What is opinion piece?

We explain what an opinion article is and to what gender it belongs. Also, what is the language and structure that this text uses.

1. What is opinion piece?

The opinion article, also known as the opinion column, is a text that aims to arouse some interest from public opinion when dealing with issues or problems in the first person.

People who write their points of view in these texts are usually notable characters or who have some relevance in their specialties; for example, they can be people related to politics , economics or letters . These people will be called “columnists.”

Opinion articles usually appear in newspapers or on certain Internet portals and the people who make them usually work constantly for each media they appear in.

As we said, these texts can deal with any topic that the communicator believes necessary to share, and their main objective is to influence their opinion in their readers so that they can reach their own reflection based on what they are reading .

In order to capture the attention of the recipient and to make their reading quick and easy, the language used is usually simple and familiar to readers . Despite staying in a newspaper in particular, opinion articles do not usually have any kind of limitation when choosing how the chosen topic will be addressed.

2. Opinion Genre

There are certain controversies when it comes to qualifying to which genre this type of text belongs. Some specialists consider that the opinion article belongs to the journalistic genre because it exposes a topic and gives its opinion in a context related to journalism and information.

Although it does not meet the characteristics of a story , it has certain similarities to it because its themes are usually about current problems .

Instead, it can also be described as a literary genre because it is not news, but is simply a text where the writer reflects and gives his opinions on a particular topic.

The opinion article does not focus on the facts of the news itself, but what that person thinks and thinks about it.

3. Language and structure of the opinion article

Opinion articles usually occupy a brief space in the newspapers and usually appear in a narrow column next to a main story or in a specific page for these texts. The sentences you have should be short and with simple structures to obtain an agile and clear reading text for your readers.

A column should be structured as follows:

• In the first paragraph of the text, the topic on which the article and its thesis will be discussed must be presented .
• In the following paragraphs the arguments that will support the thesis of the columnist will be developed; Positive, negative aspects and the opinion of the same may be included.
• It will be essential to include a conclusion with the writer’s thoughts and ideas with which the text will end.

The columnist must be capable enough to persuade and influence the reader with his thoughts on the subject, for this he must resort to all the tools he manages in relation to language and the power of conviction.