Op-Eds (Opinion articles in a newspaper or magazine, print or on-line)
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page (though often mistaken for opinioneditorial), is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually
unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board. These are different from editorials (which are
usually unsigned and written by editorial board members) and letters to the editor (which are
submitted by readers of the journal or newspaper).
An OpEd article is an article written for a mass-media audience. OpEd literally means that this is the
kind of article that appears on the page opposite the editorial page of a newspaper.
Op-Ed writing generally has these features:
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Short sentences (8 words or less!)
Simple sentence construction (subject verb object)
Active voice rather than passive voice in verbs (see reverse for examples)
Short words from common vocabulary
Almost no use of numbers or math
Grabber title
Important point first, not last!
Use of quotations by people: Subjective rather than Objective
Use of people's first and last names for "human interest"
Affiliation language (Business, University, Titles, Location) for persuasion
Who, what, when, where, why, how
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The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You
are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives
the action of the verb:
subject
verb
active
>
Cats

eat
fish.
The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the
verb:
subject
passive
verb
object
<
Fish

object
are eaten
by cats.
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:
subject
verb
object
active
Everybody
drinks
water.
passive
Water
is drunk
by everybody.