Editorial Writing Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A written journalism competition in which each entrant writes an opinion editorial that takes a clear stand on an issue and defends it with facts, marked mostly on content, then on form and style and ethics.

Editorial Writing is a solo journalism item in which each entrant writes the kind of piece a newspaper prints as its own opinion: a short, argued article that picks a side on an issue and persuades the reader to see it that way. It is written and marked after the sitting rather than performed, and in the scheme that uses it most heavily it is filed under Creative Writing and scored out of 100.

A round is a supervised writing sitting. Entrants are given the same issue or set of facts and write against the clock with no notes. Unlike News Writing, which reports and stays neutral, an editorial must state a position early, back it with facts and reasoning, and close with a conclusion or a call to action. In the national schools circuit it runs in both English and Filipino, at Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) and Secondary (Grades 7 to 12) level, with one contestant per category.

A finished entry has a short, pointed title, an opening that makes the stand plain, two or three supporting arguments each tied to a fact or a source, a fair mention of the opposing view, and an ending that leaves the reader with a clear conclusion. It stays factual and respectful: strong opinion is welcome, invented facts, personal attacks and copied passages are not.

Organisers run it because it tests a different skill from news and feature writing: reasoning in public. It sits beside News, Feature and Sports Writing as one of the individual writing contests of a school journalism programme.

Where Editorial Writing is run

The clearest use in the data is a national school press conference in the Philippines, which runs Editorial Writing as one of its individual contests at every level from school to national and in both English and Filipino. Beyond that, school and campus journalism contests in many countries include an editorial or opinion category, though the age bands, languages and time allowed differ from event to event.

• Philippines

Key facts

• Individual entry, open to boys and girls alike.
• Marked out of 100 in the national schools circuit: Form and Style 40, Content 50, Ethics 10.
• Runs in English and Filipino, at Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) and Secondary (Grades 7 to 12) level.
• Written in a single supervised sitting; the template sets no stage time limit.
• Unlike a news report, it must take a clear stand and support it with logic and facts.

On eTalenter, Editorial Writing is filed under Creative Writing and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Editorial Writing is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Editorial Writing

What a Editorial Writing panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Content (50 marks): a clear stand, factual information, understanding of the issue and logical support. The biggest block, so an editorial that states its position plainly and proves it beats a longer one that wanders.
• Form and Style (40 marks): leading with the stand, fact-based arguments, sources, the title and the reasoning. An opening that tells the reader where the writer stands, and a title that fits, earn marks here; a slow start loses them.
• Ethics (10 marks): originality, citation, journalistic standards and no plagiarism or libel. Lifting phrases from the brief, inventing a source or attacking a named person costs these marks.
• Stand: judges look for one position held from start to end. An editorial that sits on the fence, or changes sides in the closing paragraph, reads as unfocused.
• Reasoning: each argument should lead to the next and rest on a fact. Assertion without support is where most marks are lost.
• Language accuracy: spelling, grammar and flow in the chosen language, whether English or Filipino.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Editorial Writing under Scoring Setup, or start from the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Editorial Writing

How entrants and their teachers usually get Editorial Writing right on the day:

• Practise stating a stand in one sentence before writing. Take ten current school or community issues and write “We believe that…” for each, then decide which side you can defend with facts.
• Learn a simple shape: stand, two or three supporting arguments with facts, the opposing view answered briefly, and a conclusion or call to action. Rehearse it until it is automatic.
• Rehearse against the clock with unseen issues and leave a few minutes at the end to check facts, names and spelling.
• Use only the facts you are given or know to be true. Never invent a statistic, quotation or source.
• Write the title with care: short, pointed and true to the stand. It is named in the marking sheet.
• Read published editorials from school and local newspapers and underline the sentence where each writer states the stand; notice how early it comes.
• Argue the issue, not the people. Strong opinion about a policy or practice is fine; attacking a person risks the Ethics marks.
• Practise in both languages if the event offers both, since persuasive vocabulary and tone differ between English and Filipino.
• After a lost round, ask for the score by block: low Content means a vague stand or thin facts; low Form means a late stand, weak title or loose reasoning.

Frequently asked questions

Is Editorial Writing judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is Editorial Writing the same as News Writing?

No. News Writing reports the main facts neutrally in order of importance. An editorial takes a position on an issue and argues for it, using facts as proof.

How is Editorial Writing marked?

In the national schools circuit it is out of 100: Form and Style 40, Content 50 and Ethics 10.

Can entrants bring notes or write at home?

No. It is written in a single supervised sitting from an issue given on the day, so notes and prepared drafts are not part of the item.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

Individually. Each school sends one contestant per category and language.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide, or browse every creative writing competition item.