Abstract

The task of persuasive writing is usually very demanding as the human target is a complex thinker. Editorials are presumably composed for the consumption of the elite with the aim of achieving a change in society. Consequently, issues of national relevance constitute the targets on which editorial opinions are written. The paper examines the September 3 edition of the Daily Trust newspaper of Nigeria to determine its stylistic devices for achieving impartiality in presenting the news it analyses, ensuring balanced analysis and providing convincing judgment. It finds that the editor employs flexible reporting style through his admixture of direct and indirect reportage strategies to ensure fairness; balances its argument through appropriate lexical choices; and displays critical resourcefulness through parallel and heavily beaded rhetorical questions, evaluative adjectives and unambiguous speech act verbs. The paper concludes that these devices constitute the editor’s tools for enlightening the reader and motivating national development in relation to the topic of his composition.