This guide walks you through everything you need to research, structure, and draft a piece for the SPR. We accept submissions from anyone in the Stanford community and no journalism background is required.
Before you dive in, review our Journalistic Standards and Submission Guidelines.
Part 1: Finding and Sharpening Your Argument
Start with a question!
The best opinion pieces don’t begin with a conclusion in search of evidence. Rather, they begin with a question or tension. Ask yourself: What do I believe that most people don’t? What am I angry about? What do I think is being misunderstood? Your answer to that question will serve as the seed of your argument.
Use the “So what?” test
Before you write a word, put your argument through the “So what?” test. If someone read your piece and said, “Okay, but so what?”… can you answer them? A strong opinion piece makes a claim that is:
- Specific: Not “immigration policy needs reform” but “the cap on H-1B visas is actively harming the Bay Area tech sector in ways Congress has not yet measured.”
- Arguable: Someone reasonable could disagree with you.
- Timely: There’s a reason to care about this now.
Part 2: Do Your Research!
Good research for an opinion piece has two main goals. First, you want to make sure your facts are right, and that you can find the evidence that supports your argument. This requires having a strong structure of evidence that is correct. Well-cited data or data produced by trustworthy sources are strongly preferred.
Government and legal data
- Congress.gov — This source grants you access to bill text, voting records, and hearing transcripts.
- data.gov and census.gov — These sources are federal datasets and provide expansive insights.
- CourtListener and Justia: These sources have court opinions and are free.
Academic research
- Google Scholar: This source is for broad academic search and is free.
- Stanford Library databases (JSTOR, LexisNexis, ProQuest): You can access these sources with your SUNet ID
News and context
- Use multiple outlets across the political spectrum to understand how an issue is framed differently.
- For historical context, newspaper archives via ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Stanford library) are helpful.
Fact-checking and citing your sources are important. SPR’s editorial process will catch errors, but you’ll save everyone time—and protect your credibility—by checking your own work first. SPR uses hyperlinks for online sources. Link directly to the original source. For sources without a stable URL (books, personal interviews), simply include a brief attribution in the text (e.g., “according to a 2023 Pew Research survey”).
Part 3: Structuring Your Work
SPR does not have a set structure for published pieces. In fact, what makes us unique, is that we accept many different formats of pieces. If you are looking for guidance on structure, however, this section is for you! Opinion pieces often follow a recognizable architecture. Here’s an example skeleton:
1. The Lede (first 1-3 sentences)
Hook the reader immediately. The best ledes drop you into a scene, pose a striking question, or open with a surprising fact. Avoid starting with “In recent years…” or “Throughout history…”
Weak: “Immigration has long been a contentious issue in American politics.”
Strong: “Last month, a federal court quietly ruled that 200,000 people who have lived in the United States for decades are no longer eligible for work permits. Almost no one noticed.”
2. The News Peg (sentences 3-6)
Establish why your reader should care right now. Connect your opening hook to the current moment.
3. The Nut Graf (one paragraph)
This is the most important paragraph in the piece. State your argument directly and plainly. What are you claiming? What do you want readers to believe or do differently by the end? Don’t bury this — it should appear in the first third of the piece, often right after the news peg.
4. Evidence and Analysis (the body)
This is where you make your case. Aim for 3–4 supporting points, each developed with evidence and your own analysis. A common mistake is to list facts without explaining what they mean.
Each paragraph should do one thing and do it well. If a paragraph is trying to make two separate points, you should split it into two paragraphs.
5. The “To Be Sure” Paragraph
Acknowledge the strongest counterargument to your position and respond to it. Readers trust writers who demonstrate they’ve wrestled with opposing views, so one well-handled counterargument is enough. You don’t need to defeat every possible objection—although that is something worth thinking about!
6. The Closing
Return to where you started. Echo the language or image from your lede, or extend the stakes of your argument to a broader implication. End on a note of conviction instead of a summary of what you just said, and not a hedge. The last sentence will be the last thing your reader carries with them. Leave an impact!
Part 4: Writing and Voice
Write for a general educated reader
Assume your reader is smart but not a specialist in your topic. Avoid jargon, acronyms without explanation, and insider shorthand. If you’d need a footnote to explain a term to a non-expert friend, rephrase it instead.
The difference between analysis and argument
Analysis explains what is happening and why. Argument claims what should happen, or what we should think about what’s happening. You need both. Pure analysis (“here are five perspectives on the minimum wage”) reads more like a Wikipedia article. Pure argument without evidence (“we need a living wage, full stop”) is an assertion. Strong opinion pieces effectively weave them together: here is the evidence, here is what I think it means, here is what follows from that.
Say the hard thing directly
The most common failure in first drafts is hedging the argument to death. Phrases like “it could be argued that,” “some might say,” and “it seems possible that” drain a piece of its force, so if you believe something, say it! Your nuance comes in the form of counterarguments, which will allow you to analyze and discuss the holes in your argument.
Read your draft aloud
If you stumble over a sentence while reading it aloud, your reader will stumble over it too. Long sentences that felt fine on the page may actually read a little weird. Plus, this makes for good mirror talk!
Ready? Submit your piece here!