Editorial Writing: Example and Breakdown
Hi everyone!
For one of the first blog posts, I thought it would be great to discuss editorial writing, as this may not be a style that everyone is familiar with. In this post, I'll be giving you all an example editorial piece from the New York Times and breaking it down for you all, pointing out the strengths of this paper.
Here is the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/opinion/brazil-dam-break-environment-bolsonaro.html. This editorial was taken from the New York Times, a popular American newspaper. The New York Times editorial page is considered to come from a "liberal" viewpoint. It's important to take into account voice and perspective for each news syndicate because editorials must represent these viewpoints. Don't forget to research this before coming to conference!
Now, lets move onto the article. The first thing to note is the title. "Brazil's Lethal Environmental Negligence" is a very provoking title. As you can see here, vocabulary can go a long way to evoke emotion from the reader. Their subtitle falls in the same territory, "The mining industry puts lives at risk with shoddy maintenance of dams built to contain mining waste." This statement is not only strong, but it also essentially gives the reader the thesis or main argument of the article. From here, we can tell that the author will build on their argument.
Next, the body of the article contains a few elements I'd like to highlight. First, the author clearly states their thesis in the first paragraph. This is crucial for editorials, as readers want to know what you're arguing right away. Next, the author elaborates and builds off of their initial thesis, using various arguments to back up their thesis. The author discusses the environmental impacts of the mining industry, the political negligence after the last catastrophe, and points out that the mining industry's promises aren't always upheld. Last thing I want to point out is the author's use of statistics throughout the article. This is very important because while this article is opinionated and arguing a point, the author is using facts and evidence to support their argument.
I hope this helped get you all started on thinking about how to write a structured and powerful editorial! If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.
Best,
Emily Yan
For one of the first blog posts, I thought it would be great to discuss editorial writing, as this may not be a style that everyone is familiar with. In this post, I'll be giving you all an example editorial piece from the New York Times and breaking it down for you all, pointing out the strengths of this paper.
Here is the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/opinion/brazil-dam-break-environment-bolsonaro.html. This editorial was taken from the New York Times, a popular American newspaper. The New York Times editorial page is considered to come from a "liberal" viewpoint. It's important to take into account voice and perspective for each news syndicate because editorials must represent these viewpoints. Don't forget to research this before coming to conference!
Now, lets move onto the article. The first thing to note is the title. "Brazil's Lethal Environmental Negligence" is a very provoking title. As you can see here, vocabulary can go a long way to evoke emotion from the reader. Their subtitle falls in the same territory, "The mining industry puts lives at risk with shoddy maintenance of dams built to contain mining waste." This statement is not only strong, but it also essentially gives the reader the thesis or main argument of the article. From here, we can tell that the author will build on their argument.
Next, the body of the article contains a few elements I'd like to highlight. First, the author clearly states their thesis in the first paragraph. This is crucial for editorials, as readers want to know what you're arguing right away. Next, the author elaborates and builds off of their initial thesis, using various arguments to back up their thesis. The author discusses the environmental impacts of the mining industry, the political negligence after the last catastrophe, and points out that the mining industry's promises aren't always upheld. Last thing I want to point out is the author's use of statistics throughout the article. This is very important because while this article is opinionated and arguing a point, the author is using facts and evidence to support their argument.
I hope this helped get you all started on thinking about how to write a structured and powerful editorial! If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.
Best,
Emily Yan
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