Most educators worth their salt will probably drill into the impressionable minds of budding journalists the five (5) W's: What, When, Where, Who and Why. Translated into layman speak this means "What happened? When did it happen? Where did it happen? Who was involved and Why did this happen?"

At this point you might ask "Isn't this common knowledge?" Yes it is! Most of us at some point have asked these questions when faced with an unexpected situation. However, a good journalist knows how to translate the answers to the five (5) W's into something meaningful.

This would be a good place to interject and remind you that a good journalist always adds the one (1) 'H' after every ever 'W'. The 'H' being How does this affect the reader. Sure something happened but how does it affect my reader(s)? Try reading the five 'W' questions again and add the How, does it not make the answers meaningful and personal?

I would do you, my budding journalist friend, a great injustice if I left out the most important ingredient to great editorial. An article, human interest piece or an interview needs to be written from the readers perspective, however, the 'How' should not be forced. The readers should see the connection or relevance of the event without having to stretch their imagination.

This leads on to context, which is the framework or point of reference you, as a writer, need to work the editorial into. The import of the editorial can only be understood when compared to a similar event, competitor or person. Which scenario improves your ability to assess - if an individual is short or tall; if he stands alone or if he stands next to another person or object.

Get straight to the point. There is no point trying to lure the reader in with flowing prose and flowery language. Start strong, grab their attention and then you can elaborate on your introduction by engaging the imagination. Once the brain (intellect) is engaged then the mind (imagination) will follow.

Be concise, clear and consistent. In other words keep it short, to the point and reinforce the core message. Notice I did not say be repetitive but reinforce. Think of a nail being hammered into a plank of wood; to achieve the objective you need to choose a spot on the board, place the sharp and 'pointed' end at that spot and hammer the nail. If you keep changing focus you will end up with a board full of holes and no embedded nails.

Above all the role of great editorial is to inform the reader and equip them with the facts enabling them to reach their own conclusions. It is very tempting to communicate only one side of a story, which leads to biased coverage. Great editorial offers the reader the poignant facts and truth, which is not coated with justifications.