Appeal to the law

Appealing to the law is a great way to balance fact and opinion in your editorial. You may choose to appeal to the Constitution, federal law, state law, or even moral and ethical codes that are generally accepted by members of society.

Example:Several states, including California, have already taken measures to curb the plastic water bottle issue by charging consumers a 10 cent deposit that can be redeemed by recycling the product. Yet, this legislation is not enough to affect consumers in a way that brings about permanent change.

Using your own sample argument, appeal to the law by commenting below.

Appeal to emotion

One strategy you might use to persuade is to appeal to your audience's emotions. This might include guilt, fear, pity, sympathy, or in almost all editorials, their sense of moral and ethical correctness.

Example: As the dominant species on this planet, we have a responsibility to care for the birds, seals, fish, and small animals that surround us. Part of that responsibility is giving them a natural environment within which to live.

Using your own sample argument, use make an appeal to your audience's emotions by commenting below.

Cite an expert

Sometimes it is perfectly acceptable to use quotations in your editorial (though far fewer than you would in a news or feature story). If there is an expert whose statement(s) support your claim, you may want to cite that expert.

Example: According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, “While much tap water is indeed risky, having compared available data, we conclude that there is no assurance that bottled water is any safer than tap water.”

Using your own sample argument, use an expert for support by commenting below.

Use factual evidence

Often, it helps to support your argument with factual evidence, such as data and statistics. This can be evidence you have found and can attribute to another source (such as the U.S. Census Bureau), or it could be data you collected (through surveys, polls, observation, etc.).

Example: According to the Container Recycling Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the environment through the spread of recycling awareness, nearly 40 million water bottles either go into the trash or become litter every single day.

Using your own sample argument, use factual evidence to support your argument by commenting below.

Anticipate the counterargument

As an editorial writer, it is good practice to identify the arguments against your own argument during your planning process. In your editorial, you may need to acknowledge these counterarguments, even if you are bringing them up only to refute them.

Example: Sure. Disposable plastic water bottles are recyclable and responsible citizens would never throw them into the trash, but the fact of the matter is that water bottles are ending up in landfills, and worse, in the oceans. And beyond that, even recycling takes energy and adds to the need for natural resources that simply would not be used if we all switched to tap water.

Using your own sample argument, anticipate the counterargument and refute it by commenting below.

Argue logically

While this sounds obvious, it is good to remind yourself to build your argument point-by-point from each premise. This often comes in the form of an "if this, then that" statement.

Example: Since we now know that bottled water is often just as or even less clean than tap water, we must fight our addiction to the careless convenience of disposable bottles. If clean water is really what we care about, then tap water should be more than sufficient for our needs.

Using your own sample argument, clearly demonstrate logical reasoning by commenting below.

Explain the issue

Begin by explaining to the reader exactly what you are arguing in a clear, concise way. Remember to be assertive, not aggressive.

Example: In our efforts to preserve the environment, the time has come to take drastic measures to prevent waste. We must all agree to ban plastic water bottles.

Using your own sample argument, clearly explain the issue by commenting below.