Everyone has an opinion. That’s not to say that everyone can write effective editorials, however. An effective editorial, or opinion piece, utilizes the right amount of passion and persuasion and provides thoughtful discussion on important issues.

The following guidelines and resources will help you to write more convincing editorials.

The principles of editorial writing:

1. Apply all the attributes of good writing to editorial writing – clarity, rhythm, active sentence construction, interesting and accurate word choice, etc.
2. Focus on a central theme.
3. Choose one issue. More important, have an opinion about that issue.
4. We know it’s your opinion, but you’ll appear much more professional with limited use of “I” in your piece.
5. Provide well-researched information. Don’t support your article with hearsay or gossip.
6. Research and understand opposing viewpoints.
7. Get your sources right. (To learn more about sourcing and attribution, visit the Poynter Ethics Journal Online, the Washington Post’s Policies on Sources, Quotations, Attributions, and Datelines.
8. End with a call to action. Encourage the reader to get involved.

Choosing your thesis, or topic

First and foremost, know your subject. Don’t be like the guy at the cocktail party who argues for the sake of arguing. You’ll get what he gets: Eye rolling and walk-aways.

Write what you know. Readers can smell a rat – if your points are lackluster and artificial, they won’t support your viewpoint. That is, after all, your ultimate goal: To persuade readers to agree with you.

Think about your topic and why you’ve chosen it. What elements of the issue do you feel passionate about? What about the issue makes you get involved? Keep these things in mind as you begin to write.

Writer resources

• New York Times Opinion page.
• The Washington Post’s Policies on Sources, Quotations, Attributions, and Datelines.
• The Art & Craft of Editorial Writing.