Near the end, clearly restate your position and issue a call to action. Following paragraphs-the meat in the sandwich, so to speak-should back your viewpoint with factual or first-hand information. That should happen in the first short paragraph or two. State what the issue is, and let us know where you stand. Whether op-ed or letter, your piece must unfold quickly. OK, maybe a little more pure outrage is acceptable. Same stuff basically, except in a nutshell. They want people to say, “Wow! Did you see that op-ed today?” What makes a good letter to the editor? They want to stimulate community discussion and drive public debate. E ditors see the opinion page as a place for advocacy, denunciations, controversy and astonishment. It marshals vivid images, analogies and, when appropriate, anecdotes. And it’s not just a complaint you must almost always offer next steps or possible solutions for the matter at hand.Įditors want pieces that don’t just wow you with expertise they want pieces that are colorful, fast-moving and provocative-hallmarks of any good writing. It is informed by logic-not emotion or ideology. It begins with facts, and makes an argument based on facts. In publications with less competition, your odds increase. Major publications, especially big dailies like The New York Times, may receive hundreds of op-eds each day, and even more letters to the editor. In all cases, depending on where you submit, calibrate expectations accordingly. Occasionally, you may find a “peg” for your piece: a holiday, anniversary, election, upcoming conference, report, a pending vote in Congress. Ideally, your topic will be timely, but at the same time have a long shelf life (i.e., the issue won’t be solved in a day or a month). Maybe an invisible threat to public safety, or an unnoticed scientific discovery. If you know something, you say something an op-ed can help to break the news. That said, something may be going on below the public radar that should be in the news, but has not surfaced. Most publications want only pieces that play off the news of the last few days, or the week. But those with credentials often stand a better chance of getting published. They are welcome from pretty much anyone. Letters to the editor generally run just 100 to 150 words (or edited, even shorter). A piece may also come from someone with an especially telling or powerful personal experience relating to the topic-for example, an essay on homelessness by someone who has been homeless. This might include lawyers, ex-government officials or scientists. Opinion essays don’t normally come from just anyone the writer usually has some special expertise or credibility on the topic. The New York Times recently traded this old-fashioned term for “guest essay.”) (“Op-ed” comes from when all newspapers were actually printed on paper, and outside writers customarily appeared on the page OPposite staff-written EDitorials. There are two basic forms: the essay (often referred to as op-ed), and letter to the editor. Appearing there is a prime way for the nonprofessional writer to get a valuable perspective into the public eye. And, some of the most attentive readers are decision makers: top people in government, corporations and nonprofit institutions. The opinion pages are one of the best-read sections of any publication, in print or online-often on par with front-page news.
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