English 102: Find Editorials

An editorial is an article that presents the newspaper's opinion on an issue. It reflects the majority vote of the editorial board, the governing body of the newspaper made up of editors and business managers. It is usually unsigned. Much in the same manner of a lawyer, editorial writers build on an argument and try to persuade readers to think the same way they do. Editorials are meant to influence public opinion, promote critical thinking, and sometimes cause people to take action on an issue. In essence, an editorial is an opinionated news story.

Editorials:

• Explain or interpret: Editors often use these editorials to explain the way the newspaper covered a sensitive or controversial subject. School newspapers may explain new school rules or a particular student-body effort like a food drive.
• Criticize: These editorials constructively criticize actions, decisions or situations while providing solutions to the problem identified. Immediate purpose is to get readers to see the problem, not the solution.
• Persuade: Editorials of persuasion aim to immediately see the solution, not the problem. From the first paragraph, readers will be encouraged to take a specific, positive action. Political endorsements are good examples of editorials of persuasion.
• Praise: These editorials commend people and organizations for something done well. They are not as common as the other three.

source: http://www.geneseo.edu/~bennett/EdWrite.htm

Proquest is a database containing extensive newspaper and magazine articles. Here's how you can use it to find editorials:

1. From the Morris Library home page, click on the OneSearch tab.
2. Go to Proquest.
3. Click on "Advanced" on the top left.
4. Select both Newspapers and Magazines in the Source Type box.
5. Select Editorials from the Document Types box.
6. Other features that will help you to limit your search: Full Text, Publication Date, and Language.
7. Limit results by source types, publication title, document type, subject, location, publication date, etc.
8. Top of the page also has a list of related searches.