Talk on the ABCs of Op-Ed writing for students at Seton Hall School of Diplomacy and International Relations, 2014.

1. Op-Eds 101
Martin Edwards
martin.edwards@shu.edu

2. Some Uncomfortable Facts:
• Professional development is not always
something that you pick up in a class.
• You are investing in your degree. You need
to invest in skills as well.
• You will need professional experiences in
addition to your degree to get noticed.

3. Some Good News:
• The blogosphere has now created a huge
opportunity for students to get their
writing out into the world
• It’s imperative that we create new voices
to take part in the global conversation

4. Agenda
• What’s an Op-Ed?
• Why would I want to do this?
• How can I do this?

5. The term…
• Originally comes from a column that
newspaper editors would commission that
would run opposite of the editorial column.
• The editorial column is the newspaper’s
own space.
• But the term does not only apply to
newspapers anymore…

6. NOTE:
• Very few people would be interested in
publishing in a class assignment.
• This is because no one would be interested
in reading your class assignment.
• Academic writing has its own rules that are
distinct.

7. Why do this?
• It’s a simple writing sample for employers.
• Helps you practice writing clearly.
• Allows you to leverage longer works
(Senior/Master’s Research Project).
• Helps get your ideas into the public sphere.

8. Some Bad News
• Even with digital media, getting op-eds
placed takes practice and patience.
• Even if it’s only server space instead of
print, it’s still time in editing.

9. Two elements in every submission
• Pitch Letter
• “Selling” summary of the submission
• Op-ed
• Actual text of the submission

10. Some ABCs (and an H)
• A = Argument
• B = Brevity
• C = Current Events
• H = Humility

11. A is for ARGUMENT
• The “Op” is for OPINION.
• So you need an argument!
• And you need to put it simply in a
sentence.
• “I argue that….”
• Make sure this is in your pitch letter. Make
life easy for an editor.

12. Note:
• “We should do something about
Syria/Ebola/ISIS” is NOT an argument!
• We should create a no-fly zone and deploy
troops to guard new refugee settlements
east of Damascus IS an argument!

13. One more thing:
• Persuasive writing is often very hard for
academics. We are trained to think in
terms of nuance.
• Try very hard to avoid this pathology.

14. On “Voice”:
• Aim for an informed, but not expert
audience.
• Keep in mind it’s your job to persuade, and
you need to educate first!
• Need to explain your argument simply.
There is NO SHAME in this.

15. B is for BREVITY
• Get to the point. Immediately.
• If you know the writer’s guidelines for the
publication, you know that you have about
800-1000 words.
• Make darn sure your argument is in the
FIRST paragraph, not the last!

16. Be aware of the market (1)
• Know the outlets and what they’re looking
for.
• Washington Post: 5 Myths column.
• You might also to write a quick “explainer”
on an event – though you’ll need to think
about where you’re sending it.

17. For more on my obsession with 5:
• http://blogs.shu.edu/unstudies/2014/09/21/5-
• http://blogs.shu.edu/unstudies/2014/09/16/5-

18. Be aware of the market (2)
• Get a feel for other columns in the
journal/blog
• This will tell you a lot about what they’re
looking for.

19. Be aware of the market (3)
• Know about arguments that others have
made elsewhere
• This might be a good starting point for you!
• Here’s a list of potential places to submit:
https://twitter.com/MartinSEdwards/lists/dipl-stu

20. C is for Current Events
• It had better be about them!
• Think about this broadly:
• How much has been written on the 100th
anniversary of WWI?
• How much is going to be written on the
UN at 70?
• Think about an “angle:”
• What hasn’t been said about Ebola?

21. H is for Humility
• Remember that you are learning to do this.
• Accept rejection gracefully.
• Editors will make edits. Learn from them.
• Follow the rules about multiple
submissions.

22. Things to do
• Use the pitch letter to SELL your argument.
• Think about your target publications
CAREFULLY!
• Read the submission guidelines.
• Read other columns/posts in the
publication.
• Read this good overview:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/writers

23. If you’d like more advice
• This post by Michael Curtin
http
://blogs.shu.edu/unstudies/2014/06/19/it-all-b
/
• More examples
http://reforminginternationalorganizations.w
ordpress.com/
http://fpinterrupted.com/

24. If you want to get started…
• I know a guy with a blog…..
http://blogs.shu.edu/unstudies/
• But let’s talk about this before you write
(much less send me) anything!

25. When you have questions…..
• Drop me a line!
• martin.edwards@shu.edu
• Thanks!