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COLUMN WRITING
Points to Consider
VALLEN JOY B. REYES
SPA, Ang Tore
Regional Science High School for R02
Among the so many genres, why Column Writing?
Column Writing is the hardest among types of writing.

- it can be written any way you want to write it.
- requires good thinking.
- it’s more than just the ability to articulate an opinion.
General Comment on Column Articles
during school paper critiquing
• Articles are alike, patterned in editorial structure.

OP-ED PIECE OR COLUMN
• An op-ed piece or column derives its name from

originally having appeared opposite the editorial
page in a newspaper. Today, the term is used
more widely to represent a column that
represents the strong, informed, and focused
opinion of the writer on an issue of relevance to
a targeted audience.
OP-ED PIECE OR COLUMN
- It often is personal, using the first

and second person (I and you);
and third person.
- A column often states an opinion.
Distinguishing Characteristics of an Op-Ed or Column
• It has a clearly defined point.

• It has a clearly defined point of view.
• It represents clarity of thinking.
• It contains the strong, unique voice of the
writer
Openings
The first line of an op-ed is crucial. The

opening “hook” may grab the reader’s
attention with a strong claim, a surprising fact,
a metaphor, a mystery, or a counter-intuitive
observation that entices the reader into
reading more. The opening also briefly lays
the foundation for your argument.
Endings
- echoes or answers introduction

- has been foreshadowed by preceding
thematic statements
- is the last and often most memorable
detail
- contains a final epiphany or calls the
reader to action
Voice
conversational, descriptive,
experienced, informative, informed,
introspective, observant, plaintive,
self-effacing, sophisticated, or humorous
(ctto) Prof. Michael Andrada, University of the Philippines
(ctto) Jay J. Gallegos
SAMPLE
Ready to be vaccinated
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:01 AM September 05, 2021
After suffering for five days recently

from asthma attacks and cough, and fever for
two days, I think I am now ready to have my
vaccination and be done with it.
I do recall my younger years when my elementary school classmates

and I would be too fearful of the needle whenever the district nurse
arrived. I could not remember what the vaccines were for, but our
teachers always said they were for health protection from various
diseases. Most of my classmates would wail upon seeing the syringe
and the vials, way before being pricked. Some of them would make a
fit or pretend to go outside, only to be forced to return moments later
and still be jabbed on the arm, or sometimes on their behind. No
matter how we contemplated on a possible escape from the
procedure, we still ended up going through it.
Now that I am a teacher, it is all déjà vu for me. As education

frontliners gearing up for another school year with no face-to-face
classes, we are the fourth priority to be vaccinated. With the
emergence of the new COVID-19 Delta strain, our provincial
government had to fortify our defenses through Executive Order
No. 23 series of 2021, or the “Reiteration of and additional protocols
to further strengthen existing public health interventions in
preparation for the possible entry and transmission of COVID-19
Delta variant (B.1.617.2) in the province of Isabela.” We have been
ordered to use double face masks and face shields, and observe
other health regulations.
The order also mandates that those from A1

(workers in frontline health services) and A2 (senior
citizens) who refuse to be vaccinated shall be
prohibited from entering public offices. This may
come off as discriminatory, yet the point of ensuring
that the general population is armed and shielded
from the virus is somewhat reasonable for me.
The Philippines still has a long and arduous journey to go with

the Resbakuna program spearheaded by the Department of
Health (DOH). I admit that I had been adamantly against taking
the vaccine due to rumors about its possible risks and side
effects, particularly among those with comorbidities. The US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website is not too
reassuring when it mentions that “serious adverse events after
COVID-19 vaccination are rare but may occur.” While the DOH
had said that deaths are not linked to having been vaccinated, I
still had qualms, so I leaned on the premise that since it would
not be compulsory, I did not have to undergo the process.
Nevertheless, now that I am already recuperating from some

illness that I considered normal until COVID-19 came along, I
am strongly considering the upside of being vaccinated. I have
come to realize that since we can never predict when the
pandemic will end, it is best to have ourselves and our families
protected. Even athletes and coaches in the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics were not excused from this requirement. Having a
healthy lifestyle cannot fully guarantee that one is safe from the
virus. As we continue to wrestle with this horrendous illness that
has claimed the lives of thousands, we simply have no choice
but to get ourselves immunized.
Somehow, in my subconscious, it is also my sincerest

and earnest prayer that the safest vaccine would soon
be available to children, so they could go back to school
without us teachers and their parents worrying about
them getting sick. I really hope this happens soon.
Marjorie T. Millan / Philippine Daily Inquirer /

September 05, 2021
Contest Preparation
1. Read and analyze the contest material.
2. Outline (Opening and Closing lines)
3. Make it simple; be you!
4. Discuss it in your own perspective,
understanding, observation and experience.
5. Connect those experiences with timely and
relevant issues.
6. Your opinion matters but support it with facts.
SOURCES
Filipinos know what the country needs yet fail to choose ‘the one’
https://opinion.inquirer.net/145206/filipinos-know-what-the-country-needs-yet-fail-to-choose-the-
one#ixzz7NeoURj4a
How to Write an Op-Ed - https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/hks-communications-program/files/

new_seglin_how_to_write_an_oped_1_25_17_7.pdf
https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/cm360
https://www.masscommunicationtalk.com/news-writing-editorial-writing-column-writing-and-feature-
writing.html
Prof. BEN G. DOMINGO

FERDINAND M. BULUSAN
JAY J. GALLEGOS
LABI L. UPAM
MARJORIE T. MILLAN
Prof. MICHAEL ANDRADA
For Your Writing Activity:
• Proposed Opening of Classes on

September/November
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COLUMN WRITING

Column Writing is the hardest among types of writing.

• Articles are alike, patterned in editorial structure.

• An op-ed piece or column derives its name from

- It often is personal, using the first

• It has a clearly defined point.

The first line of an op-ed is crucial. The

- echoes or answers introduction

After suffering for five days recently

I do recall my younger years when my elementary school classmates

Now that I am a teacher, it is all déjà vu for me. As education

The order also mandates that those from A1

The Philippines still has a long and arduous journey to go with

Nevertheless, now that I am already recuperating from some

Somehow, in my subconscious, it is also my sincerest

Marjorie T. Millan / Philippine Daily Inquirer /

How to Write an Op-Ed - https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/hks-communications-program/files/

Prof. BEN G. DOMINGO

• Proposed Opening of Classes on

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