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Writing an Effective Editorial

This support material is incorporated into critical challenges at grade 9, however, it can be adapted for use at all grade levels.

This strategy encourages students to write an effective editorial in order to communicate a clear statement of purpose and present convincing arguments in support of their position.

To use this strategy:

• provide each student with a news report and an editorial on the same issue that has appeared recently in a local or national newspaper
• invite students to read each one and identify how they differ
• ask students to share with the class the differences they noticed
• capture on the board the key features of an editorial including:
  • the title states a position
  • the first paragraph clearly identifies the issue and the position being taken
  • the concluding paragraph restates the position
  • the paragraphs between the first and last offer arguments supported with evidence.
• students should come to see that a news report does not take a position but rather relays information about an event; typically, the most important details appear first and less important details appear toward the end of the report
• ask students to develop their own editorials using the context of the samples or selecting a different current issue
• pair or group students for peer assessment of the editorials
• encourage students to look for a clear statement of position and convincing supporting arguments in each other's editorials
• encourage students to use the peer feedback to assist them in revising and polishing their editorials.

The following document can be adapted and re-saved for your needs.

Assessing an Editorial 
An assessment rating rubric is available to support assessment of student performance and can also be used to as a guide for peer assessment.

Credits

Adapted from Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum series.  Permission granted by The Critical Thinking Consortium for use by Alberta teachers.