These tips and pointers were provided by several national media contacts, including John Timpane, commentary page editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Andy Mollison of Cox News Service.

• The nature of an opinion/editorial piece requires that it argue something: that something is or is not so, is or is not worthy, somebody should or should not do something. If you're not arguing any of the above, an op/ed can also predict the outcome of certain events: what will occur if a political figure does or does not take action on an issue, etc.


• Op/eds MUST have a thesis. This sentence is what will be pitched to an editor to convince them to print your article. If it doesn't have a thesis, there's no main idea to pitch to the editor.


• Op/eds are traditionally between 700 and 800 words, but most editors say that the shorter the piece is, the better. With space at a premium in all national publications, a shorter piece is much more likely to run.


• Try to construct a short, compelling introductory sentence. The lead-in should encapsulate the idea of the piece and instantly engage the reader. Most editors judge intros by this rule of thumb: the piece has less than 23 seconds to interest the reader. If your first paragraph doesn't grab them, they won't stick around long enough to finish reading the article.


• A good op/ed will offer proof that supports the opinion of the author. Proof can be introduced in the form of statistics (with a webpage or other resource where they can be checked), expert testimony (with the book and page number where they can be found), or personal experience.


• Don't be afraid to let your personality show in your article. Remember that your piece isn't just words on a page; people will read the article if they feel they are hearing from a real person they can identify with.


• Come up with a good last line. Come to some sort of conclusion, even if the conclusion is that the outcome of an issue will be uncertain.

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