COLUMN

WRITING
Presented by:
DIANA N. VARON
Lawang Bato ES
 Discussion guide:
•Getting to Know Column Writing
•The Structure of Column Writing
•How to Teach Column Writing to
Young Campus Journalists
 GETTING TO KNOW
“COLUMN WRITING”
EDITORIAL
WRITING
VS
COLUMN
WRITING
EDITORIAL WRITING COLUMN WRITING

An editorial is an Columns are also

opinion story written opinion, but they:
from the point of view -express the opinion of
of the publication to the writer, not the
express the collective entire staff
staff opinion on a -use “I” when relevant
particular topic or
-can include personal
issue.
examples from the
writer’s life
 Going
personal
but
factual.
The twist…..
FEATURE
WRITING
COLUMN NEWS WRITING
WRITING EDITORIAL
WRITING
QUALITIES
OF
COLUMN
WRITING
 FORMS OF WRITING USED IN
COLUMN

FREE TO USE ANY FORM OF WRITING

ESSAY

VERSE STORY FORM

THE STRUCTURE OF
“COLUMN WRITING”
 PREMISE

-Main point of the EVIDENCE

CONCLUSION
column
-What is the -Supported
purpose of the -Returns to the
article? with facts,
figures, premise and
-Be creative in the
introduction quotes, and clearly point out
statistics why the original
premise is
correct
The lead…..
•A shocking stat or a rhetorical
question works well
•Creatively introduce your topic
•Clearly present your main point
EXAMPLE:
•TOPIC: TRAIN LAW
•TITLE: SAGASA SA
MARALITA
•WRITER: Priscilla Pamintuan
•DATE WRITTEN: June 3, 2018
 May anim na anak si Thelma
Mendez, 62, tumanda na sa kanyang
pagtitinda. Manggagawa naman sa
konstruksiyon ang kanyang asawang si
John na pana-panahon lang
nakakakuha ng trabaho. Tuwing
kumikita ang asawa niya ng P2,500 sa
trabaho, kailangang maglaan si Thelma
ng P1,500 para sa paninda. Ang tira,
pambili nila ng pagkain.
EXAMPLE:
• TOPIC: 4 AM EARTHQUAKE DRILL
• TITLE: Disaster Drill

• WRITER: Ana Marie Pamintuan (The

Philippine Star)
• DATE WRITTEN: July 31, 2019 -
12:00am
 Admit it: did you wake up at 4 a.m.
last Saturday for the nationwide “shake
drill”?
Me neither.
A colleague said the homeowners
in her condominium building agreed to
hold an earthquake drill – at 4 in the
afternoon of Saturday.
DIFFERENT LEADS……..
 PREMISE

-Main point of the EVIDENCE

CONCLUSION
column
-What is the -Supported
purpose of the -Returns to the
article? with facts,
figures, premise and
-Be creative in the
introduction quotes, and clearly point out
statistics why the original
premise is
correct
2-5 SUPPORTING FACTS
• POINT
- State the fact
• PROOF
- Paraphrase or quote an external
source
• ANALYZE
- Comment on the proof presented
OPINION
•Write about your opinion
on the facts you have
included (start with a
strong stance).
•Comment on each facts
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
•Share your personal
experiences or story
 “Malaking bagay ang aming
pagtitinda. Dito na namin nakukuha
ang pangangailangan sa pagkain ng
buong pamilya. Gamumo o barya-
barya lang ang kinikita sa pagtitinda
pero para sa aming mahirap
malaking bagay na rin,” kuwento ni
Thelma.
 Sa pagpataw ng bagong buwis sa
ilalim ng Tax Reform for Acceleration
and Inclusion (Train) Law nitong 2018,
naranasan ng pamilya ni Thelma ang
sunud-sunod na pagtaas ng presyo ng
mga bilihin para sa kanilang karinderya.
“Lagi na lang tayo ang biktima, lalo na
nang ipinatupad ang TRAIN na yan,” ani
ni Aling Thelma.
 Kamakailan, nagpasya na si Thelma na
isara na ang kanyang sari-sari store at
karinderya. At ngayong panahon ng
pasukan, hirap sila sa mga pag-aaral ng mga
bata.
Itinatanggi ng Administrasyong Duterte
na may kinalaman ang TRAIN sa taas-presyo
ng mga bilihin. Pero ang malinaw, may
malaking kinalaman ang pagtaas ng presyo
ng mga produktong petrolyo. Minamaliit ng
gobyerno na may kinalaman ang TRAIN dito.
 Para sa Ibon Foundation, maling mali ang
Administrasyong Duterte sa pagmamaliit sa
epekto ng TRAIN sa sunud-sunod na taas-presyo
ng mga bilihin, lalo na ng langis.
Mula noong katapusan ng taong 2017
hanggang ngayon, tumaas na ang presyo ng
krudo ng P10.20 kada litro. Ang presyo ng
gasolina, tumaas nang P15.14 kada litro, habang
P11.41 kada litro naman ang itinaas sa presyo ng
gaas. Kasama na sa mga presyong ito ang excise
tax at valueadded tax na ipinapataw sa mga
produktong langis.
 Mula noong katapusan ng taong
2017 hanggang ngayon, tumaas na ang
presyo ng krudo ng P10.20 kada litro.
Ang presyo ng gasolina, tumaas nang
P15.14 kada litro, habang P11.41 kada
litro naman ang itinaas sa presyo ng
gaas. Kasama na sa mga presyong ito
ang excise tax at value-added tax na
ipinapataw sa mga produktong langis.
 Ang katwiran ng gobyerno, tumaas ang
presyo ng pandaigdigang merkado kaya
tumaas ang presyo ng langis sa bansa. Totoo
naman ito, ayon sa Ibon. Tumaas ang presyo ng
mga produktong petrolyo sa Mean of Platts
Singapore (MOPS) nang US$7.91 kada bariles
ng gasolina at US$5.92 kada bariles sa krudo.
Ayon sa gobyerno, tumataas nang piso kada
litro ang presyo ng gasolina sa Pilipinas sa
bawat US$3 kada bariles na itinataas nito sa
pandaigdigang merkado.
 I received a cell phone alert for the
shake drill, but I have a long list of reasons
why I refuse to be roused from sleep on a
weekend for a pre-dawn earthquake drill,
the reasons boiling down to one idea: when
death comes knocking, there’s nothing I can
do about it. So why lose sleep over it?
I’m sure I’m not the only one with this
mindset. And I concede that it’s one of the
roadblocks in disaster preparedness.
 In Batanes, people have just learned lessons
on disaster preparedness in a painful way. About
15 minutes into last Saturday’s shake drill,
observed with some enthusiasm mainly in Metro
Manila and other highly urbanized areas, a real
earthquake struck the island province.
As of yesterday, the death toll in Batanes stood
at nine. A Catholic church was destroyed and
several damaged traditional houses – a major
tourist attraction in the picturesque province –
may have to be torn down.
 PREMISE

-Main point of the EVIDENCE

CONCLUSION
column
-What is the -Supported
purpose of the -Returns to the
article? with facts,
figures, premise and
-Be creative in the
introduction quotes, and clearly point out
statistics why the original
premise is
correct
CONCLUSION…..
•Conclude by creatively
restating your main
point
COLUMN: EXAMPLE

Street vendors and

the right to the city
by
Gideon Lasco
 When the street vendors in various
parts of Manila were driven away in Mayor
Isko Moreno’s campaign, media reports and
public reactions alike were mostly glowing
with praise. “Devotees of the Black
Nazarene can now properly see its image …
without vendors blocking their view,” read
one report. “At last, the law is being
implemented!” read one comment on
“before” and “after” images of once-
crowded streets.
 Of course, there are merits to cleaning
up the city — just as there seems to be
some promise in the nascent mayoralty of
Isko Moreno. I lived in a boarding house in
Orosa Street for four years, and having had
to walk through Malate every day, I can
understand the desire for order and
cleanliness particularly in our capital city. In
light of the disillusionment brought about by
President Duterte, I can also understand the
desire for someone like the good yorme.
 I worry, however, about the
impact of policies like Moreno’s on
the people most affected by them.
While I use Manila as a starting
point, evictions of street vendors
actually happen around the world.
Just last year, Thai authorities
embarked on a similar campaign in
Bangkok.
 Moreover, I worry about the idea
that the poor themselves need to be
“cleaned up.” The mostly laudatory
articles, for instance, rarely ask
what will become of the vendors,
and if the government has a plan for
and with them. Informing this
indifference is the problematization
of the urban poor as a liability.
 A fuller appreciation of people’s life
worlds and informal economies, however,
should challenge this view.
In the first place, as the development
practitioner Martha Chen points out, street
vendors actually contribute to the urban
economy — for instance, by buying supplies
from wholesalers and selling low-cost goods
(e.g. cheap food) in accessible locations.
 To blame the street vendors for the chaos of
the city, moreover, is to detract attention from the
failed and inequitable policies that have led to
urban poverty and exclusion, not least of which is
the privatization of our public spaces (see
Lefebvre 1968). The “mallification” of Metro
Manila and its lack of public parks have meant
that the streets are the only space left as a venue
for buying and selling cheap goods; in most
cases, these streets were built with cars — not
people — in mind.
 Let me be clear: I’m not saying that we
should let chaos reign on the streets, or
ignore vital imperatives like security or food
safety. All I’m arguing for is the need to
place the interests of the working poor on
the same table as those of the rest of the
public. As one Bangkok vendor put it: “They
can clean up the streets but please don’t get
rid of us entirely.”
 To his credit, Moreno claims that he has
plans along these lines. I can only hope that
beyond the spectacle of a “cleanup,” he will
indeed follow through and work with urban
planners, as well as the vendors
themselves, to make Manila a model of
inclusive development. Evicting street
vendors may hold some political
expediency, but mayors who truly care for
their constituencies will recognize and
uphold their right to the city.
END IT WITH A
CALL TO ACTION…..
•Finish with a statement
linking to your lead
(a CALL TO ACTION works
well)
Headline/ Lead (50 words)

2-5 FACTS (250)

Opinion + Personal
Experience (250)
Closing + Call-to-
Action
(50)
TIPS on
HOW TO
WRITE
COLUMN
1. Determine why you are writing a column
2. Write about your opinion
3. Choose relevant topics
4. Localize and personalize your column
5. Write about people
6. Stick to a theme
7. Create a structure
8. Write clearly
9. Use first person
10. Write the way you talk
11. Write an attention grabbing lead
12. Use facts
13. Use analogies to simplify your writing
14. Be passionate, but have a solution
 HOW TO TEACH
“COLUMN WRITING”
1. BACKGROUND ON NEWS WRITING,
FEATURE WRITING AND EDITORIAL
WRITING

2. DIFFERENTIATE EDITORIAL WRITING

AND COLUMN WRITING

3. USE GUIDE QUESTIONS

4. GUIDED PRACTICE
Lead _____________________________
News – Opinion ___________________
Interview _________________________
Personal Experience ________________
Conclusion________________________
Call to Action ______________________
 TOPIC:
Rehabilitasyon
sa Maynila
 TOPIC:
SALARY
INCREASE FOR
TEACHERS
Guide Questions:
• ANO ANG PINAKAMAHALAGANG
TUNGKULIN NG ISANG GURO?
• ANO ANG PINAKAMAHIRAP NA NAGAWA
MO BILANG GURO?
• ILANG TAON KA NANG NAGTUTURO?
• BAKIT PATULOY KA PA RING NAGTUTURO
SA KABILA NG MABABANG SWELDO?
“Masayang manalo
pero mas masarap
matuto.”
Rowena Caranza Paraan
Head, News Public Dept. ABS-CBN
Program Manager of Bayan Mo, Ipatrol Mo.