Articles

1. Write your introduction. A compelling introductory paragraph is crucial for

hooking your reader. Within the first few sentences, the reader will evaluate
whether your article is worth reading in its entirety. There are a number of
ways to start an article, some of which include:
 Telling an anecdote.
 Using a quote from an interview subject.
 Starting with a statistic.
 Starting with straight facts of the story.
2Follow your outline. You’ve drafted your article in outline form, and this will
help you focus on writing a solid and coherent article. The outline can also
help you remember how details connect to each other. You will also be
reminded of how certain quotes support certain points that you’re making.
 Be flexible, however. Sometimes when you write, the flow makes sense in a
way that is different from your outline. Be ready to change the direction of
your piece if it seems to read better that way.
3Give proper context. Don’t assume your reader knows as much about your
topic as you do. Think about the kinds of background information that your
reader needs in order to understand the topic. [3] Depending on the type of
article, you might give a paragraph with background information before
proceeding into your supporting evidence. Or, you might weave in this
contextual information throughout your article.

4Show with description. Use eloquent and descriptive language to give the
reader a good picture of what you’re writing about. Carefully choose
descriptive verbs and precise adjectives.

 For example, you might write about the grocery shopper having trouble with
organic food labels: “Charlie concentrated on jars of peanut butter on the
shelf. The words ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ seemed to jump out at him. Every jar
said something different. He felt they were shouting at him: ‘Choose me!’
‘Buy me!’ The words started swimming in front of his eyes. He left the aisle
without buying anything.”
5Include transitions. Link each separate idea with transitions so that your
article reads as one cohesive piece. Start each new paragraph with a
transition that links it to the previous paragraph.

 For example, use words or phrases such as “however…,” “another important

point is…,” or “it must be remembered that…”

6Pay attention to style, structure and voice. You will want to write with a
style, structure, and voice which makes sense for the type of article you are
writing. Evaluate your audience to determine what the best method would
be to present your information to them.

 For example, a newspaper article will need to offer information in a

narrative, chronological format. It should be written with accessible and
straightforward language. An academic article will be written with more
formal language. A how-to article might be written in more informal
language.
 When writing your article, use a strong "anchoring" sentence at the
beginning of each paragraph to move your reader forward. Also, vary the
 length of your sentences, both short and long. If you find all your sentences
are about the same word length, chances are your reader will be 'lulled" into
a standard rhythm and fall asleep. Sentences which are consistently choppy
and short may give your reader the impression you are writing advertising
copy instead of a well-thought-out article.

7Write a compelling conclusion. Wrap up your article with a dynamic

conclusion. Depending on your article, this might be a conclusion that
empowers the reader. For example, if you’re writing an opinion piece about
food labeling, you might convey to your readers how they can learn more
about labeling.

 If you started with an anecdote or statistic in your introduction, think about

reconnecting to this point in your conclusion.
 Conclusions are often strongest when they use a last, brief concrete example
that leads the reader to new insights. Conclusions should be 'forward
thinking' -- point the reader in a direction that keeps his or her "thirst" for
knowledge going strong.
8Think about adding supplemental material. You can help your reader
understand your topic more clearly by including graphics or other
supplemental material.

 For example, you could include photographs, charts, or infographics to

illustrate some of your points.
 You could also highlight or develop a major point more with a sidebar-type
box. This is an extra bit of writing that delves more deeply into one aspect of
the subject. For example, if you’re writing about your city’s film festival, you
might include a sidebar write-up that highlights one of the films. These types
of write-ups are usually short (50-75 words, depending on the publication
outlet).
 Remember, these materials are supplemental. This means that your article
should stand on its own. Your writing needs to be understandable, clear and
focused without the help of charts, photographs or other graphics.

Part5

Finalizing Your Work

1
 Edit your work. Take some time to edit and revise your article. If time
allows, wait for a day or two before editing. This will give you some distance
from your article. Then you will be able to view your article with fresh eyes.
 Look closely at the central argument or point you’re trying to make. Does
everything in your article serve this central argument? Do you have a
paragraph that is unrelated? If so, this paragraph should be eliminated or
reframed so that it supports the main argument.
 Eliminate any contradictory information in the article or address the
contradictions, showing how the contradictory information is relevant to
readers.
 Rewrite sections or the entire thing as necessary. Revisions like this are
common for all types of articles, so don’t feel like you’ve failed or are
incompetent.
2 Comb through for grammatical errors. Even when an article is well-written,
it will not be taken as seriously if it has grammatical errors or spelling
mistakes. Make sure your writing is forceful by cleaning up your grammar.

 It’s helpful to print out a hard copy of your article. Go through it with a pen
or pencil to catch mistakes. Then go back and correct these mistakes on the
computer.
 3 Read your article out loud to yourself. Listen for tone, rhythm, sentence
length, coherence, grammatical or content errors, and compelling
argument(s). Think of your writing as a piece of music, an auditory
experience, and use your ears to evaluate the quality, strengths, and
weaknesses.
 It is common to be able to identify your own mistakes in grammar or writing
while reading aloud as well; this could cut down on the feedback that you
may receive from someone else.
4 Have someone else read your article. Try showing the article to a friend,
teacher, or other trusted individual to read it. Does this person understand
the points you’re trying to make? Does he follow your logic?

 This person may also catch errors and inconsistencies that you have
overlooked.
 5
Write a headline. Give your article a suitable headline. The headline is short
and to the point, using no more than about 10 words, if that. A headline
should be action-oriented and should convey why the story is important. It
should grab readers and draw them into the article.[4], [5]

 If you want to convey slightly more information, write a sub-headline. This is

a secondary sentence that builds on the headline.

An article is a piece of writing written for a large audience. The main motive
behind writing an article is that it should be published in either newspapers or
magazines or journals so as to make some difference to the world.

It may be the topics of interest of the writer or it may be related to some

current issues. The topic can either be serious or not-so-serious; Same goes
for its tone and language.

Objectives of Article Writing

An article is written with the following objectives

 It brings out the topics or the matter of interest in the limelight

 The article provides information on the topics
 It offers suggestions and pieces of advice
 It influences the readers and urges them to think
 The article discusses various stories, persons, locations, rising-
issues, and technical developments

The Format of Article Writing

An article must be organized in a proper way so as to draw the

attention of the readers. The basic outline for an article writing
format is

1. Heading / Title
2. A line having the writer’s name
3. Body (the main part of the article, 2 – 3 paragraphs)
4. Conclusion (Ending paragraph of the article with the opinion or
recommendation, anticipation or an appeal)

Steps for Article Writing Format

Think of the topic you want to write the article about. Only after
you’ve decided your topic you can go ahead and undertake the
further steps in the process one by one:

 Target Audience: Identify the concerning reading group

 Purpose: Find the objective or aim of writing the article
 Collect & Select: Gather as such information as possible.
Also, identify the details that are most significant
 Organize: Arrange the information and the facts in a logical
way
Once you’ve taken care of all the Above steps you move forward to
the final step- Writing.

 While writing an article, always use proper grammar, spelling,

and proper punctuations
 Use vocabulary skill
 Keep the introduction of the topic catching, interesting, and
short
 Discuss the opinion and the matter in an organized and
descriptive manner

Common Mistakes in the Article Writing Format

Now that you know the steps of article writing and the article
writing format, the occurrence of mistakes becomes obvious. Some
of the common mistakes are:

 Not using facts or quotes or similar cases

 The language should not be too formal
 The article must be in easy language for better understanding
 The title of the article must be catchy and clearly
understandable
 No use of paragraphs
 Expressing personal views is fine but the author must never
talk about himself/herself

Points to Keep in Mind for the Article Writing Format

 The topics of the articles should be unique and relevant
 The article has to get attention
 It has to be interesting
 It has to be easy to read
 The reader is identified
 Find the main goal of writing an article. The goal can be
anything from providing information, entertainment, and
advice or for comparing, etc.
 The title must be eye-catching, clear, and interesting
 The introduction or the starting paragraph must be highly
attentive. Use your vocabulary skills or try to use
some interrogative words for the start
 Use clear statements and make assertions
 Avoid repetition and over the top logic and reasons
 Use the style of paragraph writing and write the contents
uniquely and unambiguously
 Avoid using the points which interest you only and not for the
general public
 Write a good and logical ending

Solved Example on Steps of Article Writing

Problem: Classify the following into Do’s and Don’ts in article

writing.

1. Write very lengthy articles

2. Add the writer’s name
3. The title should be lengthy and clear
4. The heading of the article should be short, clear and
informative
5. Only the introduction and the conclusion should be attractive
and attention seeking
6. Target the audience
7. One can advise, suggest and give the solutions to a problem in
any paragraph other than the starting one
8. The language and the style of writing should be according to
the concerning readers
9. There must be only three paragraphs in an article –
introduction, middle one, and conclusion
10. Use proper punctuations
11. Use any tense, person, voice, as many abbreviations, and
self-made words while writing an article
Solution:

Do’s Dont’s

Add the writer’s name Write very lengthy articles

The heading of the article should The title should be lengthy and
be short, clear and informative clear

Target the audience Only the introduction and the

conclusion should be attractive
 and attention seeker

One can advise, suggest and give

The language and the style of
the solutions to a problem in any
writing should be according to the
paragraph other than the starting
concerning readers
one

There must be only three

paragraphs in an article –
Use proper punctuations
introduction, middle one, and
conclusion

Use any tense, person, voice, as

many abbreviations, and self-
made words while writing an
article