of society, is by passing a standardized test. A test, truley, of your tolerance of stress and ability to memorize facts. The monster is fueled by standardized tests. The monster is also fueled by phrases such as “in the real world,” and “this is the easy part.” This monster does not only gauge out insides, but ravages outsides. Hair begins littering the floor, bones stick out, and food loses its appeal. Skin turns white, the final stage of surrendering to the monster. Signs like those are apparent on countless students all over the country, and “a survey by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of all teens — 45 percent — said they were stressed by school pressures” (Neighmond). But high school continues to feed the monster. He dines on essays, snacks on applications, and feasts on homework. The monster is even beginning to invade little kids, because elementary and middle school wants to be as much like high school as little brothers and sisters want to be like their siblings. But he thrives in high school students whose heads are stuck in a book, because they care; about college, about grades, friends and family. He cannot live without care. The monster is crushing. The monster is stress. High schools serves stress as a side every single day, along with other high expectations. Nancy Kalish, of The New York Times, calls parents to action, stating “[w]e all know how badly we react to nonstop stress — why would we expect our children to be any different?” (Kalish). There are ways to save students, to kill the monster, to relax the stress. Shorten days, limit number of AP classes a student can take, lessen the homework load. The monster does not have to be crushing. Instead, the monster should be crushed. //www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/12/stress-and-the-high-school-student/it-starts-before-high-school //www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/02/246599742/school-stress-takes-a-toll-on-health-teens-and-parents-say //nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

Thank you so much for hosting this fantastic activity. It was exciting to watch the flurry of activity in my classroom yesterday as students worked to meet the 5:00 deadline.

Now we’re wondering about what is next. Can you let us know the timeline for review and selection? I want to create a follow up lesson where the students review the editorials you selected, especially when they can look at how they responded.

Hi Shane — We were so delighted, and so taken aback, by the response! This contest set a Learning Network record, and we’re still figuring out our timeline for judging. But yes: sometime this week we’ll publish next steps, and put a link here. Thank you for assigning it and your students for participating! –Katherine

Technology does have us become more alone because personally there is a life story about that however to cut it short, I used the computer because I did not have any friends in school and as now my friends may slightly increase, my best friend is still the computer. It is a time waster and I have learned people do not have very interesting life so they do things, both good and bad online. Play video games, research, and other thing people can consider being good or bad. Now the reason why I say technology can make us more alone is because there is sadness to the computer, because I admit I do use the computer a lot and sadly like it a little too much. However due to recent discover and realization, the computer is numbing and can lack of intelligent ideas and facts that can grow into a myth where people create ideas and theories inside which are not, always true. People are becoming also, less creative because their minds are too lazy to think and daydream about something to do. In short the negatives can be balanced however as I like to say: “people have different ideas of how computer can be good and bad”.

Heya! I know this is sort of off-topic however I needed to ask. Does managing a well-established website such as yours require a lot of work? I am completely new to writing a blog but I do write in my diary on a daily basis. I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any recommendations or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

excellent points altogether, you just gained a new reader. What might you recommend about your put up that you made a few days in the past? Any sure?

Eliminate Vaccination Loopholes “Herd immunity” is critical to a healthy society. Without a sufficiently vaccinated population, our communities could be overwhelmed with preventable viruses like the measles. In 2015, we are facing a measles outbreak due to a lack of immunized people and the contagiousness of this disease. Currently, our “herd immunity” is threatened by low vaccination rates in 17 states. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there is even a school in California that has a shockingly low immunization rate of 30%. For measles, “herd immunity” means that 90% of the population is immune to the virus. Parents are using the “personal exemption” loophole allowed in 48 states, to opt out of required vaccinations for their children. Parents can easily deny or delay vaccinations based on personal beliefs. This is too easy. States should not allow the personal exemptions regarding vaccinations. “Personal exemption” laws provide a loophole for parents who are looking for a reason to opt out of vaccinations. Parents opt out for many reasons. Some believe that vaccines are dangerous, can cause serious side effects, or contain harmful ingredients, while others don’t trust safety assurances made by the FDA or the CDC. All scientific studies confirm the safety and effectiveness of the shots. Still others opt to delay some vaccinations so their kids don’t get as many shots in one visit. The risk of getting measles is much worse than a sore shoulder for a day or two. By delaying, the children are off the suggested schedule and therefore some vaccines are less effective. In a period of 20 years, ending in 2014, an estimated 732,000 American children didn’t die due to vaccinations preventing illnesses like the measles. Another main reason why people opt out of their vaccinations is because they expect everyone else to get vaccinated so they don’t have to. This does not work when more and more people think this and are able to exempt their children from the required vaccinations. For children to be safe from preventable horrible, even deadly diseases, they have to get vaccinated, at the right, scheduled time. The effectiveness of vaccines has made some people doubt the need for them. By working so well, vaccines have all but extinguished the flame of preventable diseases. Since people now have not had measles affect their life, they don’t know how bad it is, which helps them with the decision to not vaccinate their children. People have to get vaccinated for the sake of the entire community. By allowing “personal exemptions”, states are putting their communities in jeopardy. We need to eliminate vaccination loopholes for the good of everyone.

The Associated Press. “Oregon Considers Banning Most Vaccine Exemptions.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Feb. 2015. Web. 03 Mar. 2015. Oshinsky, David. “Return of the Vaccine Wars.” Wall Street Journal [Seattle] 21 Feb. 2015: C3. Print. “Vaccines ProCon.org.” ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Lolita: A Slave for Entertainment Is it really ok to lock up an animal and use them as a slave to entertainment? At only 4 years old, Lolita was torn away from her family. 80 Orcas were corralled in the largest orca capture ever. Lolita was kidnapped. Ripped away from her family and sold to Seaquarium for only $6,000. The 48 year old Orca whale is currently living sadly in Miami Seaquarium. Lolita should be released from Seaquarium after over 40 years. Miami Aquarium has become one of the most popular and famous aquariums in the country. Each year they profit millions of dollars off animals. However animal rights activists say Lolita’s 80 x 60ft. wide and 20 feet deep tank is one of the smallest whale enclosures in the world. Their report gives evidence of Lolita’s deplorable living conditions. Of the 160 captive killer whales that have died in captivity, more than 70% didn’t make it beyond 10 years in captivity. The feeling of being locked up, with limited space, and no family is awful. This is exactly how Lolita feels. To pay money to Aquarium to see this is wrong. She has been alone without a companion of her species since 1980 after Hugo, another whale, died after crashing his head repeatedly on the enclosure. “She has no opportunity to socialize or interact with other members of her species, which is excruciating for such a social and intelligent animal,” PETA says. It is unfair to keep a beautiful animal like this held solitary. This proves the sad living conditions for Lolita, who has spent the past 35 years alone in her tank. Orcas are extremely intelligent animals. To be alone like this is much different environment than usual.”They’ll be able to communicate, and begin reforming that bond that was broken 40 years ago,” said Howard Garrett, director of the Orca Network who says the release of Lolita is long overdue. The operation is to release Lolita and return her near the San Juan Island. There, she will be kept in a pen to catch fish naturaly Seaquarium staff says the plan is unsafe and risky. Curator Robert rose, who works with Lolita says, “This is a non-releasable animal” If freed, “she’s going to die without question.” The staff also say she will end up like Keiko. Keiko was released in 2002 and died the following year after being rejected by wild orcas. Although she will have different knowledge of the ocean, Lolita would return into her home, where her family is waiting. Researchers say that her family is off the coast of Washington and has a call that Lolita still remember. The captivity of Lolita and other orca whale should stop. REUTERS. “After 44 Years, Miami Orca May Edge Closer to Freedom.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.

“Life Expectancy of Orcas in Captivity.” Life Expectancy of Orcas in Captivity. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.

We Should Have Background Checks Kyle Petrie We should have background checks in all of USA. Did you know that roughly 16,272 murders were committed in the United States during 2008. Of these, about 10,886 or 67% were committed with firearms. Think about how many of these could have been prevented if we had background checks. Many criminals wouldn’t have gotten their hands on guns and many innocent people’s lives could have been saved.

Also, based on survey data from the U.S. Department of Justice, about 5,340,000 violent crimes were committed in the United States during 2008. These include simple and aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, rapes, and murders. Of these, about 436,000 or 8% were committed by offenders visibly armed with a gun. That’s right, 436,000 violent crimes were committed with people who had guns. A 1997 survey of more than 18,000 prison inmates found that among those serving time for a violent crime, “30% of State offenders and 35% of Federal offenders carried a firearm when committing the crime. If we had background checks then many of these criminals wouldn’t have been carrying firearms which would have made them probably not do the crime saving lives and keeping them out of jail at the same time. In the 10-year period from November 30, 1998 to December 31, 2008, about 96 million background checks for gun purchases were processed through the federal background check system. Of these, approximately 681,000 or about 1% were denied. 1% may not seem like a lot but 681,000 denied, that means that 681,000 bad people could have had guns in their possession and it only takes one person to attack a school or shoot a lot of people. Though some people say criminals would just get guns other ways like the black market, or private unauthorized dealers, just look back at the fact that background checks stopped 681,000 possibly bad, dangerous people or criminals from getting guns. Background checks are getting more popular, especially in Oregon were private transactions don’t require a check, but sellers have an incentive to do them. If a gun they sell is used in a crime, they can be liable if no check was done. They are protected if a check was done. We should have background checks for all of the reasons above, it would stop criminals from getting guns, it would protect more citizens, and it would keep more people out of jail.

Who is better; Robinson Cano or President Obama? John P Editorial

The President takes out his pen and is about to sign a law just as Robinson Cano hits a home run. What event is more important? Who do you think deserves a bigger salary? Robinson Cano is arguably one of the best second basemen in MLB history but he still shouldn’t make 43 times the money President Obama makes per year. Being a baseball player, I do have a lot of respect for the amount of work MLB players put in to get to the MLB, but I still believe that they make too much money. “Out of the 912 players in the MLB, the average salary was 3,014,572 dollars.” This is way too much money for a baseball player to make. Many people say that MLB players put in so much work and they deserve to get all this money but I disagree. I do believe that MLB players do put in a lot of work but I disagree about their salary. People who entertain other people shouldn’t make more money than someone who runs the whole United States. “Last year baseball players with a .230 to .239 batting average (which is very bad) were paid 937, 756 dollars. This is 4.7 times the salary of the president, 9.4 times the salary of the members of the cabinet and 7.6 times the salary of Chief Justice.” Baseball Players make more than the people who keep America from falling apart! Without the President and Chief Justice we wouldn’t be what make us America and yet we decide to give baseball players a lot more money than these people. Alex Rodriguez signed a contract with the New York Yankees that gave Alex Rodriguez about 29,000,000 dollars for 10 years. Do you think someone should make this much money? Is one baseball players worth so much more than the president? We need to lower the amount of money MLB players make and increase the Presidents salary. Next time you’re at a baseball game look around at each player who steps onto the field and ask yourself; Are they worth more than the President? Gray, Matthew. “Should Major League Baseball Players Get Paid This Much Money?” Sports Networker. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015. Herman, Louis J. “Of Course, Athletes Are Paid Too Much.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Apr. 1991. Web. 05 Mar. 2015

The Heroes of My School As a student myself, I know that we can always use more friendly faces and open-ears in schools and more understanding and empathetic adults roaming the halls. I know that we can always use more counselors. Why? Take Leelah’s story, for example. Leelah Alcorn was 17 when she took her own life. Born with the name Joshua, Leelah was transgender and treated like an outcast in her own home. She was surrounded by deeply religious parents and forced to attend conversion therapy, an attempt to change Leelah’s sexual orientation. Leelah was bullied. Not by her classmates, not by her teachers, but by her parents, the people sleeping in the room next door. The people who’d promised to love her and accept her and teach her. It may be difficult to recognize this type of bullying when America’s youth has been taught to respect and listen to our elders, but it is terrifyingly real. According to a study done by the NYU School of Medicine, twenty-four percent of high school students have seriously thought about attempting suicide and 90% of suicidal teenagers believe their families do not understand them. Where do these kids turn to for help? If they don’t feel like they can trust an adult at home or that adult is the problem, what are they supposed to do? Some may suggest the counselor’s office as a welcoming place for students. They’d be wrong. The national student-to-counselor ratio is 478 to 1. This means the counselors are always busy, and their doors are always shut. It’s not that the counselors don’t want to give students 100% of his or her time and attention, it’s just that they can’t. There’s practically a three month wait list just to talk to one, let alone get a solid solution to someone’s problem. It’s first come, first serve. School counselors are heroes. They give teens support and care when others do not. We need to hire more counselors so every student can feel safe, happy and healthy at home and at school.

Works Cited Harris, Elizabeth A. “Where Have All the Counselors Gone?” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Dec. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2015. “Suicide Note of Transgender Ohio Teen Inspires Call to Help Others.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 Dec. 2014. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. “Teen Suicides Statistics – Yello Dyno.” Teen Suicides Statistics – Yello Dyno. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. “Reasons for Teen Suicide.” Teen Suicide (Teenage Suicide, Teenager Suicide). N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

What's Next

Writing Nestling

How To Write An Editorial (12 Important Steps To Follow)

Embarking on the journey of crafting an editorial is akin to stepping into the arena of persuasive prowess, where words transform into instruments of influence and ideas wield the power to shape perspectives.

Writing an editorial is not merely an exercise in expression; it is a strategic dance with language, a nuanced symphony where the writer conducts a persuasive melody to engage, inform, and provoke thought.

In this guide, we will navigate the intricate landscape of editorial writing, exploring the art of selecting compelling topics, conducting in-depth research, and honing a writing style that resonates with the intended audience.

From the careful structuring of arguments to the final polish of every word, this exploration aims to unravel the layers of expertise required in the craft of creating editorials that leave an indelible mark on readers.

So, let’s embark on this intellectual voyage, where the pen becomes a mighty sword, and the editorial, a canvas upon which the art of persuasion is painted.

Table of Contents

How To Write An Editorial

Certainly! Here’s a step-by-step process on how to write an editorial :

Choose a Topic

Select a current and relevant issue that you are passionate about or that you believe needs attention. Ensure that the topic is of interest to your target audience.

Research Thoroughly

Gather facts, statistics, and background information related to your chosen topic. Understand different perspectives and arguments surrounding the issue. This will help you present a well-informed opinion.

Define Your Main Argument (Thesis)

Clearly state your main point or opinion on the issue. This should be a concise and specific statement that encapsulates your stance on the topic.

Create an Outline

Organize your thoughts and key points in a logical order. Plan the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each section should contribute to building and supporting your main argument.

Write a Compelling Introduction

Grab the reader’s attention with a strong opening. Provide context for your topic, present the issue, and introduce your thesis statement.

Develop Coherent Body Paragraphs

Each paragraph should focus on a specific sub-point or piece of evidence that supports your main argument. Provide examples, quotes, or data to strengthen your position. Ensure smooth transitions between paragraphs.

Consider Counterarguments

Address potential counterarguments to strengthen your editorial. Acknowledge opposing views and explain why your perspective is more valid or persuasive.

Maintain a Consistent Tone

Choose a tone that suits the nature of the issue and your audience. Be persuasive, but also respectful and objective. Avoid offensive language or personal attacks.

Craft a Strong Conclusion

Summarize your key points and restate your thesis in a compelling way. Leave a lasting impression on the reader, encouraging them to reflect on your perspective.

Revise and Edit

Review your editorial for clarity, coherence, and grammar. Check for consistency in your argument and eliminate unnecessary repetition. Consider seeking feedback from others to get a fresh perspective.

Add a Thought-Provoking Title

Create a title that captures the essence of your editorial and entices readers to explore your viewpoint.

Submit or Publish

If you’re writing for a publication, follow the submission guidelines. Ensure your editorial adheres to any word limits and formatting requirements .

By following these steps , you can create a well-structured and persuasive editorial that effectively communicates your viewpoint on a given issue.

Understanding the Target Audience

Understanding the target audience is akin to holding the key to a secret garden, where the lush blooms of connection and resonance await.

It’s not merely deciphering demographics but embarking on an anthropological expedition into the hearts and minds of those you aim to captivate.

Imagine unraveling the intricacies of their desires, fears, and aspirations, the very fabric of their existence. Each reader, a universe unto themselves, awaits acknowledgment, yearning for content that mirrors their soul.

To understand the target audience is to embrace the role of a literary empath, tuning into the frequency of collective yearnings, and crafting a narrative that becomes a bespoke garment tailored to fit their intellectual and emotional contours.

It’s the alchemical blend of psychology, curiosity, and empathy that transforms words into a magnetic force, drawing the intended audience into a narrative embrace where they feel seen, understood, and utterly captivated.

Identifying the Readership

Identifying the readership is akin to sculpting the very clay from which your narrative masterpiece will emerge. It’s a meticulous process of demographic delineation, where age, gender, location, and socio-economic factors paint the broad strokes of your canvas.

Yet, it transcends mere statistics, delving into the nuanced world of psychographics—those elusive markers that define values, interests, and lifestyles.

Understanding your readership is akin to gazing through a kaleidoscope of individual stories, weaving a tapestry of diverse perspectives that demand acknowledgment.

Each reader, a protagonist in their narrative, seeks not only information but an empathetic connection, a resonant chord that harmonizes with their unique symphony of experiences.

In this dance of identification, a writer becomes a literary anthropologist, excavating the collective subconscious to illuminate the path toward content that not only speaks to the masses but intimately whispers to each reader, fostering a sense of belonging within the shared tapestry of words.

Selecting a Relevant and Timely Topic

Choosing a relevant and timely topic is akin to catching the rhythm of the universe and translating it into ink. It’s the art of being a literary time traveler, surfing the waves of current affairs and societal trends to uncover the gems of discourse that sparkle with urgency.

Imagine your writing as a compass, pointing not just north but toward the magnetic epicenter of the zeitgeist. It’s not merely selecting a topic; it’s orchestrating a symphony that harmonizes with the pulsating heartbeat of the world.

A relevant topic is a siren’s call to the reader, an irresistible melody echoing the collective concerns and curiosities of the present moment.

In this pursuit, a writer becomes a cultural curator, plucking the ripest fruit from the tree of discourse and presenting it to readers, inviting them to feast on the fruits of relevance and timeliness.

Current Affairs and Trend Analysis

Embarking on the journey of current affairs and trend analysis is akin to becoming an astute navigator of the ever-shifting seas of societal dynamics.

It’s the art of capturing the elusive zeitgeist, the pulse of the present, and distilling it into a narrative elixir. Current affairs are the heartbeat of the collective consciousness, and trend analysis is the compass guiding writers through the swirling currents of popular discourse.

Imagine standing on the precipice of the now, gazing into the swirling whirlpool of global events and emerging patterns.

It’s not just about staying informed; it’s about extracting the essence of these currents to craft a narrative vessel that not only sails with the winds of change but surfs the cutting edge of relevance.

In this realm, a writer transforms into a cultural alchemist, turning the raw material of contemporary events into a literary goldmine that captivates, informs, and resonates with readers who hunger for a connection with the unfolding tapestry of the world.

Research and Gathering Information

Embarking on the odyssey of research and information gathering is a thrilling expedition into the heart of knowledge, a treasure hunt where every well-mined fact becomes a gem in the crown of narrative richness.

Picture yourself as an intrepid explorer, armed not with a machete, but with the keen blade of inquiry, cutting through the dense underbrush of ignorance.

It’s not just about collecting data; it’s a dance with the cerebral cosmos, a cosmic choreography where each piece of information is a celestial body orbiting the central thesis.

Research is the magician’s wand, and information gathering is the summoning spell that brings forth the magic of insight.

In this symphony of discovery, a writer metamorphoses into an intellectual sleuth, solving the enigma of ignorance one researched clue at a time, weaving a tapestry of enlightenment that captivates readers and elevates the narrative to the celestial realms of erudition.

In-depth Research Methods

In-depth research methods are the alchemical processes through which a writer transforms the raw ore of curiosity into the refined gold of comprehensive understanding.

Imagine donning the cloak of a literary detective, armed not just with a magnifying glass but with an arsenal of tools ranging from scholarly articles to the vast labyrinth of digital archives.

It’s a deep dive into the ocean of knowledge, where the careful curation of reliable sources and the discerning eye for credibility are the compass guiding the scholarly ship.

In-depth research is not a mere surface exploration; it’s an excavation into the subterranean layers of information, unearthing hidden gems that add layers of richness to the narrative.

Through meticulous fact-checking, cross-referencing, and the discerning evaluation of various perspectives, a writer becomes an intellectual archaeologist, piecing together the fragments of data to construct a narrative edifice that stands as a testament to the rigors of thorough inquiry.

Crafting a Compelling Thesis Statement

Crafting a compelling thesis statement is akin to forging the beating heart of your narrative—an art form that demands both precision and passion.

Imagine your words as a blacksmith’s hammer, shaping the molten core of your argument into a finely honed blade that cuts through the fog of ambiguity.

It’s not merely a declaration; it’s a clarion call that resonates through the corridors of intellect, demanding attention.

A well-crafted thesis is more than a roadmap; it’s a charismatic guide, inviting readers to embark on a journey of enlightenment.

Like an architect designing the blueprint of a majestic structure, a writer, through the thesis, lays the foundation for a narrative that stands tall and resolute against the winds of skepticism.

It’s the orchestration of language into a symphony of persuasion, where each note builds towards a crescendo of intellectual revelation, leaving readers not just informed but inspired by the symmetrical elegance of a thoughtfully articulated thesis.

Formulating a Clear and Concise Thesis

Formulating a clear and concise thesis is akin to distilling the essence of a complex idea into a potent elixir of intellectual clarity.

It’s the art of linguistic precision, a process where words become chisels, carving away the superfluous to reveal the sculpted core of your argument.

Imagine your thesis as a lighthouse beacon, cutting through the fog of ambiguity to guide readers safely through the seas of your discourse.

Clarity is not merely about being understood; it’s an invitation for readers to navigate the narrative with confidence, assured that each sentence is a stepping stone leading toward a crystalline understanding.

A concise thesis is a literary gem, multifaceted and devoid of unnecessary embellishments, radiating brilliance in its simplicity.

In this craft, a writer transforms into a linguistic sculptor, carefully molding each word until the thesis emerges as a masterpiece—an intellectual compass that not only points the way but illuminates the entire terrain of thought.

Structuring the Editorial

Structuring the editorial is like architecting a symphony of ideas, where each section harmonizes to create a compelling narrative crescendo.

Picture yourself as the conductor of an intellectual orchestra, with the introduction as the opening overture—a magnetic prelude that captures attention.

The body paragraphs then dance in harmony, a choreography of arguments and counterarguments, each step building upon the last, a ballet of persuasion.

The conclusion, akin to a grand finale, is not merely a cessation but a lingering echo, leaving readers with the resonance of your thesis.

It’s a structural ballet, not just about arranging words but orchestrating emotions and thoughts. In this editorial architecture, a writer transforms into a literary choreographer, ensuring that every movement serves a purpose, leading the audience through a carefully curated performance that transcends the mundane and elevates the editorial to a masterpiece of structured persuasion.

Introduction

The introduction of an editorial serves as the literary overture, a captivating melody that beckons readers into the symphony of ideas to follow.

It’s not merely a gateway; it’s a magnetic portal, inviting the audience to step into a realm of thought. Imagine the introduction as a carefully crafted invitation, adorned with an engaging hook that captivates attention and a thesis statement that stands as the event’s raison d’être.

It’s a literary handshake, setting the tone for the discourse to unfold. A well-crafted introduction is more than a preamble; it’s a promise, a whispered assurance that the reader’s investment of time will be rewarded with intellectual richness.

In this inaugural dance of words, a writer assumes the role of a welcoming host, inviting readers into a curated space where ideas converge, and the unfolding narrative promises to be nothing short of enlightening.

Polishing the Writing Style

Polishing the writing style is akin to honing a rare gem, each facet reflecting the writer’s commitment to elegance and clarity.

Imagine words not just as tools but as brushes, delicately smoothing the rough edges of expression until they gleam with literary luminescence.

It’s not merely about correctness; it’s a pursuit of aesthetic brilliance. Picture the writing style as a bespoke suit, tailored to fit the contours of the narrative with sartorial precision.

It’s a symphony of rhythm and cadence, where each sentence is a note contributing to the harmonious melody of the entire composition.

In this pursuit, a writer transcends the role of a mere wordsmith and becomes a literary artisan, meticulously sculpting language into a masterpiece that not only conveys information but enchants the reader with the sheer beauty of its expression.

Tone and Voice

Tone and voice in writing are the nuanced brushstrokes that paint the canvas of communication, adding layers of depth and personality to the narrative.

Imagine tone as the emotional hue that tints the words, setting the overall atmosphere of the piece, whether it be authoritative, conversational, or empathetic.

Voice, on the other hand, is the distinct fingerprint of the writer—a unique signature that resonates throughout the work.

It’s not just about what is said but how it is said, the cadence and rhythm that create a literary melody. A skilled writer navigates the spectrum of tone and voice, shifting effortlessly to suit the demands of the message and the expectations of the audience.

In this delicate dance, a writer transforms into a linguistic virtuoso, playing with tone and voice like a maestro conducting an orchestra, creating a symphony that captivates and resonates with the reader on a deeply personal level.

Incorporating Persuasive Techniques

Incorporating persuasive techniques into writing is akin to wielding a literary wand, casting spells of conviction and influence with each carefully chosen word.

Think of the writer as a rhetorical magician, conjuring metaphors, similes, and analogies that dance through the narrative like sparks of intellectual fireworks.

It’s not just about conveying information; it’s the art of seduction, luring the reader into a realm where persuasion is not a force imposed but a shared revelation.

A skilled writer embraces the dual nature of persuasion, balancing emotional resonance with logical precision. Imagine each sentence as a persuasive potion, stirring not just the intellect but also the heart.

In this alchemical craft, a writer becomes a linguistic sorcerer, weaving a spell that transforms the mundane into the mesmerizing, leaving readers not just informed but enchanted by the persuasive power of the written word.

Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are the linguistic acrobats of the written word, the subtle tools that turn prose into a captivating performance.

Picture them as the spices in a literary kitchen, adding zest and flavor to the narrative. Metaphors, similes, and analogies act as the poetic palette, painting vivid pictures that linger in the reader’s imagination.

Repetition and parallelism, the rhythmic drumbeats, infuse a cadence that resonates with hypnotic allure. These devices are not mere embellishments; they are the strategic maneuvers that elevate writing from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

A skilled writer, armed with rhetorical devices, becomes a verbal architect, constructing a narrative not just to convey information but to elicit emotion, spark introspection, and forge an enduring connection with the reader through the artful play of language.

Editing and Revision

Editing and revision are the backstage maestros, the unsung heroes transforming a rough draft into a symphony of refined brilliance.

Imagine the editing process as a surgical dance, where each incision removes the extraneous and hones the narrative to its sharpest edge.

It’s not just about correcting grammatical missteps; it’s sculpting prose until it gleams with the polished elegance of a well-cut diamond.

Revision, akin to a literary alchemist’s touch, transmutes the raw material of ideas into intellectual gold, refining the essence until it resonates with precision.

Think of it as a writer’s quest for perfection, an odyssey where every word is scrutinized, every sentence dissected, and every paragraph reshaped until the entire manuscript gleams with the sheen of narrative excellence.

In this meticulous craft, a writer assumes the role of both creator and critic, weaving and unweaving the tapestry of words until the story emerges not just coherent but as a masterpiece that stands the test of literary scrutiny.

Peer Review and Feedback

Peer review and feedback are the invaluable compasses guiding a writer through the labyrinth of self-expression, offering both illumination and calibration.

Envision the process as a collaborative constellation, where fellow writers act as celestial companions, navigating the same creative cosmos.

Peer review is not just a mechanism for error detection; it’s a collective exploration, a symposium of diverse perspectives converging to enrich the narrative.

Feedback, delivered with thoughtful precision, is the compass needle gently nudging the writer toward improvement.

It’s an artistic dialogue, a shared venture where each critique serves as a brushstroke refining the literary canvas.

In this reciprocal dance, a writer transforms into a humble architect, constructing a narrative not in isolation but in the collaborative echoes of constructive feedback, ensuring the final composition not only bears the mark of individual creativity but also the collective fingerprints of shared refinement.

Crafting a Strong Headline

Crafting a strong headline is akin to fashioning the golden key that unlocks the treasure chest of your narrative, an art where brevity meets brilliance.

Imagine the headline not merely as an entry point but as a captivating overture, a seductive whisper that beckons readers into the unfolding drama.

It’s the siren song that lures attention in a sea of words, each syllable a carefully chosen note in a symphony of curiosity.

Crafting a headline is the calligraphy of anticipation, where the brushstrokes must be bold enough to capture attention yet delicate enough to invite further exploration.

It’s not just about summarizing; it’s about encapsulating the essence of your narrative in a linguistic truffle—a tantalizing morsel that leaves readers craving the entire feast of your words.

In this literary alchemy, a writer becomes a headline maestro, orchestrating a melody of words that resonates with the reader’s curiosity, inviting them to step into a world where every sentence is a revelation waiting to unfold.

Importance of a Compelling Headline

The importance of a compelling headline cannot be overstated; it stands as the vanguard, the sentinel, and the initial ambassador of your narrative.

Think of it as the literary handshake extended to potential readers in the vast marketplace of ideas. A compelling headline is not merely a string of words; it’s a magnetic force, capable of grabbing attention in the blink of an eye and holding it in a steadfast embrace.

It’s the ambassadorial introduction, tasked not only with summarizing the essence of your story but with seducing curiosity and enticing exploration.

In a world inundated with information, a strong headline is the beacon cutting through the noise, guiding readers to the shores of your narrative oasis.

It’s a contract with your audience, promising a journey worth undertaking and inviting them to step into the realm of your words .

The first impression may be the last, and in the realm of headlines, that first impression is the literary currency determining whether your story will be read, shared, or overlooked in the tumultuous sea of content.

Finalizing and Submitting

Finalizing and submitting a piece of writing is akin to releasing a carefully crafted message in a bottle, casting it into the vast ocean of readership.

Imagine the manuscript not just as words on a page but as a vessel containing the distilled essence of your thoughts, set to embark on its journey through the literary currents.

The process is both exhilarating and nerve-wracking, akin to bidding farewell to a piece of one’s soul. It’s not merely a conclusion; it’s the denouement of a creative odyssey, the culmination of countless revisions and nuanced choices.

As you prepare to release your creation into the wild, there’s a potent mixture of excitement and vulnerability, knowing that your words are about to embark on a journey beyond your control.

In this moment of surrender, a writer becomes a literary adventurer, launching their narrative ship into the uncharted waters of the reader’s mind, where the waves of interpretation and reception will determine the course of its voyage.

Reviewing the Final Draft

Reviewing the final draft is akin to a meticulous curator inspecting the brushstrokes of a masterpiece before it graces the gallery walls.

It is a moment of reflection and scrutiny, where each word is a carefully chosen hue contributing to the vibrant mosaic of the narrative.

As a writer embarks on this critical examination, it is not merely a proofreading task but a profound introspection into the soul of the composition.

The final draft review is the last chance to refine, ensuring that every sentence resonates with precision and clarity.

It’s a moment of truth, where the writer, wearing the hat of both creator and critic, steps back to assess the symphony of ideas, ensuring that each note plays harmoniously in the grand orchestration of the manuscript.

In this process, a writer becomes an architect surveying the blueprint, making those final adjustments that elevate the work from draft to a polished opus ready to captivate its audience.

Frequently Asked Questions about How To Write An Editorial

What is an editorial, and why is it important to know how to write one.

An editorial is a piece of writing that expresses the opinion of a publication’s editorial board or the author on a specific issue. It’s essential to know how to write one as it allows individuals to contribute their perspectives on important topics, influencing public opinion and fostering discussion.

How do I choose a compelling topic for my editorial?

Start by identifying current and relevant issues that you are passionate about or believe need attention. Choose a topic that resonates with your target audience and has the potential to generate interest and discussion.

What is the significance of thorough research in editorial writing?

Thorough research provides the foundation for a well-informed and credible editorial. It helps you gather facts, statistics, and background information, allowing you to present a compelling argument and anticipate counterarguments.

What should be included in the introduction of an editorial?

The introduction should grab the reader’s attention, provide context for the topic, and introduce your main argument or thesis statement. It sets the tone for the rest of the editorial and should encourage readers to continue reading.

How do I address counterarguments in my editorial?

Acknowledge and address counterarguments by presenting them fairly and then providing evidence or reasoning to refute them. This strengthens your position and demonstrates a thoughtful consideration of different perspectives.

What is the role of a strong conclusion in an editorial?

A strong conclusion summarizes key points, restates the thesis, and leaves a lasting impression on the reader. It should encourage reflection and reinforce the importance of your perspective on the issue.

How can I maintain a consistent tone throughout my editorial?

Choose a tone that suits the nature of the issue and your audience. Be persuasive, objective, and respectful. Avoid offensive language or personal attacks, ensuring a professional and coherent tone.

Why is it important to revise and edit my editorial before submission?

Revision ensures clarity, coherence, and grammatical correctness. It helps eliminate unnecessary repetition, refine arguments, and improve overall quality. Seeking feedback from others can provide valuable insights.

Can you provide tips for creating an attention-grabbing title for my editorial?

Craft a title that captures the essence of your editorial and entices readers. It should be concise, intriguing, and reflective of the main theme or argument of your piece.

What steps should I follow when submitting or publishing my editorial?

Follow the submission guidelines of the publication, adhere to word limits, and ensure proper formatting. Double-check your work for any errors or omissions before submitting, and be prepared to engage in potential revisions based on editorial feedback.

In conclusion, mastering the art of writing an editorial involves a thoughtful and systematic approach. From selecting a compelling topic to crafting a persuasive argument, each step plays a crucial role in creating an impactful piece of writing .

Thorough research, clear organization, and addressing counterarguments contribute to the credibility of your editorial.؎

Maintaining a consistent and respectful tone throughout ensures effective communication with your audience.

A strong conclusion that reinforces your main points and leaves a lasting impression is the key to driving your message home.

Finally, the process of revision and editing is indispensable, refining your editorial for clarity and coherence. By following these steps, you can not only express your opinion effectively but also contribute meaningfully to public discourse on important issues.

Whether aspiring to sway public opinion or initiate thoughtful discussions, the ability to write a compelling editorial is a valuable skill that empowers individuals to make their voices heard.

Related Posts:

• How To Write For Bustle (15 Best Ways You Need To Know)
• Can You Make Money On Medium? (10 Important Steps)
• What Is A Warrant In Writing? (Explained+ 4 Types)
• Why Does Academic Writing Require Strict Formatting?
• How to Come up With Interesting Story Ideas (10 Best Steps)
• How To Improve Blog Writing Skills (10 Best Ways)

Similar Posts

How To Describe A River In Writing (10 Best Ways)

Embarking on the art of describing a river in writing is akin to setting sail on a literary voyage where words become the oars that navigate the currents of imagination. A river, with its meandering flow and dynamic personality, presents a rich tapestry for writers to explore and convey to readers. This guide is an…

How to Write A Story (15 Best Ways You Need To Know)

Embarking on the journey of crafting a story is akin to setting sail into the boundless sea of creativity, where the compass is imagination, and the destination is the hearts and minds of readers. It’s a nuanced alchemy that goes beyond penning mere words on paper; it’s the art of sculpting worlds, breathing life into…

How To Describe A Panic Attack In Writing (10 significant steps)

Describing a panic attack in writing is akin to navigating a tumultuous sea of emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. It is an endeavor that calls for a delicate balance between empathy and precision, as the writer strives to convey the complex and often overwhelming experience of panic with authenticity. Through carefully chosen words, vivid imagery,…

How To Overcome Laziness In Writing (15 Best Ways)

Embarking on the writer’s journey is an odyssey of passion, creativity, and self-discovery. Yet, the formidable specter of laziness can cast shadows on this path, hindering the flow of ideas and stalling the progress of even the most dedicated wordsmiths. In this exploration of “How to Overcome Laziness in Writing,” we delve into the intricacies…

How To Describe A Hugs In writing (11 Important Steps)

In the realm of storytelling, it is often said that words have the power to transport readers to far-off lands, ignite the fires of imagination, and stir the deepest chambers of the heart. At the heart of this transformative alchemy lies the art of description, and within it, an element often taken for granted—the embrace,…

How To Describe Love In Writing (15 Steps You Need To Know)

Describing love in writing is a captivating and profound endeavor that transcends the limitations of mere words. Love, that enigmatic and universal emotion, is both a muse and a challenge for writers across the ages. It dances through the pages of literature, painting vivid landscapes of human connection, while also defying easy capture, forever eluding…

Opinion Pieces and Editorials: A Comprehensive Writing Guide

• Published: November 16, 2023
• By: Yellowbrick

Opinion Pieces and Editorials: A Writing Guide

Opinion pieces and editorials play a crucial role in journalism, offering writers a platform to express their perspectives and influence public opinion. These forms of writing allow individuals to delve into a range of topics, from politics and social issues to entertainment and culture. Whether you aspire to become a journalist, a columnist, or simply want to enhance your writing skills, this comprehensive guide will provide you with the necessary tools to craft compelling opinion pieces and editorials.

Choose a Relevant and Engaging Topic

The first step in writing an impactful opinion piece or editorial is selecting a topic that is both relevant and interesting. Consider current events, trending topics, or issues that you are passionate about. It’s essential to choose a subject that will captivate your readers and spark their curiosity.

Conduct Thorough Research

Before you start writing, it’s crucial to gather as much information as possible about your chosen topic. Conduct thorough research from reliable sources, such as reputable news outlets, academic journals, and expert opinions. This will help you build a strong foundation for your argument and ensure your piece is well-informed.

Understand Different Perspectives

While writing an opinion piece, it’s important to acknowledge and understand various perspectives on the topic. This will help you present a balanced argument and avoid appearing biased. Analyze different viewpoints, gather supporting evidence, and consider counterarguments to strengthen your piece.

Develop a Clear and Persuasive Thesis

A strong thesis statement is the backbone of any opinion piece or editorial. It should clearly state your main argument and provide a roadmap for the rest of your article. Craft a thesis that is concise, persuasive, and captures the essence of your viewpoint.

Structure Your Piece Effectively

To ensure your opinion piece or editorial flows smoothly, follow a logical structure. Start with an attention-grabbing introduction that hooks the reader and provides context for your argument. Then, develop your points in the body paragraphs, providing evidence and examples to support your claims. Finally, conclude your piece with a compelling ending that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Use Clear and Concise Language

Opinion pieces and editorials should be written in a clear and concise manner. Avoid using jargon or overly complex language that may alienate your readers. Instead, opt for simple and impactful language that effectively communicates your ideas.

Incorporate Compelling Evidence

To strengthen your argument, it’s essential to back up your claims with compelling evidence. Use statistics, research findings, and expert opinions to support your viewpoints. This will add credibility to your piece and make it more persuasive.

Engage with Your Audience

Opinion pieces and editorials are meant to engage and provoke thought in readers. Consider your target audience and tailor your writing style accordingly. Use rhetorical questions, anecdotes, or personal experiences to captivate your readers and invite them to think critically about the topic.

Edit and Revise

After completing your initial draft, take the time to edit and revise your opinion piece or editorial. Check for grammatical errors, clarity of ideas, and overall coherence. Consider seeking feedback from peers or mentors to gain valuable insights and improve your writing.

Submit to Appropriate Platforms

Once you are satisfied with your final draft, it’s time to submit your opinion piece or editorial to relevant platforms. Consider pitching your article to newspapers, magazines, or online publications that align with your chosen topic. Additionally, consider publishing your work on personal blogs or social media platforms to reach a wider audience.

Opinion pieces and editorials are powerful tools for shaping public discourse and influencing opinions. By following this writing guide, you will be well-equipped to craft compelling and impactful pieces that resonate with readers. Remember, the key to success lies in thorough research, clear argumentation, and engaging storytelling. Happy writing!

Key Takeaways

Writing opinion pieces and editorials can be a powerful way to express your perspectives and influence public opinion. Here are the key takeaways from this writing guide:

• Choose a relevant and engaging topic that captivates your readers and sparks their curiosity.
• Conduct thorough research to gather information from reliable sources, building a strong foundation for your argument.
• Understand different perspectives on the topic to present a balanced argument and avoid appearing biased.
• Develop a clear and persuasive thesis statement that captures the essence of your viewpoint.
• Structure your piece effectively with an attention-grabbing introduction, well-developed body paragraphs, and a compelling ending.
• Use clear and concise language, avoiding jargon and complex terms that may alienate your readers.
• Incorporate compelling evidence, such as statistics and expert opinions, to strengthen your argument.
• Engage with your audience by tailoring your writing style to resonate with them and using rhetorical questions or personal anecdotes.
• Edit and revise your work to ensure clarity of ideas, coherence, and grammatical accuracy.
• Submit your opinion piece or editorial to appropriate platforms, such as newspapers, magazines, or personal blogs, to reach a wider audience.

To further enhance your writing skills and gain valuable insights into the world of modern journalism, consider enrolling in the NYU | Modern Journalism online course and certificate program offered by Yellowbrick. This program provides a comprehensive curriculum designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in the field of journalism.

Remember, writing opinion pieces and editorials is not only about expressing your own views but also about engaging with your readers and influencing public discourse. With practice and dedication, you can become a persuasive and impactful writer in the world of journalism.

Enter your email to learn more and get a full course catalog!

• Hidden hide names
• Hidden First Name
• Hidden Last Name
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More from Yellowbrick

Yellowbrick Recognized as Top EdTech Company in North America by TIME and Statista

We are thrilled to announce that Yellowbrick has been named the leading EdTech company in North America and sixth globally in the prestigious “World’s Top

Mastering the Art of Backline Tech: Tips & Tricks for Technicians

Explore the exciting role of a backline technician, gain insights into essential skills, career growth opportunities, and steps to achieve success in the live music industry.

Top 5 Video Streaming Challenges: How to Overcome Them

Explore video streaming challenges and strategies to overcome them, from bandwidth limitations to DRM issues. Dive into the dynamism of the video streaming industry.

ABOUT YELLOWBRICK

• Work at Yellowbrick
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

STUDENT RESOURCES

• Scholarships
• Student Login
• Beauty Business Essentials
• Beauty Industry Essentials
• Ecommerce Essentials
• Fashion Business Essentials
• Fashion Industry Essentials
• Footwear Business Essentials
• Gaming & Esports Industry Essentials
• Global Sports Management
• Hospitality Industry Essentials
• Music Industry Essentials
• Performing Arts Industry Essentials
• Product Design Essentials
• Sneaker Essentials
• Streetwear Essentials
• TV/Film Industry Essentials
• UX Design Essentials

©2024 Yellowbrick · All Rights Reserved · All Logos & Trademarks Belong to Their Respective Owners

• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

From Idea to Impact: A Guide for Writing Editorial Example

You don’t have to be an expert writer to create a stellar editorial. Many students hesitate when assigned an editorial. The thought of impressing a larger campus audience can be intimidating. And may lead some students to consider skipping the assignment altogether.

However, there are ways to improve their editorial writing skills. This post brings you all the essentials with editorial examples. So, start reading to discover how to create a compelling editorial easily!

Table of Contents

What is an Editorial?

Editorials are small articles, usually written in the form of essays, featured in newspapers and magazines. These articles reflect the writer or editor’s viewpoints on a subject matter. More often than not, people consider an editorial as the opinion of a newspaper on a current issue.

Types of Editorial With Editorial Example

Editorials come in various forms, each serving a unique purpose. This segment explores four types of editorials.

• Explain and interpret

General Editorial Example

Before moving on to the types here is a general editorial example.

Title: Understanding Tourette’s Syndrome: A Call for Compassion and Inclusivity

These editorials examine a topic or issue and highlight its flaws or shortcomings.

It can be a criticism of a decision or an action. Sometimes criticism editorials suggest improvements or provide alternatives

Criticism Editorial Example: “The Flawed Education System: A Call for Reform”

*Note: Here, the writer criticizes the current education system, pointing out its weaknesses. (You may also provide necessary changes to improve student outcomes.)

Explain and Interpret

This type of editorial aims to clarify complex issues or events. By providing context it helps readers understand the topic at hand.

Editorial Example: “Breaking Down the Latest Economic Policy: A Comprehensive Analysis”

In this editorial, the author explains the intricacies of a new economic policy. Outlining its key components and potential impact on the nation’s economy.

A Persuasive editorial tries to convince people. It provides a solution and prompts the reader to take specific actions.

Editorial Example: “The Climate Crisis: Why We Must Act Now”

The author presents compelling, evidence-based arguments on  climate change  in this piece. They also persuade readers to take immediate actions essential for our planet’s future.

A praising editorial celebrates or supports a person or entity’s achievement or notable action. It may also talk about an organization or event.

Editorial Example: “The Unsung Heroes: How Online Paper Writing Service Platforms are Helping Students Find Balance in Life “

In this editorial article example, the writer applauds the professionals that help students.

Editorial Example for Students

Tips to write editorial example for elementary students.

Here are 7 tips for elementary students to write editorial examples:

• Find a fun topic . Choose something that you and your friends care about. For example a school event, a new playground, or a favorite book.
• Learn more . Ask your teacher, parents, or friends for information and facts about your topic. This will help you in writing fact or evidence-based editorials. 
• Share your thoughts : Tell your readers what you think about the topic and why it’s important to you.
• Tell a story . Use examples from your own life or from things you’ve seen or heard to make your point easier to understand.
• Make a plan . Down your main ideas in order, so you know what to talk about first, next, and last in your editorial example.
• Keep it simple : Use words and sentences that are easy for you and your friends to understand.
• Ask for help . Show your editorial example to a teacher, parent, or friend and ask them for advice on how to make it even better.

You will be able to create interesting and fun editorial examples by following these tips. Here are some editorial example topics that you can write on. 

Tips to Write Editorial Example for Middle School Students 

Here are 7 tips for middle school students to write editorial examples

• Choose a relevant topic . Pick a subject that matters to you and your peers. These can include school policies, community issues, or social trends.
• Research your topic . Look up information and facts about your subject through different sources. These can include books, articles, or online sources. Make sure your material supports your opinion in the editorial example.
• State your opinion . Be bold when expressing your opinion on an issue. As middle-schoolers, you can explain the reason behind your perspective. This benefits both you and your audience in expressing and understanding your opinion.
• Use real-life examples . Remember that most of your readers are students with lower attention spans. To engage them, you need to make your editorial relatable. Add shared experiences, events, stories, and news to make your argument persuasive. 
• Organize your ideas . Create an outline for your editorial example. A clear introduction, body, and conclusion outline will guide your writing.
• Write clearly and concisely.  Use straightforward language and concise sentences. Make your editorial easy to understand for your fellow middle school students.
• Revise and seek feedback.  Review your editorial example for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. You can ask a teacher or friend for their input on improving it.

These steps will help you write impactful editorial examples for your school magazine. Your audience will resonate with your work which can spark meaningful discussions.

Tips to Write Editorial Example for High School Students

Here are 7 tips for high school students to write editorial examples:

• Select a compelling topic . Choose a subject that is relevant and important to you and your fellow high school students, such as school policies, social issues, or current events.
• Conduct thorough research . Investigate your topic using reliable sources like books, articles, or reputable websites to gather evidence and support your opinion in the editorial example.
• Present a clear argument : Articulate your stance on the issue and provide logical reasons for your viewpoint.
• Incorporate real-world examples . Use personal experiences, school-related stories, or news events to strengthen your argument and make it relatable to your audience.
• Structure your editorial . Plan your editorial example with a well-organized outline, including an introduction, body, and conclusion, to ensure a cohesive flow of ideas.
• Write with clarity and precision . Employ clear language and concise sentences to convey your message effectively and engage your high school peers.
• Revise and seek constructive feedback . Edit your editorial example for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, and ask a teacher, parent, or friend for their suggestions on how to enhance it.

Editorial Examples For Newspapers

Here are 8 tips for writing editorial examples for newspapers:

• Choose a timely topic : Select a current and newsworthy issue that is relevant to your readers, such as local politics, community events, or national debates.
• Research extensively : Investigate your topic using credible sources like official reports, expert opinions, and reputable news articles to gather solid evidence and support your viewpoint in the editorial example.
• Formulate a strong argument : Clearly articulate your stance on the issue, present logical reasons for your position, and address potential counterarguments.
• Incorporate real-world examples : Use relevant case studies, personal stories, or recent news events to illustrate your points and make your argument more persuasive to newspaper readers.
• Organize your editorial effectively : Structure your editorial example with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion, ensuring a smooth flow of ideas and logical transitions between paragraphs.
• Adopt a journalistic tone : Write with clarity, precision, and objectivity to convey your message professionally and engage your newspaper audience.
• Fact-check and cite sources : Verify the accuracy of your information and provide proper citations for your sources to maintain credibility and trust with your readers.
• Revise and seek professional feedback : Edit your editorial example for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, and consult a newspaper editor or experienced journalist for their input on how to improve your piece.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to craft insightful and impactful editorial examples that will resonate with newspaper readers and contribute to informed public discourse.

Tips to Write Editorial Examples for Newspapers

Students often find themselves lost when writing editorials, as many don’t read newspapers anymore. But fear not! In this step-by-step tutorial, we’ll show you how to build an amazing editorial. 

Choose Your Topic 

• Brainstorm your ideas.
• Make sure your topic hooks your reader.
• Choose ongoing issues to write on. If you pick an older topic, write with a new perception. 
• Ensure your topic serves a broader purpose.

It is no surprise that controversial topics gain more attention. So don’t be afraid of digging a little dirt. You can pick topics like unsolved cases where people are still seeking answers. 

Editorial example : Choosing a hot topic like “economic inflation” can instantly grab your reader’s attention. If you choose an older topic like  modernism in literature , write about how today’s readers can find those books relatable. 

Conduct Thorough Research

Think of it like writing a  research paper . Your job is to present the truth to the reader, even in your opinion. So;

• Gather all solid facts you can find about your topic 
• Conduct proper research from authentic sources
• Proper facts and evidence will support your opinions 

Editorial example : Let’s say you’re writing on climate change. In this editorial essay, you will gain data from reputable sources like NASA or the IPCC. Such evidence will support your argument, making it easier to sway your audience. 

Composing The Editorial

Before we jump into the structural sections of an editorial, let’s focus on some characteristics. Following is a brief prompt on the important aspects of writing. This segment is properly explained in our next heading. 

Remember that you’re writing for the general public and not experts. So; 

• Write concisely. 
• Keep it clear to avoid confusing your audience.
• Ensure it’s easy for readers to understand your opinion.
• Give yourself a word limit that should be at most 800 words. 
• Avoid tough or fancy words. 

Prompt for a newspaper editorial example : Suppose you’re writing an editorial on “economic inflation”. You will need to use some technical terms in your content. To ensure your reader understands your work, explain these terms. Use simple language and easy sentences to convey your message effectively. 

Now let’s get to the editorial format and observe how to structure your content properly. 

Writing an Introduction

Your introduction is the first thing your reader goes through in writing. You need to engage your audience and push them towards the main body of your editorial. To do that, follow these techniques. 

• Start with catchy quotes, questions or facts. 
• Hook the audience with a powerful thesis statement. 
• In an editorial, your argument is your thesis. 

Example of an editorial : 

Let’s say you are writing on “Consumerism Impacts the Environment”. You can use the following fact:

“Consumerism’s impact: If current consumption patterns continue, by 2050, humanity will require the resources of three Earths, leading to environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity. An urgent shift towards sustainable consumption is crucial for a viable future.”

Composing a Body

• Organize your arguments and supporting evidence logically.
• Address counterarguments and refute them.
• Use real-life examples to illustrate your points.

An editorial in newspaper example : Suppose you’re writing a criticism editorial on “Landfills”. You can discuss the impacts they have on the environment. You may also provide a solution and the importance of immediate action.

Composing Conclusion

The  conclusion  is another opportunity to leave a strong impression on the audience. Keeping that in view;

• Summarize your main points
• Reinforce your argument
• End with a call to action or a thought-provoking statement

Example of editorial writing : Suppose you are writing on “climate change”. Encourage readers to take steps to combat climate change and emphasize the issue’s urgency.

Proofread and Edit

Proofreading is essential because it ensures your writing is error-free and effectively communicates your message. This enhances your credibility and leaves a positive impression on your readers. So make sure to;

• Check for grammar and spelling errors
• Review the structure and flow of your editorial
• Ensure your argument is clear and persuasive

After completing your editorial on climate change, proofread it carefully and make any necessary edits to ensure it’s polished and compelling.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating an engaging and impactful editorial that resonates with your readers.

Topics For Editorials

Here are some topic ideas to help you decide what to write next. 

• Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
• The Importance of Investing in Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future
• Examining the Role of Big Tech Companies in Protecting User Privacy
• Addressing the Global Water Crisis: Finding Solutions for Access and Conservation
• The Need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Balancing Security and Compassion
• The Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Job Market: Preparing for the Future of Work
• Bridging the Political Divide: Fostering Civil Discourse in a Polarized Society
• Examining the Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity and Ecosystems
• The Role of Journalism in Upholding Democracy: Preserving Truth and Accountability
• Exploring the Ethics of Genetic Engineering: Balancing Progress and Responsibility

And there you have it, our easy guide on how to write an editorial! Just follow these simple steps and keep an eye on editorial examples for the practical applications of the tips.

However, some of you might still find it tricky to create an impactful editorial. Don’t worry – our  college paper writing service  has your back. Our talented writers will not only help you meet those deadlines but also bring balance to your busy life. Together, we’ll make sure you achieve your goals in no time.

Order Original Papers & Essays

Your First Custom Paper Sample is on Us!

Timely Deliveries

No Plagiarism & AI

100% Refund

Try Our Free Paper Writing Service

Related blogs.

Connections with Writers and support

Privacy and Confidentiality Guarantee

Average Quality Score

• Twin Cities
• Other Locations
• Hours & locations
• by appointment in Nicholson
• Zoom appointments
• How does it work?
• Frequently asked questions
• Tech troubleshooting
• Important policies
• Especially for multilingual writers
• Especially for graduate writers
• Writing process
• Common writing projects
• Punctuation
• Documenting sources
• Consultant bios
• Resources for instructors
• Why participate?
• How to apply
• Participant history
• E-12 Writing Centers Collective
• Job opportunities

schedule, manage, and access your SWS visits

Email [email protected] for questions about Student Writing Support

Phone 612-625-1893

center for writing | student writing support | documenting sources | APA editorial style

APA editorial style

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010) prescribes a specific editorial style for APA-formatted papers; some common aspects are described below. For all the specifics of how to format a document in APA style, consult the Publication Manual or this annotated sample APA paper (best used in combination with the Publication Manual ). Departments sometimes have different regulations for dissertations than the APA manual; check with your department to find out its requirements. To learn more about APA documentation, consult the Center for Writing’s APA Documentation Style quicktips .

General structural guidelines

For more on these structural guidelines, consult chapter two of the Publication Manual .

Double-space the entire document, and use 1-inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right).

Begin the paper with a title page..

• Centered on the title page are the title, the author’s name and institution, and an Author Note (see the Manual , section 2.03, for more on author notes). Some instructors also like the instructor’s name, course name, and date to be included. If you are writing for a course, check your syllabus and assignment sheet to determine specific instructor preferences.

Label the sections of the paper.

• After the title page, the prescribed order of sections within a paper is Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References, and Appendices and supplementary materials. (Most papers have some of these sections, but not all of them.)
• The title page, Abstract, Introduction, References, and Appendix (if included in the paper) each begin on a separate page. For a description of what each of the other sections includes, consult the Publication Manual , sections 2.04–2.13.

Paper title Reducing Homophobia in Public School Settings: Meta-analysis of Thirty School Districts Header on top left of title page Running head: REDUCING HOMOPHOBIA Header on top left of all subsequent pages REDUCING HOMOPHOBIA

Follow standard punctuation rules.

inconsistent with APA style guidelines The subject completed a questionnaire, was interviewed and participated in two focus groups. consistent with APA style guidelines The subject completed a questionnaire, was interviewed, and participated in two focus groups.

General stylistic guidelines

APA writing style is intended to improve the clarity and conciseness of wording and maintain a standard throughout all APA-related writing. For more on APA writing style, see chapter three of the Publication Manual .

• Present information in a logical order.
• Avoid creative writing; aim for clear and logical communication.
• Use the past tense (e.g., investigated ) to describe other researchers’ published work and to report your results; use the present perfect tense (e.g., have investigated ) “to express a past action or condition that did not occur at a specific, definite time or to describe an action beginning in the past and continuing to the present” (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 78).
• The APA Publication Manual (2010) recommends choosing the active voice unless “you want to focus on the object or recipient of the action rather than on the actor” (p. 77).
• Choose words carefully: be aware of colloquial expressions, words with multiple meanings, and unclear comparisons.

inconsistent with APA style guidelines The author reviewed the literature. consistent with APA style guidelines I reviewed the literature.

Use of unbiased language

In order to maintain clarity and writing free from bias, APA requires authors to be specific, clear, and fair in their treatment of people in their writing.

inconsistent with APA style guidelines A person with depression often has trouble sleeping; he also has a change in eating habits. consistent with APA style guidelines People with depression often have trouble sleeping; they also have a change in eating habits.

• Use appropriate labels for racial and ethnic identities, be aware of what group members’ preferences are, and be specific when applicable. For instance, if all the subjects are either Ojibwe or Cree, stating this is more accurate than calling them all Native Americans.

inconsistent with APA style guidelines a schizophrenic consistent with APA style guidelines a person with schizophrenia

• Use appropriate labels when referring to sexual orientation: the terms lesbians , gay men , and bisexuals or bisexual women and men are preferred to the term homosexuals .

To help the reader, it is recommended to include headings throughout the paper. Each level has a different heading format.

• Level 1: Centered, boldface, upper- and lowercase letters for all words

Literature Review

• Level 2: Left justified, boldface, upper- and lowercase letters for all words

Proponents of Emotional Intelligence Opponents of Emotional Intelligence

• Level 3: Indented, boldface, first word uppercase and the rest lowercase; heading ends with a period, with the text starting on the same line immediately after the period

Proponents of Emotional Intelligence Theories prior to 1950. Text text text text Theories after 1950. Text text text text

If you need more than three levels, consult the Publication Manual , section 3.03, or see the APA Style Blog entry on this topic .

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

American Psychological Association. (2012a). APA style. Retrieved from http://apastyle.org/

American Psychological Association. (2012b). APA style blog . Retrieved from http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/

Seas, K., & Brizee, A. (2010) APA Style Workshop . Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/664/01/

• Address: 15 Nicholson Hall , 216 Pillsbury Dr SE , Minneapolis, MN 55455 | Phone: 612.625.1893
• Address: 9 Appleby Hall , 128 Pleasant St SE , Minneapolis, MN 55455
• © 2011 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
• The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer
• Last modified on October 25, 2023
• Twin Cities Campus:
• Parking & Transportation
• Maps & Directions
• Directories
• Contact U of M

Carmine Mastropierro

How to write an editorial – step by step guide.

I hope you enjoy my blog post. If you need copywriting coaching and a community, join my academy .

Join The Newsletter!

Get my latest content on business, marketing, and copywriting.

Trying to write for magazines or other publications and don’t know how to craft an editorial?

No problem .

Today I’m going to show you how to write and format an editorial in a few easy steps.

Editorial writing is very lucrative and fun, making it an awesome avenue for writers.

However, writing editorials that get approved by picky editors can be a whole other ball game.

Follow along as I show you the ropes of editorial writing.

What is an editorial?

First of all, let’s define what an editorial is.

According to Google, it’s:

A newspaper article written by or on behalf of an editor that gives an opinion on a topical issue.

It’s typically focused on a trending topic or something relevant to a certain industry.

Since it’s an opinion-based piece, it also requires thorough evidence, statistics, and research to make it credible.

You express a specific opinion and viewpoint when writing an editorial that you attempt to persuade readers to believe.

Editorial format

Let’s break down a live editorial to understand proper formatting.

It all begins with the headline and featured image .

I’ll teach you how to write editorial headlines in a moment, but remember it’s the first thing readers see.

That means if your headline stinks, nobody is going to click through to read the article.

Additionally, in the words of Claude Hopkins , “Images are sales people in themselves.”

Depending on the publication you’re writing for, you may or may not have control over the featured image used for the piece.

However, the picture should preferably support and enhance the topic you’re speaking about.

Moving on, a hook and a leading paragraph are the next crucial parts of an editorial to nail .

The first sentence or paragraph needs to make a bold statement or interesting observation to capture the reader’s attention.

Note how in this Wired article, the writer mentions how the Department of Housing and Urban Development sued Facebook for violating the Fair Housing Act.

That is serious news .

Anyone interested in big data will be hooked into reading the remaining content.

This is why the leading paragraph needs to support the intro with further detail.

Furthermore, clarification may need to be done around some terms and topics if they are complex in nature like so :

Since editorials are opinion based, it’s of utmost importance that you mix in your perspective on things, too .

Seldom are editorials written in the first person, though.

Instead, write your opinion as if it’s factual information, and back it up with supporting evidence.

For example, the author of this Wired article elaborates on how Facebook’s targeting and audience system has ethical and technical issues.

As regulations tighten up, this is only going to create more problems for them in the future and it’s deserved in a way.

On the flip side, another writer could’ve supported the idea of Facebook’s approach and that would’ve been their opinion .

See where I’m going with this?

You need to choose one side of the story and stick to it all the way through.

Which brings me to the conclusion :

It should summarize the main points of the article and end with a thought-provoking statement.

Publications pay close attention to the conclusion because it’s often what spikes engagement such as comments and social shares.

That’s why I recommend putting a solid effort into polishing off your piece before sending it to an editor.

You can take care of most of these processes with a tool like Jasper.ai which you can try for free here . Watch my review to learn more below.

Editorial examples

Here are great examples of editorials you should swipe.

Use them as inspiration for headlines, formatting , voice, and to reference while writing.

New York Times

This is an editorial example from the New York Times on American and Europe’s digital privacy.

It uses a thought-provoking headline by asking the reader a question. An attention-grabbing and unique image is used to accompany the article.

Note the subhead elaborates on the headline and position the author takes.

The editorial begins with background information on Congress questioning tech CEOs on collecting personal information, the vulnerability of Americans, and how little has been done to move forward.

They also speak about Europe’s solution to online privacy which American Congress needs to learn from. This helps readers understand the topic’s context while stating the author’s position.

The body of the editorial uses quotes, examples, and further information to support its main points.

It’s concluded with a summary of the article and what the author believes the next best steps are.

The Washington Post

Here’s an editorial from The Washington Post on Donald Trump’s presidency and if he should be impeached.

The headline is provocative, makes a bold statement, and addresses a specific party (Congress).

The video underneath serves as a featured image and provides more information.

The author, Danielle Allen, immediately states her position that impeachment isn’t just a political question but a legal and moral one as well.

She asks questions to engage the audience and get them thinking.

Danielle elaborates on very specific parts of the Constitution to support her claims about impeachment, how it works, and what it means.

She concludes the editorial by recapping her stance that Congress should audit the president and if he’s committed an impeachable crime according to the books.

The Huffington Post

Next, we have an editorial example from The Huffington Post on climate change.

I love the headline. By not directly saying what the scandal is, it makes you wonder and click the article.

The subhead provides more context and creates a sense of urgency be saying global warming is increasing and billions of people are at risk.

A stage is set in the first couple of paragraphs by elaborating on how there are plans to protect the economy, jobs, but nothing from climate change.

The author cites specific events, summits, data, and findings that all back up their claims that global warming is rising and not enough action is being taken to prevent it.

Note how the last few paragraphs of the editorial focus on what can be done to solve the issue. They present their opinions and ideas which is what editorial style is all about.

How to write an editorial

Now that you understand how editorials are formatted, let’s dive deeper into editorial

Step 1: Find an epic topic to cover

If you want to get accepted by an editor of a publication, your pitch better be really damn good .

They don’t want generic or simple topics, but rather ones that cover a popular subject with your own unique twist.

For example, the Toronto Raptors just won the NBA Finals, so you could write a piece on “What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From The Toronto Raptors Winning The Finals.”

This article could elaborate on how their team’s training style and strategies can be applied to businesses.

It’s a random example but stick with me.

You could also search for keywords through Google News to brainstorm.

Cannabis is really big in Canada with legalization being relatively new, so I searched for that:

Based on the first result, you could pitch an article on why you don’t think Ottawa’s legal cannabis edibles are a good decision for the city.

This is what we would call a response post .

It reacts to an existing story and provides another opinion on the matter.

Make sure you read the guidelines for the publication you’re writing for, as they may have restrictions or tips for topics.

Once you have an idea for a topic, consider the audience you’re writing for .

What do they care about? What do they want to learn? What are their demographics?

This will change your writing and shape the editorial.

You want it to resonate with the section’s audience as much as possible.

That’s why I suggest reading previous articles and analyzing the reader’s engagement.

What do they normally comment on? Do you notice a pattern in how they speak?

Apply these observations to your editorial, and it will resonate with the target audience more.

Lastly, make sure to collect resources, references, and data to support the article.

Continuing off of the cannabis example, you could search for “cannabis stats” and use a couple of the results to back up the points you make.

Once you’ve done this, you can move on to the next step.

Step 2: Craft a headline that makes BuzzFeed proud

As I mentioned earlier, the headline is what will ultimately attract clicks, so you need to put a lot of energy into writing one.

BuzzFeed has the reputation of being the king of clickbait, but it isn’t a bad thing.

From a writer’s perspective, we can learn a ton about how to write headlines from them.

Just look at their front page:

It’s a gold mine for ideas!

Some strategies you can use for headline copywriting include:

• Explanatory : “George Bush Wears The Latest Yeezy’s to Summit, And We’re Trying to Figure Out Why” is an example of a headline that clearly explains what the article is about. There’s no mystery or questions needed.
• Bold : Making a bold statement in the headline like “Scientists Find The Link Between Beer and Mortality” compels users to read the editorial to learn more.
• Question : Some editorial headlines come in the form of a question that resonates with the audience. “Trying to Lose Weight? You Won’t Believe What This Doctor Discovered” is an example.

Step 3: Make the outline

Before you begin writing your award-winning editorial, slow your horses.

Start with an outline. It’s a staple part of forming the editorial structure.

This will speed up the writing process and make your workflow as smooth as silk.

An outline should consist of:

• The headline
• The introduction and hook
• Major and minor points

You don’t need to spend a lot of time on the outline, either.

It simply acts as an organized guideline for when you crack your knuckles and begin typing away.

Make sure that you have all of your resources and references opened up or saved, too.

I recommend that you read my two previous articles to speed up your writing process:

• 8 Insanely Effective Tips on How to Overcome Writer’s Block
• Writing Process Steps For Producing Incredible Copy

This video will also help you with the writing process.

Step 4: Write that bad boy!

Editorials have an opinion, and that opinion needs to be strong .

That means don’t use passive speech or weak arguments to back up any points.

The idea you’re proposing is the ultimate truth in your eyes, so you have to write in that manner.

If you read a lot of editorials, you will notice that they are written and edited to support a single idea.

Stick with that all the way through until the end.

Take a firm stance on the topic and position. If you ever mention an opposing view, make sure to explain why it isn’t correct. Be confident and use facts to support any claims.

At the same time, I recommend offering new ideas. Say something that hasn’t been said before … discuss a new angle … bring up data most people aren’t aware of. This will make it stand out.

I’m a huge advocate of practical content as well. Editorials are no different.

Don’t just talk about an issue or a topic. Talk about how it can be solved and give the reader actionable takeaways. Editorials become much more useful and memorable this way.

Some other editorial writing tips I have:

• Write several different headline ideas and pick the best one.
• Edit and proofread the hell out of the article once it’s done. Continually reference the publication’s editorial guidelines to ensure it’s perfect.
• Share the first draft with other writers, family, and friends to get their opinion.
• Don’t underestimate the power of sleeping on your writing. You’ll feel refreshed and approach the article with a clear mind the next day.

Who writes editorials?

Editorials are primarily written by writing staff working for magazines, websites, and other publications.

These pieces of content are handed off to an editor who will fix grammar, spelling, flow, mistakes, and other components.

An editor-in-chief will oversee all of the writers, editors, and staff that play a role in publishing editorials on a regular basis.

You can also be a freelance editorial writer. In this case, you contact out your writing services to many different publications at once.

It’s a great way to earn income and be your own boss. Check out my free courses to learn more.

Why write editorials

So, why should a business write editorials and what are the benefits of doing so?

Firstly, editorials are suitable for any publication that likes to keep its readers informed about recent news and events.

Look at Fortune, Entrepreneur, The LA Times, and similar publications.

They are pushing out content many times per day because there’s a constant flow of news to touch on.

This helps form your business into a thought leader and a trustworthy source of information.

Furthermore, editorials are much shorter in length than other forms of content which makes pumping out many easier.

You will also need a great team of writers and editors if you don’t have already one established.

Hopping on trends and waves will give your publication an immediate spike in traffic which is another benefit of writing editorials.

Similarly, this type of content is easily digestible and commonly shared which creates a viral effect.

Can an editorial be in first person?

Absolutely. You’ll notice that many editorials are written in first person depending on the individual publication and story.

Furthermore, all editorials found in the opinion sections of a publication will be in the first person because they are meant to share personal views.

Look at this editorial from The New York Times, for example.

The very first word is “I.”

Once again, keep in mind that the story being covered will usually decide whether or not a first person perspective is appropriate or not.

Final thoughts on how to write an editorial

Editorials are articles that share news and personal opinions on topics that matter.

They are typically written about current events and subjects that readers are already familiar with.

Every great editorial begins with an eye-catching image and headline, as well. This is the bait that gets the reader into the article.

Then, the first paragraph needs to be easy to read while naturally leading to the rest of the content.

Demystifying complex terms and mixing in your own opinion are two keys to a good editorial. This makes it simpler to understand while unique since nobody has your opinion but you .

Write a clear conclusion that sums up the major points and creates the opportunity for readers to leave their opinions. Remember, news outlets thrive off of engagement.

Still want to learn more? Check out my online courses .

Read Related Content

37+ Ways to Make $1,000/Month Passive Income

How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs For Good

How to Network With Millionaires and Wealthy People

Popular Posts

Copywriting Exercises

Content Writing Exercises

Copywriting Niches

Best Copywriting Courses

Copywriting KPIs

Magazines Looking For Writers

AIDA Copywriting

Direct Response Copywriting

Freelance Writing Rates

Copywriting Guides

Product Descriptions

Sales Letters

Newsletters

Advertorials

Social Media

Industry Guides

SaaS Copywriting

Real Estate Copywriting

E-Commerce Copywriting

Financial Copywriting

Fashion Copywriting

Men’s Health Copywriting

Commercial Copywriting

Money Making Guides

How to Start Making Money Online

Making Money With Surveys

Starting an Online Business

Copywriting as a Side Hustle

How to Get a Six-Figure Job

Freelancing vs Full Time Career

$2,000/Month Passive Income Ideas

Join Copy Pro Academy

What my students say.

Listen to what students and people I've worked with have said.

Get copywriting coaching, courses, and a private community for only $20/month!

Carmine Mastropierro is a self-growth, marketing, and business coach that helps people transform their income, value, skills, and success.

• Recommended Resources
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

How to Write an Editorial?

• Open Access
• First Online: 24 October 2021

Cite this chapter

You have full access to this open access chapter

• Samiran Nundy 4 ,
• Atul Kakar 5 &
• Zulfiqar A. Bhutta 6  

44k Accesses

11 Altmetric

An Editorial is defined as an opinion or a view of a member of the editorial board or any senior or reputed faculty written in a journal or newspaper. The statement reflects the opinion of the journal and is considered to be an option maker. If you have been asked to write an editorial it means that you are an expert on that topic. Editorials are generally solicited.

Editorial writers enter after battle and shoot the wounded Neil Goldschmidt, American Businessman and Politician (1940–…)

You have full access to this open access chapter,  Download chapter PDF

Similar content being viewed by others

The Journal Editor as Academic Custodian

Preparing the Manuscript

1 what is an editorial, 2 how is the topic for an editorial chosen.

This is decided by the members of the editorial board and is usually related to important work which is about to be published in the journal. If you are invited to write an editorial on a topic of your choosing you should preferably write one on a general or public health problem that might interest a wide readership [ 1 ].

3 What Should be the Contents of an Editorial?

It has been said that ‘Editors, by and large, are reticent people, with a magnified sense of their own importance. Well, this may hurt some, but before they jump at our throats, let us clarify that we belong there as well’. The editorial should not look like an introduction to an original article or a self-glorifying piece of fiction.

Editorial writing has been compared to a double-edged sword, you can be apolitical and pragmatic but at the same time dogmatic in your views. The majority of editorials provide the readers a balanced view of the problems raised in a particular research paper and place them in a wider context. But there is no harm in going to extremes if the data supports your view. However, you should not mock the paper’s authors [ 2 ].

4 What Is the Basic Information Required for Writing an Editorial?

First, read the paper for which the editorial has been asked again and again. Do a literature search and critically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the study. Read about how and why other authors came to similar or different conclusions. Discuss whether or not the findings are important [ 3 ].

An editorial should be brief, about one to two pages long, but it should be powerful. The language should be a combination of good English and good science. The writing can be ‘embellished by language but not drowned in it’. While a good editorial states a view, it does not force the reader to believe it and gives him the liberty to form his own opinion.

5 What Are the Steps Involved in Writing an Editorial?

Choose a topic intelligently.

Have a catchy title.

Declare your stance early.

Build up your argument with data, statistics and quotes from famous persons.

Provide possible solutions to the problem.

Follow a definite structure consisting of an introduction, a body that contains arguments and an end with a tailpiece of a clear conclusion. It should give the reader a chance to ponder over the questions and concerns raised.

6 What Are the Types of Editorial?

Editorials can be classified into four types. They may:

Explain or interpret : Editors use this type of editorial to explain a new policy, a new norm or a new finding.

Criticize: this type of editorial is used to disapprove of any finding or observation.

Persuade: These encourage the reader to adopt new thoughts or ideas.

Praise: These editorials admire the authors for doing something well.

7 What Is the Purpose of an Editorial?

An editorial is a personal message from the editor to the readers. It may be a commentary on a published article or topic of current interest which has not been covered by the journal. Editorials are also written on new developments in medicine. They may also cover non-scientific topics like health policy, law and medicine, violence against doctors, climate change and its effect on health, re-emerging infectious diseases, public interventions for the control of non -communicable diseases and ongoing epidemics or pandemics [ 4 ].

8 What Are the Instructions for Writing Editorials in Major Journals?

Many editorials written by in-house editors or their teams represent the voice of the journal. A few journals allow outside authors to write editorials. The details for these suggested by some of the leading journals are given in Table 26.1 .

9 What Is a Viewpoint?

A Viewpoint is a short article that focuses on some key issues, cutting-edge technology or burning topics or any new developments in the field of medicine. It can be a ‘personal opinion’ or any piece of information, which gives the author’s perspective on a particular issue, supported by the literature. Viewpoints can also be unencumbered by journal policy. The normal length of viewpoints can flexible. The BMJ, for instance, also allows viewpoints to be written by patients.

Viewpoints may share a few common features with commentaries, perspectives and a focus which is a brief, timely piece of information. It is like a ‘spotlight’ that contains information on research funding, policy issues and regulatory issues whereas a commentary is an in-depth analysis of a current matter which can also include educational policy, law besides any other seminal issue.

10 Conclusions

An editorial is written to provide a crisp, concise overview of an original article. It is generally deemed to be an honour to be asked to write an editorial.

One needs to follow the general instructions for writing editorials for a particular journal.

It should have an objective and the flow of ideas should be clear.

Squires BP. Editorials and platform articles: what editors want from authors and peer reviewers. CMAJ. 1989;141:666–7.

CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Singh A, Singh S. What is a good editorial? Mens Sana Monogr. 2006;4:14–7.

Article   Google Scholar  

Cleary M, Happell B, Jackson D, Walter G. Writing a quality editorial. Nurse Author & Editor. 2012;22:3.

Article types at The BMJ. Last accessed on 12th July 2020. Available on https://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-authors/article-types

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India

Samiran Nundy

Department of Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India

Institute for Global Health and Development, The Aga Khan University, South Central Asia, East Africa and United Kingdom, Karachi, Pakistan

Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Nundy, S., Kakar, A., Bhutta, Z.A. (2022). How to Write an Editorial?. In: How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries?. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5248-6_26

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5248-6_26

Published : 24 October 2021

Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-16-5247-9

Online ISBN : 978-981-16-5248-6

eBook Packages : Medicine Medicine (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Free Cover Page templates

Create impressive cover pages for your assignments and projects online in just a click. choose from hundreds of free templates and customize them with edit.org..

Create impressive cover pages in a few minutes with Edit.org, and give your projects and assignments a professional and unique touch. A well-designed title page or project front page can positively impact your professor's opinion of your homework, which can improve your final grade!

Create a personalized report cover page

After writing the whole report, dissertation, or paper, which is the hardest part, you should now create a cover page that suits the rest of the project. Part of the grade for your work depends on the first impression of the teacher who corrects it.

We know not everyone is a professional designer, and that's why Edit.org wants to help you. Having a professional title page can give the impression you've put a great deal of time and effort into your assignment, as well as the impression you take the subject very seriously. Thanks to Edit.org, everyone can become a professional designer. This way, you'll only have to worry about doing a great job on your assignment.

On the editor, you will also find free resume templates  and other educational and professional designs.

Customize an essay cover page with Edit.org

• Go to formats on the home page and choose Cover pages.
• Choose the template that best suits the project.
• You can add your images or change the template background color.
• Add your report information and change the font type and colors if needed.
• Save and download it. The cover page is ready to make your work shine!

Free editable templates for title pages

As you can see, it's simple to create cover pages for schoolwork and it won’t take much time. We recommend using the same colors on the cover as the ones you used for your essay titles to create a cohesive design. It’s also crucial to add the name and logo of the institution for which you are doing the essay. A visually attractive project is likely to be graded very well, so taking care of the small details will make your work look professional.

On Edit.org, you can also reuse all your designs and adapt them to different projects. Thanks to the users' internal memory, you can access and edit old templates anytime and anywhere.

Take a look at other options we propose on the site. Edit.org helps design flyers, business cards, and other designs useful in the workplace. The platform was created so you don't need to have previous design knowledge to achieve a spectacular cover page! Start your cover page design now.

Create online Cover Pages for printing

You can enter our free graphic editor from your phone, tablet or computer. The process is 100% online, fun and intuitive. Just click on what you want to modify. Customize your cover page quickly and easily. You don't need any design skills. No Photoshop skills. Just choose a template from this article or from the final waterfall and customize it to your liking. Writing first and last names, numbers, additional information or texts will be as easy as writing in a Word document.

Free templates for assignment cover page design

Tumblr Banners

Album Covers

Magazine Covers

Book & eBook Covers

• Guides & Resources

How To Write an Op-ed: A Step By Step Guide

There’s a formula that we call the “ABCs” that can be used to write compelling op-eds, columns, or blogs. The same formula can also be used to write almost any document that offers up an argument or gives advice. This is a “news flash lede,” a comment that will make sense in a  moment .

The ABC Formula

This formula for writing op-eds is based on our experience and our op-eds that appeared in the  New York Times , the  Wall Street Journal , and the  Washington Post .  I first came across a version of this formula while I was at  US News and World Report . It was called “FLUCK,” and we have tweaked it a bit since then. 

This is probably obvious, but this ABC formula is meant to guide writers rather than restrict them. In other words, these are recommendations, not a rigid set of instructions.

Better yet, think of the formula as a flexible template for making an effective argument in print—one that you personalize with your specific style, topic, and intended audience in mind.

This guide is divided into five parts.

Part I: Introduction:  In this section, we give a brief overview of the approach and discuss the importance of writing and opinion.

Part II: The ABCs:  Here we cover the important steps in writing for your audience: Attention, Billboard, and Context.

PART III: The ABCS in Example:  In this section, we give you different examples of the ABCs in action and how to effectively use them.

PART IV: Pitching:  Here we will go over how to effectively pitch ideas and submit ideas to an editor for publication.

PART V: Final tips and FAQs: Here we go over a few more key things to do and answer the most commonly asked questions.

Part I: Introduction To Op-Eds

Op-eds are one of the most powerful tools in communications today. They can make a career. They can break a career.

But there’s often lots of mystery around editorials and op-eds. I mean: What does op-ed even stand for?

Well, let’s start with editorials. Editorials are columns written by a member of a publication’s board or editors, and they are meant to represent the view of the publication. While reporting has the main purpose of informing the public, editorials can serve a large number of purposes. But typically editorials aim to persuade an audience on a controversial issue.

Op-eds, on the other hand, are “opposite the editorial” page columns. They began as a way for an author to present an opinion that opposed the one on the editorial board. Note that an op-ed is different than a letter to the editor, which is when someone writes a note to complain about an article, and that note is published. Think of a letter to the editor as an old, more stodgy form of the comments section of an article.

The New York Times  produced the first modern op-ed in 1970, and over time, op-eds became a way for people to simply express their opinions in the media. They tend to be written by experts, observers, or someone passionate about a topic, and as media in general becomes more partisan, op-eds have become more and more common.

How to start . The first step for writing an op-ed is to be sure to: Make. An. Argument.

Many op-eds fail because they just summarize key details. But, wrong or right, op-eds need to advance a strong contention. They need to assert something, and the first step is to write down your argument.

Here are some examples:

• I want to write an op-ed on the plague that are drinks that overflow with ice cubes. This op-ed would argue that restaurants serve drinks with too many ice cubes.
• Superman is clearly better than Batman. In this op-ed, I would convince readers why Superman is a better superhero than Batman.
• My op-ed is on lowering the voting age in America. An op-ed on this topic would list reasons why Congress should pass a law to allow those who are 14 years old like me to be able to vote in elections.

How to write.  So you have yourself an argument. It’s now time to write the op-ed. When it comes to writing, this guide assumes a decent command of the English language; we’re not going to cover the basics of nouns and verbs. However, keep in mind a few things:

• Blogs, op-eds, and columns are short.  Less than 1,000 words. Usually between 500 and 700 words. Many blogs are just a few hundred words, basically a few graphs and a pull quote often does the job.
• Simplicity, logic, and clarity are your best friends  when it comes to writing op-eds and blogs. In other words, write like a middle schooler. Use short sentences and clear words. Paragraphs should be less than four sentences. Please take a look at Strunk and White for more information. I used to work with John Podesta, who has written many great op-eds, and he was rumored to have given his staff a copy of Strunk and White on their first day of employment.
• Love yourself topic sentences.  The first sentence of each paragraph needs to be strong, and your topic sentences should give an overall idea of what’s to follow. In other words, a reader should be able to grasp your article’s argument by reading the first sentence of each paragraph.

How to make an argument.  This guide is not for reporters or news writers. That’s journalism. This guide is for people who make arguments. So keep in mind the following:

• Evidence . This might be obvious, but you need evidence to support your argument. This means data in the forms of published studies, government statistics, and anything that offers cold facts. Stories are good and can support your argument. But try and go beyond a good anecdote.
• Tone . Check out the bloggers and columnists that are in the publications that you’re aiming for, and try to emulate them when it comes to their  argumentative tone . Is their tone critical? Humorous? Breezy? Your tone largely hinges on what type of outlet you are writing for, which brings us to…
• Audience .  Almost everything in your article — from what type of language you use to your tone — depends on your audience. A piece for a children’s magazine is going to read differently than, say, an op-ed in the Washington Post. The best way to familiarize yourself with your audience is to read pieces that have already been published in the outlet you are writing for, or hoping to write for. Take note of how the author presents her argument and then adjust yours accordingly.

Sidebar: Advice vs Argument.  Offering advice in the form of a how-to article — like what you’re reading right now — is different than putting forth an argument in an actual op-ed piece.

That said, advice pieces, like this  one  by Lifehacker or this  one  by Hubspot, follow much of the same ABC formula. For instance, advice pieces will still often begin with an attention-grabbing opener and contextualize their subject matter.

However, instead of trying to make an argument in the body of the article, the advice pieces will typically list five to ten ways of “how to do” something. For example, “How to cook chicken quesadillas” or “How to ask someone out on a date.”

The primary purpose of an advice piece is to inform rather than to convince. In other words, advice pieces describe what you could do, while op-ed pieces show us what we should do.

Part II: Dissecting The ABC Approach

Formula.  Six steps make up the ABC method, and yes, that means it should be called the ABCDEF method. Either way, here are the steps:

Attention  (sometimes called the lede): Here’s your chance to grab the reader’s attention. The opening of an opinion piece should bring the reader into the article quickly. This is also sometimes referred to as the flash or the lede, and there are two types of flash introductions. They are: Option 1.  Narrative flash . A narrative flash is a story that brings readers into the article. It should be some sort of narrative hook that grabs attention and entices the reader to delve further into the piece. A brief and descriptive anecdote often works well as a narrative flash. It simultaneously catches the reader’s attention and hints at the weightier argument and evidence yet to come.

When I first started writing for US News, I wrote a flash lede to introduce an article about paddling school children. Here’s that text:

Ben Line didn’t think the assistant principal had the strength or the gumption. But he was wrong. The 13-year-old alleges that the educator hit him twice with a paddle in January, so hard it left scarlet lines across his buttocks. Ben’s crime? He says he talked back to a teacher in class, calling a math problem “dumb.”

Option 2.  News flash . Some pieces — especially those tied to the news — can have a lede without a narrative start. Other pieces, including many op-eds, are simply too short to begin with a narrative flash. In either of these instances, using the news flash as your lede is likely your best bet.

If I were writing a news flash lede for the paddling piece, I might start with something as simple as: Congress again is considering legislation to outlaw paddling.

• Billboard  (also often called the nut graph): The billboard portion of the lede should do two things:

First, the “billboard” section should make an argument that elevates the stakes and begins to introduce general evidence and context for the argument. So start to introduce some general evidence to support your argument in the nut portion of the lede.

For an example of a nut graph for a longer piece on say, sibling-on-sibling rivalry, consider the following:  The Smith sisters exemplify a disturbing trend. Research indicates that violence between siblings—defined as the physical, emotional, or sexual abuse of one sibling by another, ranging from mild to highly violent—is likely more common than child abuse by parents. A new report from the University of Michigan Health System indicates the most violent members of American families are indeed the children. Data suggests that three out of 100 children are considered dangerously violent toward a brother or sister, and nine-year-old Kayla Smith is one of those victims: “My sister used to get mad and hit me every once in a while, but now it happens at least twice a week. She just goes crazy sometimes. She’s broken my nose, kicked out two teeth, and dislocated my shoulder.”

Second, the billboard should begin to lay the framework of the piece and flush out important details—with important story components like Who, What, When, Where, How, Why, etc. A good billboard graph often ends with a quote or call to action. Think of it like this: if someone reads only your “billboard” section, she should be able to grasp your argument and the basic details. If you use a narrative flash lede, then the nut paragraph often starts with something like: They are not alone. So in the padding article, for instance, the nut might have been: “Ben is not alone. In fact, 160,000 students are subject to corporal punishment in U.S. schools each year, according to a 2016 social policy report.”

For another example, here’s a history graph from a recent op-ed by John Podesta that ran in the  Washington Post :

“To give some context: On Oct. 7, 2016, WikiLeaks began leaking emails from my personal inbox that had been hacked by Russian intelligence operatives. A few days earlier, Stone — a longtime Republican operative and close confidant of then-candidate Donald Trump — had mysteriously predicted that the organization would reveal damaging information about the Clinton campaign. And weeks before that, he’d even tweeted: ‘Trust me, it will soon [be] Podesta’s time in the barrel.’”

If you’re writing an advice piece, then similar advice applies. A how-to guide for Photoshop, for example, might include recent changes to the program and information on the many ways that Photoshop can be used to edit pictures.

• Demonstrate:  In this section, you must offer specific details to support your argument. If writing an op-ed, this section can be three or four paragraphs long. If writing a column, this section can be six or ten paragraphs long. Either way, the section should outline the most compelling evidence to support your thesis. For my paddling article, for instance, I offered this argument paragraph:  The problem with corporal punishment, Straus stresses, is that it has lasting effects that include increased aggression and social difficulties. Specifically, Straus studied more than 800 mothers over a period from 1988 to 1992 and found that children who were spanked were more rebellious after four years, even after controlling for their initial behaviors. Groups that advocate for children, like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Education Association, oppose the practice in schools for those reasons.

While narrative can be vital when capturing a reader’s attention, it’s equally important to offer hard facts in the evidence section. When demonstrating the details of your argument, be sure to present accurate facts from reputable sources. Studies published in established journals are a good source of evidence, for instance, but blogs with unverified claims are not.

Also, when providing supporting details, you should think about using what the Ancient Greeks called ethos, pathos, and logos. To explain, ethos refers to appeals based on your credibility, that you’re someone worth listening to. For example, if you are arguing why steroids should be banned in baseball, you might talk about how you once used steroids and their terrible impact on your health.

Pathos refers to using evidence that plays to the emotions. For example, if you are trying to show why people should evacuate during hurricanes, you might describe a family who lost their seven-year-old child during a hurricane.

Logos refers to logical statements, typically based on facts and statistics. For example, if you are trying to convince the audience why they should join the military when they are young, provide statistics on their income when they retire and the benefits they receive while in the military.

• Equivocate : You should strengthen your argument by including at least one graph that briefly describes—and then discounts—the strongest counterargument to your point. This is often called the “to be sure” paragraph, and it hedges your bets about the clarity of your piece with phrases such as “to be sure” or “in other words.”Here’s an  example  from a recent op-ed in Bloomberg:  Of course, that doesn’t mean that Hispanics simply change while other Americans stay the same. In  his 2017 book  “The Other Side of Assimilation: How Immigrants Are Changing American Life,” Jimenez recounts how more established American groups change their culture and broaden their horizons based on their personal relationships with more recently arrived immigrant groups. Assimilation isn’t slavish conformity to white norms, but a two-way process where the U.S. is changed by each new group that arrives.
• Forward : This is where you wrap up your piece. It carries greater impact, though, if you can write an ending that has some oomph to it and really looks forward. So try to provide some parting thoughts and, when appropriate to the topic, draw your readers to look toward the future. If you began with a narrative flash lede, it’s optimal whenever possible to find a way to tie back into that introductory story. It allows you to simultaneously finalize the premise of your argument and neatly conclude your article. In an  op-ed  about gun violence that ran last year, minister Jeff Blattner looks toward the future and seamlessly ties the end of his piece back to his lede with this simple but effective kicker:  If we don’t commit ourselves to solving them together—to seeing one another as part of a bigger “us”—we may reap a whirlwind of ever-widening division. Let Pittsburgh, in its grief, show us the way.

An op-ed needs to advance a strong contention. It needs to assert something, and and the first step is write down your argument.

Part III: The ABCs In Example

Now that we have gone over the basic ABC formula, let’s examine a recent blog item and identify the six ABC steps.

Written by E.A. Crunden, the piece appeared in  ThinkProgress  and is titled, “ Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is embroiled in more than one scandal .”

• Attention :  “A controversial contract benefiting a small company based in his hometown is only the latest possible corruption scandal linked to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke…” This opening sentence introduces the most recent news on Zinke while also signaling that other scandals might be discussed in the article.
• Billboard :  “On Monday, nonprofit watchdog group the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) accused Zinke’s dormant congressional campaign of dodging rules prohibiting individuals from converting political donations into individual revenue.” The second paragraph adds more information about Zinke’s alleged missteps.
• Context :  “Zinke’s other ethical close-calls, as the CLC noted, are plentiful.”  This provides some background to the main argument and lets the reader know that Zinke has a long history of questionable ethics, which the author expands upon in the following paragraphs.
• Demonstrate :  “As a Montana congressman, Zinke took thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from oil and gas companies, many of whom drill on the same public lands he now oversees…”  Here the author gives specific evidence of Zinke’s actions that some believe to be unethical. This fortifies the argument. The following few paragraphs continue in this vein.
• Equivocate :  “I had absolutely nothing to do with Whitefish Energy receiving a contract in Puerto Rico,” the interior secretary wrote in a statement on Friday.”  In this case, the equivocation appears in the form of a counterargument. The writer goes on to dismiss it by presenting additional clarifying evidence to support his point.
• Forward:   “Monday’s complaint comes amid a Special Counsel investigation into Zinke’s spending habits, as well as a separate investigation opened by the Interior Department’s inspector general. Audits into Puerto Rico’s canceled contract with Whitefish Energy Holdings are also ongoing.”  These final two sentences “zoom out” from the specifics of the article, showing that the main news item (i.e., Zinke’s poor ethics) will continue to be relevant in the future. These forward-looking sentences also circle back neatly to the point of the flash news lede by reiterating that “Monday’s complaint” is yet another in a growing list against Zinke.

Part IV: Pitching

When it comes to op-eds, most outlets want to review a finished article. In other words, you write the op-ed and then shop it around to different editors. In some cases, the outlet might want a pitch — or brief summary— of the op-ed before you write it.

Either way, you’ll need a short summary, even just a few sentences that describe your argument. Here is an example of the pitch that I wrote that landed me on the front page of the Washington Post’s Outlook section. Note that this pitch is long, but I was aiming for a more feature-like op-ed.

I wanted to pitch a first-person piece looking at Neurocore, the questionable brain-training program that’s funded by Betsy DeVos.  

DeVos just got confirmed as Secretary of Education, and for years, she’s been one of the major investors in Neurocore. Located in Michigan and Florida, the company makes some outlandish promises about brain-based training. The firm has argued, for instance, that its neuro-feedback programs can increase a person’s IQ by up to 12 points.

I was going to take Neurocore’s diagnostic program to get a better sense of the company’s claims. As part of the story, I was also going to discuss the research on neuro-feedback, which is pretty weak. Insurance companies are also skeptical, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recently refused to reimburse for Neurocore’s treatments. I’d also discuss some of my research in this area and talk about some of the dangers of spreading myths about learning.

There’s been some recent coverage of Neurocore. But the articles have typically focused on the conflict of interest posed by the company since DeVos herself has refused to disinvest. What’s more, no one appears to have written a first-person piece describing the experience of attending one of their brain training diagnostic sessions.

A few bits of advice:

• Newsy.  Whenever possible, build off the news. A good way to drum up interest in your piece is to connect it to current events. People naturally are interested in reading op-eds that are linked to recent news pieces — so, an op-ed on Electoral College reform will be more relevant around election season, for instance. It’s often effective to pitch your piece following a major news event. Even better if you can pitch your op-ed in advance; for example, a piece on voter suppression in the United States might be pitched in advance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Here’s an  article  from McGill University that has some advice on this idea.
• Tailor.  Again, in this step of the process, it’s worth considering the audience of the publication. For example, if you’re writing in the business section of a newspaper, you’ll want to frame the article around business. If you are writing for a sports magazine, you’ll want to write about topics like “Who is the greatest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus?”

Also, websites sometimes have information on pitching their editors. Be sure to follow whatever specific advice they give — this will improve your chances of catching an editor’s eye.

Advice pieces describe what you could do, while op-ed pieces show us what we should do.

Part V: FAQs And Tips

I have lots to say. Can I write a 3,000-word op-ed?

Not really. Most blog articles, op-eds, and columns are short. What’s more, your idea is more likely to gain traction if it’s clear and simple. Take the Bible. It can be broken down to a simple idea: Love one another as you love yourself. Or take the Bill of Rights. It can be shortened to: Individuals have protections.

I want to tell a story. Can I do that?

Maybe. If you do, keep it short and reference the story at the top and maybe again at the bottom. But again, the key to an op-ed is that it makes an argument.

What should do before I hit submit?

We could suggest two things:

• Make sure you cite all your sources. Avoid plagiarism of any kind. If you’re in doubt, provide a citation via a link or include endnotes citing your sources.
• Check your facts. The  New York Times  op-ed columnist Bret Stephens says it this way: “Sweat the small stuff. Read over each sentence—read it aloud—and ask yourself: Is this true? Can I defend every single word of it? Did I get the facts, quotes, dates, and spellings exactly right? Yes, sometimes those spellings are hard: the president of Turkmenistan is Gurbanguly Malikguliyevich Berdymukhammedov. But, believe me, nothing’s worse than having to run a correction.” For more guidance, see Stephen’s  list of tips for aspiring op-ed writers .
• Read it out loud. Before I submit something, I’ll read it out loud. It helps me catch typos and other errors. For more on talking out loud as a tool, see this  article  that I pulled together some time ago.

What’s the difference between a blog article and an op-ed?

A blog article can be about anything such as “What I had for lunch today” or “Why I love Disney World.” An op-ed typically revolves around something in the news and is meant to be persuasive. It typically runs in a news outlet of some kind.

What if no one takes my op-ed?

Be patient. You might need to offer your op-ed to multiple outlets before someone decides to publish it, and you can always tweak the op-ed to make it more news-y, tying the article to something that happened in the news that day or week.

Also, look for ways to improve the op-ed. You might, for instance, focus on changing the “attention” section to make it more creative and interesting or try to improve the context section.

What is the best way to start writing an op-ed?

Before writing, make sure to create an outline. I will often write out my topic sentences and make sure that I’m making a strong, evidence-based argument. Then I’ll focus on a creative way to open my op-ed.

Don’t worry if you get writer’s block while writing the “attention” step. You can always come back and make it more interesting. Really, the most important step is having an outline.

Should I hyperlink?

Yes, include hyperlinks in your articles to provide your readers with easy access to additional information.

–Ulrich Boser

15 thoughts on “How To Write an Op-ed: A Step By Step Guide”

Thanks for this excellent refresher!

I am writing this with the hope that the leasing of the port of Haifa will not come to fruition,It will give the Chinese a strong foothold in the middle east. No longer will the United States 6th fleet have a home away from home..May i remind those who are in command that NO OTHER COUNTRY in the world has helped Israel more than the US.and it would be a slap in the face of our best friend and cause many , many consequences in the future for the state of Israel. I pray to G-D that those in charge will come to their senses and hopefully cancel the agreement. M A, Modiin

Excellent piece of writing ideas, Thanks a lot for sharing these amazing tricks.

INTERESABTE TODA LA INFORMACION

Gracias, Julio!

Good information

So glad you enjoyed it!

Glad it was helpful. Did I miss something in your comment?

Well done, But it’s needs practice!! Hands on!

Write with is one of the most critical steps of the writing process and is probably relevant to the first point. If you want to get your blood pumping and give it your best, you might want to write with passion, and give it all you got. How do you do this? Make sure that you have the right mindset whenever you are writing.

Create a five-paragraph editorial about a topic that matters to you.

Reading this I realized I should get some more information on this subject. I feel like there’s a gap in my knowledge. Anyway, thanks.

Thank you very much for your really helpful tips. I’m currently writing a lesson plan to help students write better opinion pieces and your hands-on approach, if a bit too detailed for my needs, is truly valuable. I hope my students will see it the same way 😉

Thank you for sharing your expertise. Your advice on incorporating storytelling, providing evidence, and addressing counterarguments is invaluable for ensuring the effectiveness and persuasiveness of op-eds.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

More Insights

5 Questions With Neil Heffernan of ASSISTments

Learn how online math platform ASSISTments is closing achievement gaps, aiding teachers, and benefiting science of learning research.

A Breakthrough In Better, Cheaper, And Faster Education R&D

An unprecedented grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to OpenStax at Rice University will facilitate the education R&D needed to develop new tools for teaching and learning.

5 Questions With WiKIT’s Natalia I. Kucirkova

Evidence of learning is key to the successful development of new edtech tools and platforms. Prof. Natalia I. Kucirkova of WiKIT discusses efforts to leverage the collective expertise of those in the education community to ensure that children worldwide can use technologies that genuinely enhance their learning.

Stay up-to-date by signing up for our weekly newsletter

• Search Search
• Submitting research
• Editing a journal
• Peer reviewing
• What's new?
• Assigning editors

Manuscripts are initially assigned to editors either manually or automatically. This is defined when the journal is set up in Snapp, and can be changed afterwards in consultation with your Publisher. Assigned editors receive an email to let them know that they have submissions, so that they can perform the suitability assessment.

Manual assignment

If your journal is set up with manual assignment, the lead editors (usually editors-in-chief) are notified of all new submissions to the journal. They can then assign each one to an appropriate handling editor. They can also assign to themselves.

Information is available to help with the selection of an editor, including:

• The topic area and keywords assigned to each editor (if provided)
• The number of submissions currently assigned to each editor
• The role assigned to each editor
• Information that the editor is currently unavailable (if provided)

Round-robin assignment 

This means that manuscripts are automatically assigned equally to lead editors (usually editors-in-chief). If the journal has a single lead editor, all manuscripts will be automatically assigned to them, so that they can perform the suitability assessment. After this check, lead editors can reassign submissions to an appropriate handling editor.

Assignment by topic

Editors are each assigned a distinct topic, and authors choose from these topics on submission of their manuscript. Each editor can be assigned a single topic only, however more than one editor can have the same topic. Assignment to an editor is done based on matching these topics, either manually by the lead editor, or by the journal’s editorial assistant.

Assignment in collections and special issues

For submissions that are associated with a collection or special issue, assignment is always manual and can be done by either the lead editor or assigning editor for the collection, or the lead editor of the journal. They can see a list of guest editors working on the collection or special issue, if applicable, and a separate list of the journal’s editors.

Information is available to help with the selection of a guest editor, including:

Snapp Campus guides for editors

• Getting started with Snapp
• Research integrity
• Assessing suitability
• Finding reviewers
• Making a decision
• Tracking progress
• Roles and permissions

Assigning a submission

• Go to the ' Tasks ' section of the dashboard.
• Choose an ' Assign submission ' task.
• Select ' Assign to me ' if you will handle it.
• If it should go to another handling editor, choose ' Assign ' next to their name.

The handling editor will receive an email letting them know they have been assigned a manuscript.

Reassigning to another editor

Lead editors can reassign manuscripts at any time.

• Go to the ' Submissions ' section on the dashboard.
• Select the submission.
• Select ' Reassign submission ' under the ' Actions ' button.
• Choose a new editor to handle the submission.

The newly assigned editor will receive an email letting them know that they have been assigned a manuscript.

Unassigning yourself from a submission

All editors can unassign themselves from handling a manuscript if they are unable to work on it.

• Select ' Unassign myself ' under the ' Actions ' button.

Lead editors will receive a task to reassign the submission to another editor.

• Open Research
• Tools & Services
• Account Development
• Sales and account contacts
• Professional
• Press office
• Locations & Contact

We are a world leading research, educational and professional publisher. Visit our main website for more information.

• © 2024 Springer Nature
• General terms and conditions
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Your Privacy Choices / Manage Cookies
• Accessibility
• Legal notice
• Help us to improve this site, send feedback.

3 adjustments Knicks must make against Pacers for Game 2 and beyond

Limiting second opportunities and disrupting myles turner are among the things new york should be focused on.

David Vertsberger

Popular in the Community

More from sny.

Pacers' Carlisle criticizes refs, Hart 'shove' after Game 2 loss to Knicks

Scott called up, Alonso looks to step up, Mets remain down and up | The Mets Pod

Knicks use huge third quarter to come back in Game 2 win over Pacers

Soto, Judge drive in eight runs in Yanks' win over Astros

Brunson finishes fifth in NBA MVP voting

Wednesday's Mets-Cards game postponed, will be made up on August 5

• SI SWIMSUIT
• SI SPORTSBOOK

New York Mets Owner Hints at Future Prospect Call-Ups

Jon conahan | may 6, 2024.

• New York Mets

The New York Mets promoted Christian Scott to the big league roster, making his debut over the weekend. The big right-handed pitcher allowed one earned run in 6 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking one.

Scott, a fifth-round pick by the Mets in 2021, impressed at the minor-league level before getting called up. He owned a 3.30 ERA in 33 starts and 45 appearances.

New York, 3-7 in their last 10 games, is hitting another rough patch after playing well in the first month of the season. Their lack of success could certainly be why Scott was called up, although one could argue that he deserved to no matter what.

With a 16-18 record and 7.5 games out of first place in the National League East, it's tough to imagine a scenario where the Mets are fighting for a playoff spot this season. Given that's now a reality for this front office, that might be a reason for them to give other prospects a chance to prove their worth.

Steve Cohen took to X on Sunday, signaling that more prospects could be on the way.

Tough weekend in Tampa. It can be frustrating but these are the ebbs and flows of a season . Prospect- wise , I love how aggressive we are promoting our young talent at all levels . There are lots of new names that make our future bright. LGM — Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) May 6, 2024

Cohen didn't name any player, but given he "loved" the aggressiveness out of the front office promoting these players, it should be an indication of what's to come.

It's uncertain who would get the call next. Jett Williams, Drew Gilbert, Luisangel Acuna, and Blade Tidwell are top 10 prospects with an ETA in 2024 or 2025, according to MLB.com .

Entering the season, this year was viewed as one to build for next season. Whether that was building confidence or finding players who could be a part of the team when Cohen spends money next season, there's hope that they find players they're looking to keep. Prospects could be just that, and for much cheaper than much of the roster.

JON CONAHAN

What is an Editorial? Its Purpose and Types

An editorial, often found in newspapers or magazines, serves as a platform for expressing viewpoints and stimulating thought. Fundamentally, it’s an opinion-based commentary to influence public opinion or promote critical thinking.

Table of Contents

Various editorials exist, including ‘explainers’ that provide insight into complex issues, ‘critiques’ that evaluate policies or decisions, and ‘persuasive pieces’ that seek to sway readers toward a specific stance. As a powerful communication tool, editorials significantly impact societal discourse.

Understanding Editorials: An Introduction

Editorials represent a fundamental aspect of print and digital journalism, serving as critical platforms for expressing opinions and influencing public sentiment. So, what is an editorial? In essence, it’s a piece of writing typically appearing in a newspaper or magazine that expresses the views and opinions of the publication or its editorial team.

The Purpose of Editorials

Editorials are essential in shaping discussions around significant social, political, or cultural issues. They present an informed, well-argued perspective intended to prompt reflection, discussion, and, sometimes, action among readers. Moreover, they have the potential to influence policy-makers or the direction of public debate directly.

What is an Editorial?

An editorial can be found in almost any publication that includes opinion pieces. Traditionally, they are a staple of newspapers, typically occupying a specific section. However, with the advent of digital media , editorials have expanded beyond the traditional print platforms. Today, they can be found in online news outlets, blogs, and social media platforms where individuals or groups seek to express and disseminate their views.

The Role of Editorials

The significance of editorials can be observed in their role in the broader context of journalism and society. They are not merely opinion statements; they represent the collective voice of a publication, often informed by thorough research and a deep understanding of the subject matter. Editorials make a publication’s identity, values, and stance on various issues apparent.

Informing, Persuading, Entertaining

Furthermore, the purpose of editorials extends beyond expressing an opinion. They also seek to inform readers, presenting facts in a new light or drawing attention to overlooked issues. Editorials often attempt to persuade, presenting arguments that sway the reader’s opinion. Additionally, they can entertain, utilizing humor, satire, or narrative to make their point more compelling.

Stimulating Thoughtful Discourse

Moreover, editorials also stimulate critical thought and discourse. They invite readers to engage with different perspectives, consider new ideas, or reconsider established beliefs. They catalyze discussion and debate, fueling the democratic process by encouraging active engagement with the day’s issues.

Understanding what an editorial is involved more than knowing its definition. One must also comprehend its role, presence across media, and multifaceted purpose in shaping discussions and informing public opinion.

Historical Development of Editorials

The history of editorials is intrinsically tied to the evolution of journalism and the media industry. As the media’s primary vehicle for expressing a collective opinion, editorials have a rich history that reflects the changing face of societies and the various technological shifts that have taken place over centuries.

History of Editorials – Origin

The roots of editorials can be traced back to the 18th century, coinciding with the emergence of the public press. At this time, little pieces were often unsigned and blended seamlessly with news content. These writings, precursors to modern editorials, served to rally public sentiment during significant events like the American and French revolutions.

Editorial’s Evolutionary Leap

The 19th century marked the true birth of the editorial as a distinct journalistic form. Newspapers expanded, and the separation between news and opinions became more pronounced. The concept of an editorial “voice” or “stance” became more critical, with editors and editorial boards leveraging this platform to shape public opinion and influence policy-making.

Broadcasting Editorial Transformation

The 20th century saw significant transformations in the editorial form. The rise of broadcast media introduced new platforms for editorial content. Radio and television editorials brought the genre to broader audiences while demanding new content presentation approaches. The emergence of investigative journalism also influenced editorials, with data-driven arguments becoming more prevalent.

Digital Editorial Revolution

The advent of the internet in the late 20th century, followed by the proliferation of social media in the 21st, has dramatically altered the landscape of editorials. Digital platforms have expanded the reach of editorials, enabling instant global dissemination. Moreover, the interactivity of these platforms has encouraged reader participation, fostering dialogues instead of monologues. Blogging platforms have democratized the editorial space, allowing anyone to voice their opinion and potentially reach large audiences.

In the current media landscape, the essence of the editorial remains a platform for opinion and influence . However, the form and delivery of editorial content continue to evolve, shaped by technological innovation and changing audience expectations. Editorials now incorporate multimedia elements and data visualization, employ SEO techniques, and adapt to shorter attention spans.

The history of editorials, therefore, is more than merely a linear narrative. It’s a dynamic, ongoing story that reflects the changing nature of media, society’s evolving needs, and the persistent human urge to express opinions and influence others.

The Core Purpose of an Editorial

At its core, an editorial is a potent tool for communication and influence, and understanding the purpose of an editorial involves delving into the intricate roles it plays within the media and society.

Purpose of an Editorial

First and foremost, an editorial is a means of expressing an opinion. However, unlike a personal column or a blog post, an editorial represents the collective voice of a newspaper, magazine, or any other media outlet. It’s a platform where a publication communicates its stand on various issues, be they social, political, economic, or cultural. This function can be observed in the editorials of leading newspapers such as The New York Times or The Guardian , known for their thoughtful, well-argued stances on significant global issues.

Secondly, an editorial has a powerful influence on readers’ minds. An editorial can shape public opinion by presenting facts, expert insights, and persuasive arguments. It is not just about stating a viewpoint but backing it up with solid reasoning and compelling narratives. For instance, editorials in The Wall Street Journal have been instrumental in shaping economic policies and financial perspectives due to their meticulous analysis and persuasive narrative.

Furthermore, an essential purpose of an editorial is to stimulate discussion and debate. In doing so, they play a crucial role in fostering democratic values and processes. An editorial doesn’t just express an opinion; it invites readers to consider, respond, and engage in a broader conversation. This purpose is visible in the editorials of The Washington Post, where complex policy matters are presented to readers in a manner that encourages thought and discussion.

Critical Thinking

Lastly, an editorial aims to promote critical thinking. It doesn’t merely present a conclusion; it outlines an argument and invites readers to follow it, assess its validity, and form their own opinion. For example, Scientific American’s editorials, while focused on scientific topics, consistently encourage readers to assess scientific developments and their implications critically.

The purpose of an editorial extends far beyond being a vessel for opinion. It’s an instrument of influence, a catalyst for discussion, a promoter of critical thinking, and a key player in the democratic discourse.

Types of Editorials: The Explainer

Understanding the unique roles different types of editorials play in the journalistic realm allows us to appreciate their distinct nuances and values. Among these, the ‘explainer’ is a prominent form of editorial content that merits specific attention.

What are Editorial Guidelines

Clarifying complex topics.

The explainer editorial is aptly named for its role in elucidating complex topics. It aims to make often intricate or nuanced issues accessible and understandable to the average reader. As such, the focus of explainer editorials is primarily on providing information in a way that guides readers to a detailed understanding of the issue.

Maintaining Editorial Integrity

One important aspect of writing explainer editorials lies in adhering to editorial guidelines. These guidelines ensure that the editorial maintains a clear, consistent voice, accurately presents information, and upholds the highest standards of journalistic integrity. These standards typically involve fact-checking, citation of sources, ensuring balance and fairness, and avoiding plagiarism.

Explainer’s Structured Approach

The structure of an explainer is usually straightforward and organized. It starts with a brief introduction of the topic, followed by a thorough explanation presented in an accessible language. The arguments are carefully structured and backed by credible data and evidence. Finally, the explainer ends with a conclusion summarising the issue and often indicates where the publication stands.

Decoding Complex Subjects

Take, for example, The New York Times ‘The Upshot’ or Vox’s ‘Explainers.’ These segments are dedicated to breaking down complex subjects — political turmoil, climate change, economic phenomena, or complex legal cases. In these pieces, we see the use of infographics, statistics, and expert interviews to clarify topics that might be otherwise impenetrable for most readers.

Leveraging Multimedia Enhancement

Moreover, in the digital age, explainer editorials are frequently accompanied by multimedia content like charts, videos, and interactive graphs to enhance understanding. A case in point would be the comprehensive explainers from BBC News or The Guardian, which often use visuals and interactive elements to convey complexities.

Explainer editorials serve a crucial role in today’s information-dense world. They help demystify complex issues, promoting informed citizenship and understanding. Adhering to stringent editorial guidelines, they ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information, making them a trusted source of knowledge for readers navigating the often complicated landscape of current affairs.

Types of Editorials: The Critique

Critique editorials are a specific genre within the broad umbrella of editorial writing. Characterized by critical evaluation and rigorous analysis, these pieces offer an in-depth look at policies, decisions, events, or public figures, assessing their implications, merits, and shortcomings.

The purpose of critique editorials is twofold. First, they provide readers with insightful evaluation and perspective, making sense of complex or contentious issues. Second, through this critique, they influence public opinion and spark dialogue, driving engagement with the topic.

Example of Editorial

A quintessential example of a critique editorial can be found in the op-ed pages of publications like The New York Times or The Washington Post . For instance, consider an editorial that critiques a new health policy. Such a piece would detail what the policy entails and critically evaluate its potential effects on various stakeholders, consider its feasibility, and compare it to other existing or proposed solutions. It might also question the motives or strategies of the policymakers, contributing to a more thorough understanding and discourse around the issue.

Another instance could be a critique of a significant event, such as a high-profile trial or election. An editorial of this kind might dissect the proceedings, question the outcomes or the processes, and draw attention to broader implications for justice or democracy. The Guardian and The Economist frequently publish such critique editorials, offering readers a nuanced understanding of global events.

Critique editorials require a careful balance between objectivity and subjectivity. While they certainly express the author’s viewpoint or the publication, they must be grounded in facts, fair in their assessment, and compelling in their arguments. This blend of critique and analysis lends these editorials their power and impact.

In shaping public opinion and stimulating debate, critique editorials are pivotal in our media landscape. They inform readers and challenge them to think critically, fostering a more informed and engaged public. As such, the critique editorial is a key example of the power and potential of editorial writing.

Types of Editorials: The Persuasive Piece

The persuasive editorial model holds a special place within the world of journalism due to its objective: to convince readers to embrace a specific stance. More than just sharing an opinion, the aim is to motivate the reader to action or change through a well-reasoned argument and impassioned rhetoric.

Persuasive Editorial Model

In the persuasive editorial model, the structure is paramount. The piece begins by stating the issue and the publication’s stand. It then provides a series of arguments that support this viewpoint, each supported by facts, statistics, or expert testimonies to ensure credibility. A good persuasive editorial often anticipates potential counterarguments and addresses them preemptively, showcasing a comprehensive understanding of the topic. Finally, the piece concludes with a powerful call to action, seeking to rally readers to the advocated cause or viewpoint.

Example of Editorial Model

An excellent example of this editorial model is often found in The Washington Post or The New York Times op-ed pages. For instance, a persuasive editorial may argue for stronger environmental legislation when discussing a hot-button issue like climate change. The piece would lay out compelling evidence of climate change, highlight the inadequacies of current laws, and present the benefits of stricter regulations. It would then call on readers to support this cause by lobbying their representatives or supporting certain organizations.

In the digital age, persuasive editorials have also found a home on online platforms like Medium or The Huffington Post , where writers aim to sway public opinion on various issues. The persuasive power of these editorials is not just in their words but also in the discussions they incite and the actions they inspire among readers.

The persuasive editorial model represents a potent blend of information, persuasion, and activism. These editorials have the potential to inspire change, shape public discourse, and influence policy-making. As such, they exemplify the power of the press as an observer of society and an active participant in shaping its future.

Writing an Editorial: Key Guidelines and Techniques

Writing an effective editorial is an art that requires a balance of passion, precision, and persuasion. Whether you are writing an explainer, a critique, or a persuasive piece, there are key guidelines and techniques to follow that enhance the impact of your editorial. Here’s how to write an editorial that is compelling and influential.

Firstly, research is paramount. An editorial is built upon facts, expert opinions, and relevant data. It’s important to understand the topic, including different perspectives and counter-arguments thoroughly. This information forms the backbone of your editorial and lends credibility to your viewpoint.

Introduction

Secondly, crafting an engaging introduction is crucial. The introduction should present the topic and indicate your stance. It should be compelling, making the reader want to continue. A powerful quote, a thought-provoking question, or a striking fact can be effective hooks.

Presentation

Next, present your arguments. Each argument should be distinct and presented in its paragraph for clarity. Start with the most compelling argument, as it sets the tone and draws the reader’s attention. Support each argument with relevant facts or statistics, making sure they directly support your stance. Anticipate potential counter-arguments and address them within your piece. This shows a comprehensive understanding of the issue and helps to persuade readers.

Remember to maintain a consistent tone throughout your editorial. A consistent tone helps carry your voice and perspective effectively, whether formal, conversational, or somewhere between. Use persuasive language, but avoid jargon and overly complex sentences. Your goal is to be understood and to persuade, not to confuse.

Lastly, conclude powerfully. Your conclusion should not merely summarize your arguments but should reinforce your stance and evoke a response from the reader. This could be a call to action, a question that provokes thought, or a powerful statement that leaves a lasting impression.

Keep in mind the editorial should adhere to the ethical guidelines of journalism – accuracy, fairness, and balance. While an editorial is an opinion piece, it should be grounded in truth and respect for diverse viewpoints.

Writing an editorial is an opportunity to influence public opinion and inspire change. With these guidelines and techniques, you can write a compelling editorial that resonates with readers and leaves a lasting impact.

The Impact and Power of Editorials in Society

Editorials influence the media landscape with their potent blend of facts, perspectives, and persuasive argumentation. They contribute substantially to shaping public opinion, steering policy-making, fostering democratic dialogue, and promoting societal advancements. The power of editorials is such that they reflect societal trends and often help shape them.

Democratic Illumination

An integral part of any publication’s editorial calendar , these thoughtfully crafted pieces provide a platform where voices are heard, ideas are exchanged, and critical issues are brought to the forefront. By illuminating complex issues, they contribute to a more informed and engaged citizenry, an essential component of a functioning democracy.

Policy Influence

For instance, editorials critically examining policies can shape public opinion , influencing policy-making. By presenting a reasoned critique of a policy, they can expose its potential flaws or shortcomings, prompting a call for revisions or even leading to a policy’s retraction. On the other hand, editorials that endorse certain policies can help build public support for them, paving the way for their successful implementation.

Discourse Spark

Editorials can also spark public discourse on contentious issues. A nuanced presentation of different perspectives can promote understanding and tolerance among readers with diverse viewpoints. They can provide a platform for voices that may be underrepresented or overlooked, highlighting social injustices or disparities and calling for change.

Societal Advancements

The power of editorials is most apparent in their ability to stimulate societal advancements. Through their critique and persuasion, editorials can rally public support for significant causes – civil rights, environmental protection, or education reform. They can raise awareness of societal issues, bring them to the public’s attention, and inspire collective action.

Digital Expansion

Moreover, the digital revolution has expanded the reach and impact of editorials. They can now reach a global audience in real-time, increasing their potential to influence opinion and instigate change. The interactivity of digital media also allows readers to engage with the content, fostering a two-way dialogue that can enhance understanding and drive collective action.

Editorials, woven into the fabric of the media’s editorial calendar, are not just opinion pieces. They are potent tools for influencing opinion, shaping policy, promoting dialogue, and inspiring societal advancements. The impact and power of editorials are a testament to their vital role in our society.

How has the editorial format evolved historically? 

Editorials have evolved from simple opinion pieces in print newspapers to complex narratives that utilize digital media ‘s interactivity and reach. Technological advancements have significantly influenced how editorials are crafted and disseminated, enabling them to engage readers innovatively.

What is the primary purpose of an editorial? 

The main purpose of an editorial is to present a viewpoint, influence readers’ opinions, stimulate discussion, and promote critical thinking. It also serves as a tool for expressing the collective voice of a publication.

How can I write an effective editorial?

An effective editorial involves thorough research, crafting an engaging introduction, presenting convincing arguments, maintaining a consistent tone, and concluding powerfully. It’s crucial to maintain journalistic integrity by fact-checking and providing balanced viewpoints.

How do editorials impact society? 

Editorials significantly shape public opinion and policy-making, fostering democratic dialogue and promoting societal advancements. By illuminating complex issues and promoting informed discourse, they contribute to a more informed citizenry and can inspire collective action.

What is the structure of a persuasive editorial? 

A persuasive editorial typically starts by stating the issue and the publication’s stance, followed by supporting arguments backed by facts or statistics. It may address potential counterarguments and concludes with a call to action.

Learn How To Develop Launch-Ready Creative Products

Download  How to Turn Your Creativity into a Product,  a  FREE  starter kit.

Advertisement

Create a Memorable Social Media Experience

Get the content planner that makes social media 10x easier.

Invite Your Customers To A Whole New World

Create a unique user experience.

Maximize Your Brand and Make Your Mark

Custom brand assets will take you to new heights.

Side Hustle: How to Start One from Home

Storytelling: How to Use it for B2B Marketing

Press Release Distribution: How to Select One

Rank a Website: How to Measure the Marketing for SEO

Niche Markets: How to Understand the Importance

Email Marketing vs. Social Media: How to Choose

Recommended

Fani willis’ refusal to testify shows utter shamelessness of the gang going after trump.

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

The utter shamelessness of Donald Trump’s political prosecutors really knows zero bounds. 

Now Georgia’s disgraced Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has announced that she rejects the rule of law: She will refuse to testify before the state Senate as it investigates her alleged malfeasance with taxpayer money. 

“I will not appear to anything that is unlawful, and I have not broken the law in any way,” blathered Willis.

A new definition of chutzpah : If Willis keeps refusing and dodges the subpoena that’s almost surely forthcoming, she will be breaking the law. 

Willis, you’ll recall, abused her position to hire secret lover Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor in Trump’s Georgia elections case.

Wade, who lacked any experience in RICO prosecutions like the one Willis launched against Trump, was vastly overpaid. 

She seemingly accepted lavish gifts from Wade.

And then, after she got caught, she tried to brazen her way out of the whole sordid affair by stonewalling, screeching and squirming.  

So the state Senate is 100% correct to call her on the carpet . 

Get opinions and commentary from our columnists

Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!

Thanks for signing up!

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Never miss a story.

Willis was elected to serve the interests of Fulton County’s voters, not her own venal desires, and she must be held fully accountable (especially since a weak-minded judge already let her off the hook once ). 

She also had the lamebrain temerity to say, of her own sullen refusal, “I’m sorry folks get pissed off that everybody gets treated evenly.”

Precisely wrong: She’s the one getting special treatment, an elected official close to waltzing after utterly betraying the public’s trust. 

On the other hand, her refusal is revealing. 

Why would someone in her position refuse even to testify before a legislative hearing ?

Could be she has something to hide.

But it’s also quite likely she’s afraid of facing abusive procedural treatment due to nasty partisan politics. 

Sure sounds familiar … 

Share this article: