Tips on writing an editorial

One of the more popular sections in the newspaper is the editorial. This section is where people express their own personal opinions on the various issues of the day. Even if you’re not a professional writer, you can send in your opinions on topics. In fact, many newspapers and magazines will print these letters in a “community page.” Here are tips on how to get your opinion piece printed.

One thing separates an editorial from the traditional news story – and that is persuasion. While a news article is written to inform, an editorial is specifically written

to persuade people to support a particular idea. Writing an editorial or any piece of persuasive writing requires the use of a completely different writing style, as well as a particular set of skills in writing.

One of the important things that you should consider when writing an editorial is taking note of the right style in writing this material. Understanding the right style in writing an editorial doesn’t mean you’ll have to lose your personal voice. But what is crucial is clear writing that is concise and clearly understandable logic.

A good editorial is one that is relevant. There’s no use in writing an editorial on a topic that is already way past its sell-by date, so to speak. The topic doesn’t necessarily have to be all about front page issues or events. But it should be a recent event or story that will entice the readers to take the time to read the editorial. If you have strong opinions about an event that happened in the past,

a good time to write it would be during the event’s anniversary.

Of course, it is important that you have a clear opinion about the topic you’re writing about. An effective way of persuading your readers to support your opinion is by explaining your opinions rationally. Be clear when explaining your position and try to make it meatier by supporting it with facts. Use news stories about the topic you’re writing about. A good way of utilizing these sources is by interpreting these news stories in a way that the opinion you’re stating helps the readers in interpreting the story using your opinions as a guide.

You can use emotion to help persuade your readers. But do this sparingly. Relying on emotion – like anger – is a cheap way of selling your ideas and is also ineffective in the long-term, compared to using it sparingly or using emotion that is not in the extreme. Logic and a compelling way of writing your opinions, especially in a way that will make readers think that your take on things is the correct one are the keys to effective editorial writing.

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