how to write a think piece

Practice and pitch widely.
Neha pulls back the curtain ahead of Between The Covers for her hot tips on hot takes: where to find them, how to write them and where to pitch them.

Follow these nine steps and watch your think piece sweep the nation (for one day — until the next person writes a think piece).

1. Log on to social media and see what your friends are angry about OR whom they’re putting on a pedestal that day.
2. If your friends aren’t angry about something yet, scavenge the news for stories that could make them angry. If you don’t know where to start, try Googling “Did Lena Dunham say something today?” or “Which brand debuted a tone-deaf advertisement this week?” Remember when writing: People want to be angry at inconsequential matters that don’t have a large or lasting impact on society.
3. Once you secure a topic to write a think piece about, write with 25% fact and 75% emotion.
4. If it’s an angry think piece, don’t be afraid to drop an f bomb or two or call the subject of the piece a bad name. Angry think pieces are not about examination — only criticism.
5. If it’s a happy think piece, make sure to include “bae” and “AF” as much as possible.
6. Title the post “What We Talk About When We Talk About [Insert Topic]” or “Why [Insert Person] is the God/Goddess/Savior We Need Right Now.”
7. Pitch it to Slate.
8. If Slate doesn’t accept it, publish it on Medium. Push live and watch as thousands of people highly politicize your post and call one another “libtards” and “ right-wing nutjobs” in the comments section.
9. Tomorrow everyone will be over your think piece and you will need to repeat steps 1–8.

Phil must be gay.
STEP FIVE: COME UP WITH A CRAZY HEADLINE

After finding the main ideas for your paper, conduct pain-staking research. Gather as much information as possible as you can about your essay topic. Ensure you obtain this information from credible and reliable sources.
The primary ideas for a critical analysis essay are what make the basis of your article. So, you need to find significant ideas that will make your paper interesting and fascinating to the audience. So, ensure you develop a significant idea which you will be able to support in the rest of your paper.

Write your own overall opinion about the Affordable Care Act. What are weaknesses and strengths of this Act? Develop your own opinion, considering the fact that the Affordable Care Act will require many people to buy insurance or pay a penalty. Are you ready to purchase insurance or get a fine? What would you prefer? Have you ever used health insurance? Do you see any sense in it? Why?
Every human being has two ways of thinking: absorbing information (like a sponge absorbs the water) and thinking about information (like sifting through sand). While a person that uses the first way will be trying to remember the given information in detail, the other one will actively interact with the obtained knowledge. This doesn’t mean that one way is worse; critical thinking combines these two features.

References:

http://medium.com/slackjaw/how-to-write-a-viral-think-piece-1e162cbfc322
http://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9bzyj3/how-to-write-a-think-piece
http://www.onrec.com/news/news-archive/top-tips-how-to-write-a-critical-thinking-essay
http://essayshark.com/blog/how-to-write-a-critical-thinking-essay-complete-guide/
http://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/223402108–8-tips-for-writing-great-customer-reviews