10 Tips For Writing An Editorial

An editorial may be written by the editor or someone invited by the editor. Ideal length of an editorial is 1 & 1/2 pages or about 500-1000 words.

Carefully choose the topic of the editorial. Don't try to take on a very broad or a very narrow topic. Thoroughly research your topic. Learn both sides of controversial issues.

Editorial should be a discussion of an important issue or policy with critical observations by the editor rather than being focused only on editor's personal opinion.

Editorial can include critiques of articles published in the journal, reviews of interesting topics or very recent developments that may be important to readers of the journal.

If an editorial gives opinion(s) of editor on a topic be sure to include an overview of works covered, upcoming trends and futuristic technologies etc.

Plan the structure of the article in advance. Have a solid grasp of the arguments before beginning to write the editorial.

When writing the editorial, state your introduction about the problem, explain any needed background, give each of the main points with supporting evidence and then present the conclusion.

Avoid one-sided arguments. Include relevant aspects of differing viewpoints which will make the article appeal to a broader audience, and people whose viewpoint may differs from yours.

Remember the three "S"es of article writing - short sentences, short paragraphs, and simple English.

Your conclusion should tie in directly with topic of the article. Depending on the issue, if you want the readers to take some action, include a call to action at the end of the article.