Opinion writing and visual commentary are essential components of journalistic writing. Editorials, guest commentaries and letters to the editor allow the publication and its readers to enter into dialogue. The editorial cartoonist adds another dimension to looking at different angles of a topic, issue, organization or individual.

“Only a Matter of Opinion?” was created in the summer of 2000 as an entry in the ThinkQuest for Tomorrow’s Teachers online education competition. It received the platinum award, the highest recognition in its category. We hope you find its content useful.

Visit “Only a Matter of Opinion?”

The website is divided into four main categories — Editorials, Commentary/Columns, Editorial Cartooning and Art of Writing. Professional and student models, lesson ideas and resources are included in each section.

The ThinkQuest team was composed of Carol Lange and her former Intensive Journalistic Writing/APJ student, Xian Ke, from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.; Ron Bennett, BYU-Idaho and former high school journalism educator; and Diane Weber, Birmingham, Alabama. Carol, Ron and Diane were among the 15 teachers who created the original IJW curriculum in 1988 at Marquette University under the auspices of Dow Jones News Fund.