OPINION WRITING
KINDS OF OPINION ARTICLES
· Editorial: a usually brief, regular section reflecting the newspaper’s views on various issues.
· Column: a regular section reflecting certain columnists views on various issues.
· Commentary: an
irregular section breaking down specific issues; its
tone
may be formal or informal, and its length may vary.
· News Analysis:
similar to a
column, it tackles and interprets current news and tries to make sense of them for the public; it may be
regular or irregular, depending on newspaper policy
THE EDITORIAL
· Requires a specialized kind of writing that is coherent, logical and forceful and short. Not more than roughly 500 words long, it is unforgiving of
uncontrolled idioms, indirect or segmented sentences and comma abuse.
· It’s strength is its focus; the challenge of writing in lies how quickly and how efficiently it is developed. Whoever the
writer and whatever the topic, these fundamentals are best observed.
· Reflects the paper's view; the writer's refer to themselves as “we” instead of “I”. The language is also more formal.
TYPES OF EDITORIALS
· Explanatory makes the facts about a
particular issue the center of the piece
· Persuasive states its position
on a particular issue and presents the arguments
WRITING THE EDITORIAL
· Questioning premises:
Breaking down why something is the way it is crucial skill in developing editorials
· Questioning Policies:
The ability to analyze existing structures and compare them to others is a must
· Questioning Derivations:
Finding and analyzing how, where, and when
policies, laws, etc. were established.
PARTS OF THE EDITORIAL
INTRODUCTION
The lead paragraph in editorials usually states the topic, or provide brief summary of events that relate to it.
BODY
The succeeding paragraphs provide background about the topic, and presents arguments based on clear and accurate information.
CONCLUSION
The last few paragraphs state the finding, presents suggestions or breaks down possible scenarios.
