How to pitch an opinion piece depends on the outlet, and the outlets do not agree. The Guardian's opinion desk asks for a short pitch and rarely publishes finished pieces; the Washington Post considers only finished pieces; The Conversation, the news site written by academics, says in its US edition that it does not publish opinion at all.
EdCitation publishes this guide. Every rule below was read on the outlet's or the university's own page on 26 September 2026, and where a page could not be opened or said nothing, we say so. Read the page again on the day you send. Nothing here promises that an editor will accept, print or pay for a piece.
An opinion piece stands on its facts. EdCitation's free Find sources finds the study behind each claim, and Verify references checks that every study you lean on exists and has not been retracted. EdCitation never writes any part of anyone's piece.
How do you pitch an opinion piece?
You pitch an opinion piece by sending the outlet's opinion desk a short email or form entry that states your argument, why it matters now, and why you should write it: some outlets want the idea, some the whole draft. It carries your real name and affiliations, goes to one outlet at a time, and usually meets silence, since several outlets reply only when they want the piece.
What do the main outlets ask for in an op-ed?
Length, exclusivity, reply time and route all differ; the table quotes each outlet's own words. "Not stated" means the page we read did not say.
| Outlet (page read) | Length | Exclusivity | Reply | How to send |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The New York Times, guest essay form | Not stated on the form | "must be exclusive to The Times" and "cannot have appeared elsewhere" | "it may take at least a day before an editor can review submissions" | Online form: "briefly outline your idea or paste the text of your draft" |
| The Washington Post, help centre | "Submissions should be limited to 800 words" | "may not have been submitted to, posted to or published by any other media" | "If you don't hear from us within a week, it's safe to assume we won't be able to use your op-ed" | Its op-ed form; "We consider only completed articles" |
| The Guardian, Opinion | "a 700-800 word column (the average length of our pieces)" | Not stated | "we can't get back to every email" | Email opinion@theguardian.com; "Don't send fully written pieces" |
| The Irish Times | "usually between 850 and 950 words long" | Not stated | "if you have not heard from us within three working days we are unlikely to use your submission" | Email opinion@irishtimes.com, the draft attached or in the body, "Preferably both" |
| The Globe and Mail, comment page | "about 700 words long" | Stated for letters only | Writers "will be contacted within three days if their pieces are accepted" | Email to the section, "in the body of the e-mail message as plain text only" |
| The Conversation | "our pieces are 600-800 words" | "only original material that has not been published elsewhere" | "we cannot guarantee a response except to those we intend to commission" | A pitch through its site, from academics and researchers only |
Sources, row by row: The New York Times (n.d.), The Washington Post (n.d.), Cochrane (2016), McManus (2022), The Globe and Mail (n.d.), and for The Conversation, Hansen (2018), then its US (The Conversation, n.d.-a) and UK (The Conversation, n.d.-b) pitch pages.
What we could not confirm
The Times's form links to fuller guidance on its help centre, which our tools could not open, so we give no length or reply time for the Times; our guide to the Times covers its other routes. The Guardian's page is a 2016 article by Kira Cochrane, still linked from its contributors' guide.
Why the lists you find elsewhere disagree
Compilations age faster than outlets' pages. The OpEd Project's list, marked updated in September 2026, gives the Globe and Mail a 650-word maximum and a reply within two weeks (The OpEd Project, 2026); the paper's own page says about 700 words and three days. The University of British Columbia's list still gives email addresses for Times and Post op-eds (University of British Columbia, n.d.), where both papers now use a form. When a list and the outlet differ, the outlet wins.
How do you write the pitch for an opinion piece?
Write the pitch as a short email an editor can judge in a minute. Cochrane (2016) says a pitch for a Guardian column need not run beyond a few paragraphs, and the Irish Times asks for a summary of "no more than a sentence or two" (McManus, 2022).
- Read the outlet's page and its recent opinion pieces. Check the length, pitch or draft, and whether it has run your argument already; Cochrane says the Guardian then commissions only an angle not yet covered.
- Write a subject line that says what the piece argues. "Column pitch" arrives beside hundreds of identical subject lines, Cochrane notes.
- State the argument in one line. The Conversation asks what you have discovered or are arguing, in one line (Hansen, 2018).
- Give the news peg, the Guardian's word for why the piece is needed now. The Post looks for timeliness, resonance and "freshness of perspective" (The Washington Post, n.d.).
- Say why you. The Post says no special expertise is needed, but explaining how your background shapes your view helps.
- List two or three points and the evidence for each. Put each claim into Find sources and choose the study, not a report about it; build its reference in Cite a source so the link and details you give are right.
- Disclose your employer and any interest in the subject, paid or unpaid, as the Times's form and the Post ask.
- Send it to one outlet, note the date, and wait the time that outlet gives. Then offer it elsewhere.
A worked example
This pitch is invented; the study in it is real and checked below.
Subject: Pitch: Later school start times give teenagers more sleep, and our district's plan ignores that
Our district votes next week on moving secondary school start times earlier to save on buses. A systematic review of the experiments points the other way: in six studies, delaying the start by 25 to 60 minutes went with 25 to 77 more minutes of sleep a weeknight (Minges & Redeker, 2016). I would argue for keeping the current start. I research adolescent sleep at [university] and have no funding from any transport or education body. About 750 words, exclusive to you.
[Name, affiliation, address, phone]
The same review found only two randomised trials among the six and called for more rigorous studies, so the piece should not claim more; hedging and cautious language shows how to say so in a sentence.
How is an op-ed structured?
An op-ed makes one point early, argues it with evidence, meets the obvious objection, and closes with what should happen. The Post defines it as "a clear point of view or argument supported by specific evidence" (The Washington Post, n.d.).
The point, in the first paragraph
The University of Toronto's media relations office tells academics to state the point in the first paragraph and then back it up (University of Toronto, n.d.). The Irish Times's opinion editor calls a clear point, reached quickly, "the only rule really", and says academic writers often explain what readers already know before the new insight (McManus, 2022).
Evidence, the objection and the close
McManus advises answering the obvious counterarguments, and giving a study's results only as far as they bear on the point. Michigan State University's communications office asks for a conclusion that offers a solution, not only a problem (Michigan State University, n.d.).
First person or not
The outlets disagree. The Irish Times says to avoid the first person and humour; the Times wants argument "in the author's own voice" and takes personal essays; Cochrane says a personal story can bring readers new insight. Write for the outlet you are sending to. The Conversation informs rather than persuades (Hansen, 2018), so an argued op-ed belongs elsewhere.
How do you link evidence in an op-ed instead of citing it?
In an op-ed you name the source in the sentence and link to it, with no reference list. Michigan State's office tells academics not to use footnotes but to attribute figures in the text, and The Conversation asks for a hyperlink to a primary reference for every fact or statistic (Hansen, 2018).
| Task | Academic paper | Opinion piece | EdCitation's part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name the source | (Minges & Redeker, 2016) | "a 2016 review of six experiments found" | None needed |
| Let the reader check it | An entry in the reference list | A link, best to the DOI | Cite a source gives the DOI from the publisher's record |
| Choose the evidence | A synthesis of the literature | The strongest one or two studies | Find sources, sorted by most cited |
| Make sure it still stands | Checked before submission | Checked before the editor's fact-check | Verify references flags retractions |
Link to the study, not a press release about it; a DOI link survives a publisher moving its pages (what a DOI is). Keep a private reference list for the fact-checker's questions.
What do outlets require on fact-checking and conflicts of interest?
The outlets that state a rule require you to disclose your affiliations and interests, and they check your facts. The Post asks writers to "disclose any personal or financial interest in the subject at hand", fact-checks and copy-edits every op-ed, and asks contributors to sign off on all changes (The Washington Post, n.d.). The Times's form asks for the author's job title, employer and other associations, "both paid and unpaid".
The Conversation screens authors "for financial and other conflicts of interest" (The Conversation, n.d.-a), and its authors disclose funding and potential conflicts alongside each article (The Conversation, n.d.-c).
What checking the evidence catches
A study can be real and still not stand. A 2014 Science paper on whether one conversation could change voters' minds on same-sex marriage was retracted in 2015 (LaCour & Green, 2014). Retracted papers in your reference list explains retraction notices.
Can students and early-career researchers write op-eds?
Yes, for most newspapers. The Irish Times needs no academic or professional qualification (McManus, 2022), the Post no special expertise, and Cochrane writes that the Guardian takes many pieces from first-time writers.
The Conversation is narrower. Its US edition lets PhD students write on their research or share a byline with an adviser, and master's students share one where a professor is the main author (The Conversation, n.d.-a). Its UK edition takes PhD candidates writing close to their thesis, not master's students or undergraduates (The Conversation, n.d.-b).
An op-ed set as coursework follows the assignment's brief, not a newspaper's. The University of Hull's library guide tells students writing one as "an academic piece" to use the usual parts and back points with reliable sources (University of Hull Library, n.d.). EdCitation's free Check your paper reads a brief into a checklist, each rule beside its sentence.
What do university media offices advise academics about op-eds?
University media offices advise offering a piece to one outlet at a time, keeping it short, and asking the office for help. Their lengths differ: Toronto suggests about 650 words, British Columbia 800 or fewer, Michigan State 700 to 900. The outlet's limit is the one that counts.
- Exclusivity. British Columbia and Toronto both say not to approach a second outlet until the first has declined, and expect a reply within one to two weeks.
- Help. Michigan State's office offers to outline, review and help submit an op-ed; Toronto's offers help with writing, editing and pitching.
How does EdCitation help with the evidence in an opinion piece?
EdCitation checks the evidence an opinion piece rests on, and it is the best tool for that job because it never writes a reference: it looks each one up in the publisher's record, which no chatbot can promise, and flags a paper like the withdrawn Science study above.
Find sources, on two claims
On 26 September 2026 we put two op-ed claims into Find sources, which searches about 300 million published works. "Later school start times improve adolescent sleep" reported 2,286,349 matching records; sorted by most cited, Minges and Redeker's review came first, cited 293 times. "Four-day work week improves employee wellbeing" reported 1,764,142; sorted by most cited, a 2023 systematic review in Management Review Quarterly came first, cited 55 times. Unsorted, that search put a 1974 survey first and listed a Conversation article as a preprint, so check what kind of source a result is.
Cite a source, on the study you link
Cite a source built this APA 7 entry from the DOI, from Crossref's record, with no retraction notice, and it was correct:
Minges, K. E., & Redeker, N. S. (2016). Delayed school start times and adolescent sleep: A systematic review of the experimental evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 28, 86–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2015.06.002
Given the address of The Conversation's pitching guide, it built "Hansen, A. (2018)" from the page's DOI record, with Alexandra Hansen as author; APA gives such an article its full date, so add October 30. Read every entry against its source.
Verify references, on a short list
We pasted four references into Verify references: Minges and Redeker, a 2018 Science Advances study of start times in Seattle, the four-day week review and the 2014 Science paper. Three came back verified; the fourth matched its record with the note "This paper has since been retracted."
All three tools are free with no account. Pro, at $8 a month, and Max, at $24, add paid checks set out on Pricing; none is needed to send a pitch.
Quick questions
How long should an op-ed be?
It depends on the outlet: the Washington Post limits op-eds to 800 words, the Guardian's average is 700 to 800, and the Irish Times usually runs 850 to 950.
Can I send my op-ed to several newspapers at once?
No. The Times and the Post require exclusivity, and university media offices advise waiting for a decline before offering it elsewhere.
Do op-eds need references?
Not a reference list: an op-ed names its sources in the sentence and links to them. Keep your own list for the fact-check, built from each DOI in EdCitation's free Cite a source.
How do I check the studies in my op-ed before I send it?
Paste them into EdCitation's free Verify references: each comes back verified, "check this" or not found, and retracted papers are flagged.
References
- Cochrane, K. (2016, March 14). How to pitch an article to Guardian Opinion. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/14/how-to-pitch-article-guardian-opinion
- The Conversation. (n.d.-a). Pitch an article idea [US edition]. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://theconversation.com/us/pitches
- The Conversation. (n.d.-b). Pitch an article idea [UK edition]. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://theconversation.com/uk/pitches
- The Conversation. (n.d.-c). Who we are. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://theconversation.com/uk/who-we-are
- The Globe and Mail. (n.d.). Contact us. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/about/contact/
- Hansen, A. (2018, October 30). How to pitch to The Conversation. The Conversation. https://doi.org/10.64628/AA.nxtwjx9mv
- LaCour, M. J., & Green, D. P. (2014). When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality. Science, 346(6215), 1366–1369. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1256151 (Retraction published 2015, Science, 348[6239], 1100)
- McManus, J. (2022, January 18). How to write an opinion piece for The Irish Times. The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/how-to-write-an-opinion-piece-for-the-irish-times-1.4778655
- Michigan State University. (n.d.). Op-ed guidelines. University Communications and Marketing. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://comms.msu.edu/resources/op-ed-guidelines
- Minges, K. E., & Redeker, N. S. (2016). Delayed school start times and adolescent sleep: A systematic review of the experimental evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 28, 86–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2015.06.002
- The New York Times. (n.d.). Submit a guest opinion essay [Online form]. Airtable. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://airtable.com/appWPq1DBHKREmMme/shrWEYhC2wWUOdCCN
- The OpEd Project. (2026). Submission information. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://www.theopedproject.org/submissions
- University of British Columbia. (n.d.). Opinion writing. UBC News. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://news.ubc.ca/opinion-writing/
- University of Hull Library. (n.d.). Opinion piece. Public communication. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://libguides.hull.ac.uk/public-comm/opinion-piece
- University of Toronto. (n.d.). Writing an effective opinion piece. Media Room. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://media.utoronto.ca/writing-an-effective-opinion-piece/
- The Washington Post. (n.d.). Submit an op-ed. Help Center. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://helpcenter.washingtonpost.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003675788-Submit-an-op-ed