It seems as if the persuasive editorials are basically persuasive essays except for a few main differences. Editorials, it seems, can't just rely on impersonal research. Editorial authors still need to interview people from both sides of an issue just as they would need to for any other news article. Editorials are also much shorter and, therefore, more concise than persuasive essays would be. Also, while one still needs to be careful that all facts are accurate and nothing is misrepresented in a persuasive essay, one has to be even more careful about this with an editorial. Otherwise, people will get offended. The entire paper could look bad rather than just the one author.
Comments (4)
I like how you compared an editorial to a persuasive essay. Greta also talked about editorials in relation to academic essays. Link: http://blogs.setonhill.edu/GretaCarroll/2009/10/be_careful_what_you_wish_for.html Overall, the editorial will prefer, like, or not prefer, disagree, on almost everything. The only difference that I can initially see is that an essay will usually contain a works cited or specific information from other sources. In this case, you would want to quote people and choose specific writing techniques.
Posted by Derek Tickle | October 12, 2009 2:52 PM
Posted on October 12, 2009 14:52
While it's possible to write an editorial that doesn't involve new interviews, any editorial should be written about a current event, and should therefore be a reaction to the passage of a law, a speech a politician gave, a specific court decision, specific actions by local law enforcement officers, etc.
So there is always an element of news in an editorial, unlike a general "Advertisers should stop creating ads that damage women's self-esteem" STW paper topic.
Posted by Dennis G. Jerz | October 12, 2009 4:19 PM
Posted on October 12, 2009 16:19
I thought they were similar as well, especially when it comes to supporting the argument. I also like your point about editorials being more concise. To add to this, editorials seem less repetitive than an essay would be. Dr. Jerz makes a good point as well-- that editorials still incorporate the news. I almost forgot about that because I was too focused on how an editorial is written.
Posted by Kaitlin Monier | October 13, 2009 4:54 PM
Posted on October 13, 2009 16:54
My AP English class is currently working on their editorials, and we plan to submit them to our local newspaper. It also helps to review the founders of the editorial format, including Byron, Wollstonecraft, and Macaulay. Their language is not only concise, but it is poignantly descriptive in that it "makes you feel what they are so ferverent about" (student quote).
Posted by Ms. Melissa Hill | December 9, 2009 12:41 PM
Posted on December 9, 2009 12:41