Editorial (for the students of English Dept of SBBU) Lecture No: 1

 when you call towards the path of the Almighty, choose the most wise of all methods. Surat Nahl, Qu’ran 16:125

And when you engage people in discussion, make sure it is the most powerful or the best of ways. So this would apply even when we are interacting with one another when it comes to social networking and so on.

·       An editorial is a newspaper article expressing the editor's opinion on a topical issue.

·       An editorial is an article that presents a group's opinion on an issue and because of this, it is usually unsigned. Just like a lawyer would, editorial writers build on an argument already made and try to persuade readers to agree with them on a current, burning issue. In essence, an editorial is an opinion piece with a side of news.

·       An editorial is defined as a statement of opinion by a magazine or newspaper editor or a television or radio station. An example of an editorial is an article written by the editor of a newspaper detailing his opinion on something.

·       An editorial, leading article (US) or leader (UK), is an article written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, such as The New York Times and The Boston Globe, often classify editorials under the heading "opinion".

·       Typically, a newspaper's editorial board evaluates which issues are important for their readership to know the newspaper's opinion on.

·       Many newspapers publish their editorials without the name of the leader writer. Tom Clark, leader-writer for The Guardian, argues that it ensures that readers discuss the issue at hand rather than the author.  Whilst the editor will often not write the editorial themselves, they maintain oversight and retain responsibility.

·       An editorial is a newspaper article that expresses one's opinion. An editorial can be about any topic, but is usually written about an issue that deals with our society. To build credibility, the opinion in the editorial must be backed up with facts and evidence to substantiate your opinion.

·       Editorials are typically published on a dedicated page, called the editorial page, which often features letters to the editor from members of the public; the page opposite this page is called the op-ed page and frequently contains opinion pieces by writers not directly affiliated with the publication.

·       An op-ed (originally short for "opposite the editorial page" although often taken to stand for "opinion editorial") is a written prose piece typically published by a newspaper or magazine which expresses the opinion of a named author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board.

Editorial Essay: A Strong And Powerful Piece Of Writing. An editorial is a piece of writing that is the writer's opinion about something. ... Because the editorial is based on an opinion, it should be well-presented and have a continuous flow of writing.

The first person plural voice (we, our) is most common in editorial writing and is appropriate in establishing the credibility of the writer. Editorials should be short, precise, and well organized.

An editor is someone who is a critical reader, and a lover of words. They will prepare a client's manuscript for publication by polishing, refining and enhancing it. An editor is seen as a gatekeeper between the writer and audience, and they have to take a dual sided point of view in order to keep both parties happy.

Editorial writing is a style that can be hard to explain as it is usually a unique mixture of fact and opinion. Michele Meleen

A fact is a statement that is true and can be verified objectively, or proven. In other words, a fact is true and correct no matter what. An opinion, however, is a statement that holds an element of belief; it tells how someone feels. An opinion is not always true and cannot be proven.

This lesson will explain how to distinguish between fact and opinion. We'll define the two terms, learn how to determine whether a statement is a fact or an opinion, and practice this skill.

Fact or Opinion?

'There!' your friend announced, jabbing her finger into her book. 'Now that's a fact!' You look over her shoulder to see what she's pointing at and snort. 'That's no fact,' you reply. 'It's just the author's opinion.' Your friend glares at you, 'No way! It's right there in print. See? Dogs do make better pets than cats!' You groan. 'Just because it's written in a book, doesn't make it a fact,' you inform your friend.

Who's right, you or your friend? You are - and this lesson will explain why.

Let's begin by defining fact vs. opinion.

A fact is a provable statement. It can be shown to be true or false without any doubt, usually through some indisputable evidence, like a measurement or an observation. For instance, it is a proven fact that the Civil War occurred from 1861-1865. You can look it up in any history book and find the same dates.

An opinion, on the other hand, expresses a personal belief, idea, or feeling that is not provable. Often, authors present good evidence to support their opinions, and you may even be convinced that they are true, but you still can't prove it definitively. You might think, for example, that Robert E. Lee was the greatest general in the Civil War, and you might present some good reasons to defend your idea, but you can't prove it beyond a doubt. Someone else might say the same about Ulysses S. Grant and also offer convincing evidence in support.

Determining Fact vs. Opinion

Based on these definitions, you can ask yourself two questions to help you determine whether a statement is a fact or an opinion:

1.  Can the statement be proven true or false?

2.  Does this statement express an author's personal belief, idea, or feeling about a topic?

Let's return to your friend's statement from earlier, 'Dogs make better pets than cats,' and put your critical thinking skills to work. Can this statement be proven true or false? How would you do that? If you surveyed every pet owner in the country you would get lots of different answers. Some people might even say pigs make better pets than either cats or dogs! You might try to conduct a scientific study to answer the question, but you would have to define what makes a better pet and show that cats or dogs always exhibit those characteristics. It would simply be impossible. The statement is not a fact.

Purpose in Education

Instructing young children on the terms and concepts of fact and opinion is a little like their emerging math skills - begin with the basics and allow for more information to come as they mature. We teach fact and opinion as a reading and analytic skill necessary for understanding and mentally processing text. Knowing the difference between fact and opinion helps readers make sense of information. Outside of reading and writing, children will come to recognize facts and opinions in their language. Hopefully, their choice of words when describing emotions or experiences will become more accurate as they grasp the nuanced nature of facts and opinions.

Instruction of facts and opinions builds on high-level thinking skills, such as explaining, proving and defending. Examples of facts and opinions are:

Fact:

1.  Dogs have fur.

2.  The Beatles were a band.

3.  The last day of school is May 22nd.

Opinion

1.  Dog fur is pretty.

2.  The Beatles sang great songs.

3.  May 22nd is the best day of the year.

In reading passages, the difference between fact and opinion isn't always quite so clear. Students can identify fact and opinion in isolation accurately, so make sure to apply it to reading.

Teaching

Students may encounter fact and opinion questions on standardized tests. Sometimes, they'll have to distinguish between fact and opinion statements, but often they're called upon to determine if a statement within the text is fact or opinion. Practice this skill directly by modeling as a whole group, practicing in small groups, and then allowing students to practice independently.

An example of a reading passage fact/opinion question is:

• 'Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He grew up in a log cabin in the state of Kentucky. He is the president responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation, the document abolishing slavery. He gave many speeches as president, and was the most eloquent president. He was assassinated on April 15, 1865.'

A question may ask students to identify the sentence that states an opinion. Can you find it?

It's the 4th sentence, stating President Lincoln is the most eloquent president.

To teach this skill, read through the passage sentence by sentence, asking if it states a true, provable fact or a belief that cannot be proven. Practice with several passages, going sentence by sentence, and ask students to defend and explain their thinking.

In this lesson, we will define and learn how to recognize biases, assumptions and stereotypes in written works. We will also practice identifying these elements with a few writing samples.

Biases, Assumptions, and Stereotypes

They're sneaky. They're common. They show up in many different kinds of writing from many different kinds of authors. They try to make their way into your brain and change the way you feel about people or things. They're biases, assumptions, and stereotypes, and part of being an effective reader is recognizing these devious little devices and thinking about them critically. This lesson will help you learn how to do that.

Biases

Let's start with biases. What is a bias? Bias occurs when a writer displays a partiality for or prejudice against someone, something, or some idea. Sometimes biases are readily identifiable in direct statements. Other times a writer's choice of words, selection of facts or examples, or tone of voice reveals his or her biases.

We all have biases that reflect our opinions and our particular outlooks about life. That is perfectly normal and simply part of being human. Therefore, nearly every piece of writing exhibits some sort of bias. A reader's job is to recognize biases and think critically about them to determine how much they affect a writer's presentation of his or her subject.

Recognizing biases takes practice. As you read, ask yourself the following questions to help you identify biases:

• Does the writer use overly positive or overly negative language about the subject?
• Does the writer use emotionally charged language about the subject?
• Does the writer use vague or generalized language about the subject?
• Does the writer omit any important facts?
• Does the writer add information and evidence that seems unnecessary just to bolster his or her point?
• Does the writer fail to properly cite his or her sources?

If you've answered 'yes' to any of these questions, you can be pretty sure that the writer has some sort of bias toward the subject. Now let's practice. See if you can pick out the writer's bias in the following sample.

'Cats and dogs can both make good pets. Dogs can be affectionate, but they are extremely difficult to care for. Cats, on the other hand, are also very lovable, cuddly animals, and they require only moderate care that isn't too time consuming.'

Take a closer look at the writer's choice of words. Which animal does the writer prefer? Cats or dogs? If you said cats, you are correct, and you have just identified a bias!

Assumptions

Let's move on to the next sneaky little device: assumptions. 

Assumptions are points in an argument that a writer takes for granted (assume that something is true without questioning it). and doesn't prove with evidence. We all make assumptions everyday based on our experience, culture, education and beliefs, and assumptions are present in every piece of writing. In fact, assumptions can be very good things because they provide common ground between writers and readers and free a writer from having to prove every point he or she makes.

Readers do, however, have to be conscious that assumptions exist and make an effort to identify them and think critically about whether or not they are valid. To recognize assumptions in a piece of writing, first identify the writer's claim. What is the writer trying to prove? What does he or she want readers to accept? Now think about the reasons and evidence the writer presents to support his or her claim. Finally, reflect on what the writer has left unsaid or taken for granted about his or her argument, those ideas that hover in the background and must be accepted if the argument is to work. Those are the assumptions.

Let's practice with a couple samples. Here's the first:

'I simply refuse to vote for a candidate who does not live a good, moral life. Congressman Smith has been accused of being involved in several romantic affairs, so his opponent will get my vote.'

The writer is claiming that she will vote for Congressman Smith's opponent. Why? The Congressman has been accused of being involved in several romantic affairs and, therefore, does not live a good, moral life. Now think about what the writer has left unsaid. What is she assuming? She assumes that politicians need to be morally upright personally to do their jobs properly, that the accusations against Congressman Smith are true, and that the opponent does live a good, moral life. Let's try another.

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