Opinion-Editorial Assignment

An op-ed is an opinion piece that presents an informed view on a newsworthy topic, emphasizing the author’s insight and unique expertise. They are opinion pieces, but facts, statistics and anecdotes help to shore up the argument and lend colour. The op-ed page of a newspaper (literally, opposite the editorial page) is usually a mix of regular columnists and guest opinion pieces. No more than one subject should be addressed, and topics of social, cultural or political interest are especially welcome. Op-eds are not letters to the editor and should not be written in that style. The ideal length for an op-ed piece is 1250-1500 words.

The style of an op-ed should be lively and provocative, with a clear message and a transparent structure. Reading an op-ed should not be hard work for the general public. Strong, colourful language and a memorable phrase or two will catch the editor’s attention and lend support to the argument presented. The person in charge of the op-ed page looks for clarity, brevity and newsworthiness, as well as controversy. Intelligent, contrarian views expressed in a unique voice tend to receive a positive response.

Start your op-ed with a “grabber.” Op-ed articles have to start strong. When you’re allowed only 1250-1500 words — depending on the outlet — every word, phrase and sentence must hit home. It’s particularly important to “hit the ground running,” beginning the op-ed with a straight-to-the-gut sentence. “At the current rate, the Social Security System will be bankrupt at the very moment you are ready to tap it.” Makes you want to read on, doesn’t it? Take some time to think about your strong first sentence if you expect your second sentence to be read. (Be sure to check with your target paper to find out their preferred length and other requirements.)

Craft your op-ed with just one or two unmistakable points — no more. Carry that thesis throughout the piece. There’s not enough space to make more than one or two significant points, so stick to compelling arguments and prove them — with facts. Accusations must be supported with evidence. Op-eds often involve a lot of research. Opinions must be bolstered by numbers, statistics and facts.

Do you have an interesting opinion to share? If you can express it clearly and persuasively in an op-ed article, you may reach millions of people, sway hearts, change minds and perhaps even reshape public policy. In the process, you may also earn recognition for yourself and your institution, all for less effort than it takes to write a professional journal article.

Track the news and jump at opportunities. Timing is essential. When an issue is dominating the news — whether it’s a war, a stock market panic or just the latest controversy on a reality TV show — that’s what readers want to read and op-ed editors want to publish. Whenever possible, link your issue explicitly to something happening in the news. If you’re a researcher studying cancer, for instance, start off by discussing the celebrity who died yesterday. Or, look ahead to a holiday or anniversary a week from now that will provide a fresh news peg (and enable editors to plan the story in advance).

Make a single point or two — well. You cannot solve all of the world’s problems in 1250 to 1500 words. Be satisfied with making a single point clearly and persuasively. If you cannot explain your message in a sentence or two, you’re trying to cover too much.

Put your main point on top. You’re not writing for Science, The Quarterly Journal of Economics or other academic publications that typically wait until the final paragraphs to reveal their punchlines. Op-ed articles do the opposite. You have no more than 10 seconds to hook a busy reader, which means you shouldn’t “clear your throat” with a witticism or historical aside. Just get to the point and convince the reader that it’s worth his or her valuable time to continue.

Tell readers why they should care. Put yourself in the place of the busy person looking at your article. At the end of every few paragraphs, ask out loud: “So what? Who cares?” You need to answer these questions. Will your suggestions help reduce readers’ taxes? Protect them from disease? Make their children happier? Explain why. Appeals to self-interest usually are more effective than abstract punditry.

Offer specific recommendations. An op-ed is not a news story that simply describes a situation; it is your opinion about how to improve matters. Don’t be satisfied, as you might be in a classroom, with mere analysis. In an op-ed article you need to offer recommendations. How exactly should your state protect its environment, or the White House change its foreign policy or parents choose healthier foods for their children? You’ll need to do more than call for “more research!” or suggest that opposing parties work out their differences.

Showing is better than discussing. You may remember the Pentagon’s overpriced toilet seat that became a symbol of profligate federal spending. You probably don’t recall the total Pentagon budget for that year (or for that matter, for the current year). That’s because we humans remember colorful details better than dry facts. When writing an op-ed article, therefore, look for great examples that will bring your argument to life.

Embrace your personal voice. The best of these examples will come from your own experience. Academics tend to avoid first-person exposition in professional journals, which rarely begin with phrases like “You won’t believe what I found when I was working in my lab last month.” When it comes to op-eds, however, you should embrace your own voice whenever possible. If you are a physician, describe the plight of one of your patients, and then tell us how this made you feel personally. If you’ve worked with poor families, tell a story about one of them to help argue your point. In other words, come down from Mt. Olympus and share details that will reveal your humanity. In so doing, your words will ring truer and the reader will care more about what you are saying. If you are a student or someone else without a fancy degree or title, your personal voice becomes even more important.

Play up your personal connection to the readers. Daily newspapers in many cities are struggling to survive. As they compete with national publications, television, blogs and others, they are playing up their local roots and coverage. Op-ed editors at these papers increasingly prefer authors who live locally or have other local connections. If you’re submitting an article to your local paper, this will work in your favor. If you’re submitting it in a city where you once lived or worked, be sure to mention this in your cover note and byline. Likewise, if you’re writing for a publication that serves a particular profession, ethnic group or other cohort, let them know how you connect personally to their audience.

Use short sentences and paragraphs. Look at some op-ed articles and count the number of words per sentence. You’ll probably find the sentences to be quite short. You should use the same style, relying mainly on simple declarative sentences. Cut long paragraphs into two or more shorter ones.

Avoid jargon. If a technical detail is not essential to your argument, don’t use it. When in doubt, leave it out. Simple language doesn’t mean simple thinking; it means you are being considerate of readers who lack your expertise and are sitting half-awake at their breakfast table or computer screen.

Use the active voice. Don’t write: “It is hoped that [or: One would hope that] the government will …” Instead, say “I hope the government will …” Active voice is nearly always better than passive voice. It’s easier to read, and it leaves no doubt about who is doing the hoping, recommending or other action.

Avoid tedious rebuttals. If you’ve written your article in response to an earlier piece that made your blood boil, avoid the temptation to prepare a point-by-point rebuttal. It makes you look petty. It’s likely that readers didn’t see the earlier article and, if they did, they’ve probably forgotten it. So, just take a deep breath, mention the earlier article once and argue your own case. If you really need to rebut the article, forego an op-ed article and instead write a letter to the editor, which is more appropriate for this purpose.

Acknowledge the other side. People writing op-ed articles sometimes make the mistake of piling on one reason after another why they’re right and their opponents are wrong, if not idiots. They’d probably appear more credible, and almost certainly more humble and appealing, if they took a moment to acknowledge the ways in which their opponents are right. When you see experienced op-ed authors saying “to be sure,” that’s what they’re doing.

Make your ending a winner. As noted, you need a strong opening paragraph, or “lead,” to hook readers. When writing for the op-ed page, it’s also important to summarize your argument in a strong final paragraph. That’s because many casual readers scan the headline, skim the opening and then read the final paragraph and byline. In fact, one trick many columnists use is to conclude with a phrase or thought that appeared in the opening, thereby closing the circle.

Relax and have fun. Many authors, particularly academics, approach an op-ed article as an exercise in solemnity. Frankly, they’d improve their chances if they’d lighten up, have some fun and entertain the reader a bit. Newspaper editors despair of weighty articles — known in the trade as “thumb suckers” — and delight in an academic writer who chooses examples from “Entertainment Tonight” as well as from Eminent Authorities.

Create a catchy headline, usually with a pun or other word game reflecting the contents of the article.

Offer graphics. Until recently, newspaper op-ed pages rarely accepted graphics or photos to accompany op-ed article submissions. This tradition is now changing, especially as publications move online. If you have a terrific illustration, photo, video or other asset that might accompany your article, alert the editor when you send it.

 

Here’s a checklist to keep your op-ed on track: Ø  Focus tightly on one or two issues or ideas — in your first paragraph. Be brief. Ø  Express your opinion, then base it on factual, researched or first-hand information. Ø  Be timely, controversial, but not outrageous. Be the voice of reason. Ø  Be personal and conversational; it can help you make your point. No one likes a stuffed shirt. Ø  Be humorous, provided that your topic lends itself to humor. Ø  Have a clear editorial viewpoint – come down hard on one side of the issue. Don’t equivocate. Ø  Provide insight, understanding: educate your reader without being preachy. Ø  Near the end, clearly re-state your position and issue a call to action. Don’t philosophize. Ø  Have verve, and “fire in the gut” indignation to accompany your logical analysis. Ø  Don’t ramble or let your op-ed unfold slowly, as in an essay. Ø  Use clear, powerful, direct language. Ø  Emphasize active verbs, forget the adjectives and adverbs, which only weaken writing. Ø  Avoid clichés and jargon. Ø  Appeal to the average reader. Clarity is paramount. Ø  Write 1250 to 1500 double-spaced words or less (fewer is always better). Ø  Include a brief bio, along with your phone number, email address, and mailing address at the bottom.

 

An editorial without an unequivocal opinion is bound to fall flat on its face. Right at the very beginning, define your agenda in clear terms. Make sure that you state your opinion or thesis coherently. Remember those research papers and thesis statements you wrote in college. It’s time to refresh your memory and concentrate on thesis statement writing skills. This course on how to write a thesis should help you immensely. The essential structure of a thesis statement in an editorial remains the same, only the language is more informal and journalistic.

Build your argument

A good editorial expresses your point of view while a great one manages to persuade others to join your camp. In order to persuade people, you need to have a sound argument based on facts and analogies, not vitriol and diatribe. Once you have stated your thesis, acknowledge contradictory opinions and explain why you disagree with them. Feel free to use facts, statistics, quotations and theoretical explanations for criticizing your opponents’ views. Rejecting them outright without any explanation screams of cowardice and unprofessional ethics.

To build a foolproof argument, you will need to achieve a balance between content and style. Not only will you need substantial data, you will also need to structure it coherently. Take this course to learn the basics of writing with writing with precision and clarity.

Strengthen your argument with analogies

Nothing disarms your opponents better than cultural, social or political analogies. For instance, if you are writing about a controversial issue like secret surveillance, look for similar instances in other countries and how they tackled the problem. You can use such an analogy to your benefit by highlighting both the similarities and the differences. This will also be a good time to speak about the ultimate consequences of a policy/law if appropriate action is not taken by concerned agencies.

Provide possible solutions

So, you have made a case for your views and demolished your opponents’ claims. The journey doesn’t end here. An editorial is primarily meant to indulge in constructive criticism i.e. even though it critiques one point of view, it must be able to provide a possible alternative. Say, your editorial attacked the efficacy of steps taken by the government to curb domestic violence in a particular region, conclude your piece by discussing other viable options. Once again, build an argument and talk about why these proposed steps are better than the ones already in place. Don’t mistake an editorial for an opportunity to indulge in mindless criticism; instead, use it to offer a better vision for the future.

 

The Four Types of Editorials Will:

1. Explain or interpret: Editors often use these editorials to explain the way the newspaper covered a sensitive or controversial subject. School newspapers may explain new school rules or a particular student-body effort like a food drive.

2. Criticize: These editorials constructively criticize actions, decisions or situations while providing solutions to the problem identified. Immediate purpose is to get readers to see the problem, not the solution.
3. Persuade: Editorials of persuasion aim to immediately see the solution, not the problem. From the first paragraph, readers will be encouraged to take a specific, positive action. Political endorsements are good examples of editorials of persuasion.
4. Praise: These editorials commend people and organizations for something done well. They are not as common as the other three.