In the past few years, the media around the world has allowed readers to express their views on important issues such as political, economic, social, and others. Also, social networking sites and some Internet sites such as The Doe gave people the opportunity to express what is on their minds, using their own words.
One of the definitions of Op-eds is that it is a text published in the opinion section of a newspaper, bearing in mind that the author of the text has no relationship with the media institution that publishes it.
When a person writes an opinion article, he/she is thus presenting a specific idea to society. This idea may receive support or opposition, but that is a positive thing because it encourages people to debate among themselves. This has positive repercussions on society as a whole. For example, if the writer in a country raises the issue of the right of 18-year-olds to vote during elections, people may be divided between those who support this idea and those who consider that citizens of that age do not deserve that right. Thus, this discussion may lead to giving the younger generation the right to vote or at least such discussion will have far-reaching effects on society even if the right was not granted to them. In other words, an opinion piece is capable of creating dynamism in society.
Reading an opinion article gives the reader new information that he/she did not know before. It helps him/her to determine his/her opinion of certain issues. For example, the writer may present information about a historical stage in his country, but the reader has not heard of it before, or the writer may give information about events taking place in a distant country that was never among the reader’s interests. Thus, after the reader receives all this information, his/her vision will become clearer and he/she will have a viewpoint of several issues.
Now that the reader has new information, he/she will be eager to search for more details about any issue raised by the article. He or she will ask many questions about what is going on around him/her, awaiting new articles by the author. Thus, he/she will enhance his/her objective and critical thinking. Thanks to the opinion articles!
To write an effective opinion article, some criteria must be followed. For example, the number of words in the text shouldn’t exceed 750 words. Often newspapers space is limited. Websites may allow more words to be published, but the truth is that today’s reader quickly gets bored of long articles. Therefore, the writer should use short sentences and paragraphs. It should be simple declarative sentences far from complex and useless filler.
It is also important that the writer addresses the other opinion within the article. Some writers may try to show that they are right and that their opponents are wrong. This is a fatal error. Mentioning the other opinions objectively makes the text more modest and attractive. This earns the writer the respect of the readers.
