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World Refugee Day 2003
How to Write and Place an Op-Ed
Why the op-ed page?
Most newspapers have a commentary page opposite the editorial page
that serves an open forum for citizens to share their concerns; it
is the second most read section of the paper after general news. Policymakers
look to the commentary page to inform themselves and to gauge public
opinion.
What is the format of an op-ed piece?
It is your written 300- to 600-word opinion
or comment about an issue or policy or event in the news. National
birthdays or celebrations are also good op-ed topics. The most popular
format is as follows:
- state the problem,
- say why it is wrong, and
- give your well-reasoned ideas about how
to fix it.
Be sure to provide citations for every fact
and figure you include. For example, I once had an editor ask me to
document what I meant by a “trickle,” when I wrote that
U.S. refugee admissions had gone from a flow to a trickle. It’s
a bit like doing a mini research paper for a senior English class!
What are the newspaper’s guidelines
for an op-ed?
Contact the newspaper’s editorial page
editor. Ask for the paper’s guidelines for op-ed submissions
and follow them. The guidelines will include length, whether or not
they want an exclusive, author contact information needed, author
background, etc. I often include a brief 100-word author bio when
I submit an op-ed.
Sample World Refugee Day
2003 Op-Ed (MS Word file for easy editing)
Main World Refugee Day page
Prepared by Susan Baukhages, June 2003
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