Updated Nov 2020
An editorial article aims at presenting an author’s opinion on various issues. It is mainly a reflection of the majority vote from the editorial board who are the governing body that makes up the business managers and editors. If you are looking forward to writing an editorial that will move your audience and drive your point home, you must learn how to write an editorial.
Being asked to write an editorial piece will make your career especially if you are working for a well-known newspaper. As a writer, you need to find out what the qualities of an excellent editorial are, its essential attributes, and how you expect your readers to respond.
Here is a list of stages that you will need to go through to complete your paper.
What Is An Editorial Essay?
Before you begin writing an editorial essay, you must make sure that you understand what is an editorial article. The word ‘editorial’ means a newspaper article that reflects opinions and ideas of that newspaper’s editor. The editor at Edubirdie chooses a topic to write about for you. However, in most cases, the paper speaks about socially important issues.
It does not mean that the author puts their thoughts into words without looking at any facts on the subject. Just as with all research papers, authors have to make credible evidence that helps support their opinions. They have to articulate the problem and show how to deal with it.
They should create a message within their article and speak to people who are suffering from the issue on what they can do to improve their situation. They should also speak to the ruling government － whenever necessary － to encourage them to take measures toward solving the problem.
Therefore, editorial writing is a lot like writing a research paper. They are also exciting and fun to write once you get the right research material and understand what is it you need to do to succeed in your writing.
There are four components to each editorial essay:
Interpret and explain: First, you must explain how the newspaper covered a controversial or sensitive issue
Criticize: The editorial must make sure that it criticizes decisions, actions, and situations constructively while providing a solution as well. This part strictly focuses on getting the reader to see the problem but not the solution. You also need to conduct research and find relevant, real-life situations to use as examples, something that your readers can relate to.
Persuade: Here you will need to offer solutions. The previous paragraphs show the issue, and by now readers should understand what they are dealing with. Encourage your readers to take a specific and affirmative action.
Praise: Commend the organization and individuals who are doing something well or those that have already begun initiatives to create solutions to the issue discussed. This part is not always included especially if the issue is relatively new.
5 Steps to Write a Decent Editorial Essay
While essentially editorials are telling the editor’s and overall the newspaper’s opinions, writing an editorial essay or character analysis essay are not as easy as most people think. There are numerous rules to observe if you want the audiences to take you seriously as a writer and value your opinion. You must understand clearly the differences between a rant and a fair point of view. And you need to focus on the latter. Don’t take your anger out on your social media pages. Here are 5 steps that will help you make up your mind on how to write an editorial that your readers won’t put down until they finish it.
- Get a relevant topic
Figuring out how to write an editorial is no joke. As a writer, you already know that ensuring the relevance of your topics for an editorial essay is crucial. With opinion pieces, you only have to focus on the recent stories that have the public rumbling. This makes your work much easier. If your topic is not currently relevant, no one will read it. Why should your opinion be shared? Are there statistics that need to be presented? Do you need to learn more facts? What makes this particular topic relevant at all?
The best thing about these pieces is that you can write about practically anything as long as you add value to the topic for the editorial essay and get the reader to care about finding solutions. Even breakfast cereal can have a great twist that will evoke interest in your readers.
- Research thoroughly
You have heard that there are three sides to every story: my side, your side and the truth. Well, it is similar to the stories you get from social media and other places. There is the side of your best friend, your enemy’s and the truth. As a journalist, your toughest job is to try and figure out what the truth is, but as an editorial essay writer, you need to find ground in between. While you will side with your best friend most of the time, you also need to have a good idea of what the truth is. For this, you must conduct thorough research. So take your time to research and only then make your verdict.
- Ensure your opinion is well conducted
Make sure that you pick a side and create a valid opinion. Shouldn’t all opinions be valid? Well, no. There are valid and invalid opinions. An invalid one goes like, “I do not want to work because I do not feel like it.” A valid opinion, on the other hand, would be, “I do not want to work because I feel that it would be detrimental to the workforce in the country to be forced to work overtime when I should be handling other family responsibilities.”
Making a valid opinion has always to do with reasoning. You want to use language that engages the reader and allows you to show that you know what you are talking about. Develop clear reasons as to why your side is the right one.
- Make your outline
After you have come up with a good opinion and arguments to support it, create an outline for the story. Which paragraph will have more statistical research? What paragraphs will have quotes from reliable sources? Where will you make claims from the other side and refute them? These are integral parts that will significantly affect the structural components of your piece. You must know when and where to include them.
After you’ve completed your outline, get down to the writing. Now that you have done all the necessary preparations, the piece should flow smoothly.
- Read your piece aloud
Before you submit your paper, make sure that you read it out loud. Look at it critically, it shouldn't contain plagiarism, and make sure it does not sound like a rant or over the top. Your work should sound succinct and professional even if the topic for an editorial essay is not a traditional one. Your audience should understand your point and be able to relate to the issue.
Read also: How to title an essay properly
Useful Tips on How to Write Your Editorial
What we see today is that technology has created fierce competition among the newspapers. Social media makes it difficult because opinions evoke emotions. That is why most people cannot write a great editorial topic and consider using ghostwriting services.
Still, being well-prepared makes a difference. Here are some editorial writing tips that will help you write better regardless of what kind of writer you are.
- Choose a good newspaper with more than 100,000 copies
To be a truly successful professional writer, you need to ensure that your writing reaches out to many people. If you are working for such a paper, make sure that you talk about relevant events and always offer facts and solutions.
- Look for controversial topics for editorial
When you are thinking about how to write an editorial in the best possible way, make sure that the theme you want to cover is debatable. Because that is how you will keep your reader engaged. They will want to see if you side with them. If you do not, they will want to figure out why. As you continue with your research, keep your readers engaged by asking them relevant questions.
- Remember that the essay will depend on your decision making
While you can choose either side of a controversial topic, always choose one that is right, because that will show your knowledge and experience level. Although sometimes it can really be hard to do, stick to the side whose arguments you truly support. Otherwise, you won’t be able to influence your readers and thus fail onу of the key components we’ve talked about earlier.
- Find multiple solutions
If you are going to discuss a problem that the audience often faces, make sure that you always provide several options to address it. Test the effectiveness and efficiency of each of them to be genuinely convinced or what will work in a real-life scenario.
Curious Editorial Essay Topics to Consider
As a high school student, you will have to write many editorial essays before you finally land that dream job at a favourite magazine. The most common editorial formats are related to the current world or national events. Also, you can ask a dissertation editor for help at EduBirdie. Here are some of the topics for editorial that may be most relevant today:
- The Effects of Global Warming On the Planet
- HIV: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
- Should Gambling Be Outlawed?
- Should Marriage to Animals be Legalized?
- Are eCigarettes as Safe as Advertised?
An editorial piece should express the viewpoint of the editorial team without getting opinionated without being obstinate. It should educate without being instructive. It ought to change without being zealous. It ought to overwhelm without suffocating. It should persuade to activity without dictating getting evangelical. Lastly, always make it brief. Remember, that you can always choose essay writer for you from Edubirdie website.