Submit an Opinion article for consideration
Thank you for your interest in The Star.
If you want to submit an opinion article for consideration, please send it to oped@thestar.ca.
We consider commentaries of 500 to 650 words on current affairs, with an emphasis on Canadian issues. We tend not to print personal essays or broadly themed philosophical, religious or historical articles. We also print very little in the way of humour or satire.
Writers must include their credentials and are expected to have expertise in the area they are discussing. If you have an involvement in or connection with an issue that is not apparent from your credentials or the content of the article, you must disclose that to the Star.
Please include a recent colour head-and-shoulders photo with your submission and a mailing address. All contributors whose articles are selected for publication will be asked to sign a freelance agreement giving the Star the right to publish the material online or in other formats.
Be aware that we receive dozens of submissions a week and can print only a few. We try to inform contributors within 48 hours whether we are interested in printing their articles, but it can be longer when volume is particularly heavy.
As for style and approach, please keep these points in mind:
Be topical. Make clear near the beginning of the piece why you’re writing it now. Does your argument relate to something in the news? Does it expose a trend? The answer to the question “Why now?” should be evident.
Be fair. Don’t ignore your opponents’ point of view or mischaracterize it. Don’t engage with only the flimsiest counter-arguments. Don’t demonize or diminish those you’re criticizing. Imagine what the smartest critic might say about your piece and take those arguments on — that’s where things get interesting and illuminating.
Keep your audience in mind. Remember that you’re not writing for your classmates, your colleagues, your friends. You’re writing for a general audience. Assume your reader is intelligent but not necessarily knowledgeable on the issue. Provide enough context so a person who knows nothing about the subject can understand your argument and why it matters. Don’t use jargon or overly obscure or formal language.
Add to the conversation. If the topic of your piece has already been widely discussed in the media, make sure you’re adding new information or a new line of argument to the conversation.
Stick to the word limit. For us, that’s about 725 words, which is longer than at most newspapers. Word limits are not arbitrary and won’t be ignored even for exceptional pieces. Space in print — and attention spans online — are finite. More can be said in 700 words than one might think.