How to Write an Editorial Deserving Attention and High Grade

Written by

Rodney Robinson

July 24, 2023

8 min read

A good editorial, be it for a newspaper, blog, or school paper, requires special knowledge and expertise. The main purpose of this piece of writing is to attract people’s attention by a gripping title and hold their interest until the last word.

Do you know how to achieve this? – It is not the case when your natural gift for writing can save the day. To write an editorial, you have to follow particular rules (which we will review in a moment) and master your skills by practice.

Even professional journalists fight for a place in the sun to get the attention of the public and pull in more audience. For students writing an editorial might be a good chance to try themselves in the journalistic field and develop essential writing skills while at school.

Editorial Essay and Its Definition

Let us first define the main notion here – what is editorial essay indeed? Editorial can be described as an article for a newspaper, which shows the author’s viewpoint regarding the issue described in it. The aim of the editorial of any type is to explicitly or implicitly influence the readers, convince them of something, or provoke critical thinking.

However, it doesn’t mean that an editorial essay reflects the writer’s thoughts or beliefs. It is much more than that – to write an editorial, one must provide compelling grounds for his/her opinion, analysis of other existing points, and solid facts to prop up one’s own arguments.

In this regard, editorial resemble research papers, where you also have to gather credible data, evidence, and examples to explain your point of view.

Feel a bit overwhelmed with the task? Receive support from our experts in essay writing in the snap of a finger.

Editorial Essay Types and Their Distinctive Features

Depending on the main purpose of your writing, several editorial types can be distinguished. They determine four main approaches, which you will use for your editorial essay:

• Persuade the audience – in this type of writing, you have to concentrate on the solutions to a problem or provoke a call to action instead of describing the details of the issue.From the very beginning, the editorial must spur the readers into action to solve the problem. Very often, persuasive editorials are used by politicians in their election campaigns.
• Criticize the issue described in the editorial – such editorials focus on showing the readers the essence of the problem to a higher degree than offering the solution. Unlike in persuasive editorials, the aim of such articles is to draw people’s attention to the issue that caused a problem rather than addressing it.
• Explain or describe the point to readers – such editorials aim to interpret a hot topic to the public and provide meaningful data. Articles of this type cover the issue with reliable facts, data, and examples by informing people while keeping from critics or convincing methods.
• Praise for merits or achievements – these editorial essays make flattering remarks about people or organizations for some good actions. Here you provide information about some records, efforts, contributions, etc. and who we should thank for it.

Topic Samples for Different Editorial Essay Types

Now you can look through the brief examples from editorials below. We have collected them for you to gain greater insight into the subject:

1. It was the hottest winter in the history of Europe Introduction example of the descriptive editorial: “This winter broke the temperature record. The temperature was above the average in most parts of Europe, Siberia, and central Asia. According to experts’ opinion, this phenomenon reflects a general tendency of global warming.”
2. Sea life is in danger because of human negligence Introduction example of criticizing editorial: “About 10 percent of all plastic made on the planet appears in the ocean. There are five rubbish islands now, which consist of plastic bottles, toys, poly bags, and other things. Very soon, we will face the extinction of species”.
3. Armchair critic is harmful to the future of the country Introduction example of the persuasive editorial: “Many people in our days tend to complain about government and life conditions. However, when it comes to presidential or parliament elections, many of them prefer to stand aside. We must all fulfill our civic duty to the country and be responsible for our choice.”
4. Deepest gratitude to Alma Mater Introduction example of praising editorial: “National medical university has graduated a great number of great students who stand guard over our health on a daily basis. And now we can witness a new quantum leap in its history when a leading-edge research center is opening at its premises.”

Elaborate on the above topics and extract or think of your own ones to compose a good editorial. Otherwise, just let us know, and we will do this for you.

How to Build an Editorial: Outline and Construction

Before you embark on writing any academic work, make a detailed plan specifying the main points of your essay. This will allow you to organize properly all the information you gathered during the research and make a correct carcass for your writing work. Such a plan is called an outline.

To write an outline and editorial essay itself, you have to define the main parts of it. They are compliant with the main parts of any essay:

Introduction – this is the place where you announce the issue or the problem to the readers. Be sure not to develop it in this paragraph, but to provide a transition to the following arguments and examples.

Body – is the main activity field for your facts, proof-points, and examples. By dividing the essay body into several paragraphs, you create a step-by-step story. It starts with the evaluation of controversial views on the matter, then supplies grounds for support of your viewpoint, and proves wrong the opposing opinion.

Conclusive paragraph – as usual, is meant to restate your point and make the readers remember about it by emphasizing the main facts that support your idea.

Example of Editorial Outline

So, here’s a sample of your editorial essay outline, which you can use as a template:

1. Introduce the issue to the public
   1. Inform your readers of the event, situation, or burning issue.Be brief, but use all the important details: What? Which? When? Where? Who? and How? (On September, the 12th local government-initiated reform to fine citizens for smoking in public places).
   2. Create a hook phrase to make people continue reading.It should be your brief opinion as a thesis.
2. First show your opinion regarding the issue
   1. Provide a clear evaluation of the situation from your side.
   2. Supply facts, quotes, evidence, or real-life examples.
3. Indicate the position of the opposite side towards the issue
   1. The other viewpoint must also be supported by some facts or evidence to show that you are not biased. Use names and statistics to explain the vision of your opponents in detail.
   2. Use a transitional sentence to pass to the real solution to the problem.
4. Reinforce your position by comparing both sides and proving that you are right
   1. Give reasons upwards to support your point. Leave the strongest argument for the end to leave no doubt that your opinion is right.
   2. Conclude this paragraph with no open question.
5. Finish your editorial essay with the solution to the problem or make the readers understand what is wrong
   1. Describe the key points in brief.
   2. Use a citation or a rhetorical question to strengthen your opinion (Example, if we don’t address this problem now when will be the right time?).

Reached a Deadlock with Editorial Essay

Essay writing sometimes can be challenging. Writing an editorial is even more pressure for students, as it is a mature piece of writing. We’ve tried to supply as much useful information as possible to fill in the blanks in understanding the editorial principles and help you learn how to write an editorial.

However, if you feel that such a demanding task must be done by experienced writers with explicit knowledge of the subject, don’t hesitate to contact our team.

We can help you write any editorial essay types, as well as other academic papers of the curriculum. We bet you will receive the highest mark.