Writing Effective Op-Eds - Communicator Toolkit.
One of the best ways to gain credible visibility for a corporate client is to have that company's chief executive submit an opinion piece to a major newspaper and have it published. Easier said than done. Quite often, most CEOs have no time to write an op-ed; even fewer know how.
To write a successful opinion essay, make sure to follow these stages: pre-writing, writing and proofreading. Pre-Writing. Before starting to write your essay, you need to gather information to support your opinion. Make sure the evidence you collect matches your stated point of view.
Don’t worry about the headline. The newspaper will write its own headline. You can suggest one, but don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it. Offer graphics. Until recently, newspaper op-ed pages rarely accepted graphics or photos to accompany op-ed article submissions. This tradition is now changing, especially as publications move online.
Sample Op Ed As a young professional in the workforce, I know that I am in the minority when I say that casual attire has no place in a professional environment. After college, I job-hopped for a while before finally landing a promising position with a leading insurance company.
Some tips about op-eds: Op-eds should emphasize the writer's opinion or experience and be of interest to the general public. Opinion page editors look for op-eds that advance the public discussion of an issue, that are interesting and compelling, and that come from interesting authors. Don't go over 750 words.
In classic op-ed structure, it emphasizes a single point over and over (i.e. the U.S. is doing nothing to reduce oil consumption), and wraps up with at least three prescriptive remedies for the situation. Why the Internet Should Win the Nobel Peace Prize (Jamil Zaki, Wired.com).
We will cover the basics of op-ed writing -- u nderstanding your expertise, crafting a timely argument, and strategically pitching your ideas. The story we tell becomes the world we live in. We believe the way we tell the story of this moment matters, and we at The OpEd Project aim to support and lift up our community during this challenging and unprecedented time.