Point/counterpoint editorials are used by newspapers, magazines, and other news media to illustrate opposing views about an issue. If disagreement exists about a proposed amendment to a state constitution, for example, a newspaper might invite proponents and opponents of the amendment to contribute to a point/counterpoint editorial. The two editorials might be placed side by side on a single page, or, depending on the size of the page and the amount of space given to their writers, they might be placed on facing pages.

Like other editorials and opinion columns, point/counterpoint editorials are typically brief, usually containing fewer than a thousand words. Because they tend to address issues of larger public interest, however, point/counterpoint editorials are more likely than are opinion columns to include evidence such as quotations or paraphrases from published sources, quotations from interviews, or statistical data drawn from published studies. In this sense, point/counterpoint editorials are more similar to reports and essays than they are to opinion columns and letters to the editor.

In general, point/counterpoint editorials are designed simply. In some cases, they might include charts, tables, photographs, and other illustrations — should the editors of the newspaper, magazine, or Web site wish to call attention to the relative importance of the issue being addressed. Most often, however, they do not include illustrations or headings.