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HOW �TO WRITE A NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE ARTICLE

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What’s the trick?

  • The key to writing a successful article is to keep it CLEAR and SIMPLE.
  • Be OBJECTIVE: use facts and figures to support the ideas.
  • Get reliable information. Don’t invent facts!
  • Do not include biased sentences.

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General Structure

  • Headline
  • Byline (by Joe Smith)
  • Lead (lead paragraph)
    • overview summary of the story (who, where, what, why, when, how)
  • Explanation and amplification
  • Additional information
  • Conclusion

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General Structure

A typical newspaper article contains five parts:

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  1. Headline: This is a short, attention-getting statement about the event.
  2. Byline: This tells who wrote the story.
  1. Lead paragraph: This has ALL the who, what, when, where, why and how in it. A writer must find the answers to these questions and write them into the opening sentence(s) of the article.
  1. Explanation: After the lead paragraph has been written, the writer must decide what other facts or details the reader might want to know. The writer must have enough information to answer any important questions a reader might have after reading the headline and the lead paragraph. This section can also include direct quotes from witnesses or bystanders.
  1. Conclusion: A final catchy paragraph to summarise the text.

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Headline

The phrase that grabs one’s attention

  • Often a noun phrase (no verb):
      • Unexpected visit
      • Overwhelming response of voters
  • Use present simple tense for past events:
      • Parliament confirms new stray dog policy
  •  Leave out auxiliary verbs
      • Temperatures rising as climate changes 
  • Use infinitives for future events
      • President to visit France for further talks
  •  Leave out articles (a, an, the)
  • Prime Minister hikes Alps for charity
  •  Leave out “to be”
  • Residents unhappy about new road

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The body

  • Upside down pyramid.
  • Facts in order of descending importance
  • Unbiased.
  • Use quotes to demonstrate opposing opinions or bring in the human element.
  • Writer must assume reader has no prior knowledge of the topic.

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Style

  • Clear and meaningful vocabulary and sentences.
  • Facts told in active voice
      • Police searched for evidence.
  • Reported speech in passive voice
      • It was later revealed that there was evidence of arson.
  • Direct speech for quotes.
      • The suspect said, ‘I am innocent.’
  • Direct questions to the reader.
      • Have you ever been mugged?

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Useful patterns

  • To introduce facts:
      • Statistics show that…
      • The survey shows that…
  • To talk about statistics:
      • On average, …
      • Most people …
      • More than two thirds of (the) students …
      • Half the animals …
      • More / less than 70% of (the) citizens …
      • About / Over / nearly 60% of (the) classes…
  • To compare:
      • More popular than / poorer than…
      • As popular as…
      • The most popular / the poorest

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Useful connectors

  • Order: first, secondly, third…
  • Cause: Because / since / as (+ S+V)

Due to / Because of / As a result of (+ N)

  • Consequence: Therefore / as a result /

consequently (+ S + V)

  • Addition: Furthermore / In addition / Also (+ S + V) …
  • Contrast: However / Nevertheless / Yet (+ S + V)

Although (+ S + V)

  • Example: For example (+ S + V)

Such as (+ N)

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  • Ethiopia situation critical, warn aid agencies
  • Business leaders urge euro vote
  • 200 buried as quake hits school
  • Nurses save patients amid power cut
  • British journalist shot dead
  • Murder 'victim' in a closet
  • Scientists to discover a new vaccine
  • Jail murderers for longer, judges ordered

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