Editorial and Letters to the Editor: Functions and Structure

Editorial: The Newspaper's Voice

The editorial reflects the institutional viewpoint of a newspaper on a current topic. It is unsigned but written by esteemed staff and overseen by the director.

Functions of an Editorial:

• Informative: Explains facts and highlights their importance.
• Interpretative: Analyzes facts, context, causes, and effects.
• Persuasive: Uses rhetoric to influence reader opinion.
• Appellate: Aims to motivate readers to take action.

Themes: Editorials typically address political and economic concerns, less frequently social or cultural issues.

Tone and Style: Editorials adopt a cautious, authoritative, and solemn tone, with clear, concise, and precise writing.

Letters to the Editor: Reader's Perspective

Letters to the editor are reader submissions expressing opinions on news or articles.

Structure:

Introduction

Includes sender's details: full name, ID number, contact information, date, location, and intended section.

Body

Begins with a salutation, develops the reader's opinion with arguments, and ends with a courtesy farewell.

Closing

Requires a signature and initials. Letters are usually limited to 20 lines, typed at 66 spaces per line.

Published letters omit introduction and farewell, using a headline and newspaper column format.