STRUCTURE OF THE ARTICLE WRITING

STEP 1: Title or headline

It persuades the readers to read the article, you also need to add the writer’s name and location at
the beginning.

STEP 2: Introduction

It makes the reader want to learn further for example: ask a provocative question or make a thesis
statement.

STEP 3: The main body

Paragraphs that expand the main topic of the article into subtopics are required.

There are different structures you can use for example:

A one sided approach: A single point to support your position.

A balanced approach: Give two sides of an argument with supporting evidence.

Sub head-titles help to emphasize topic issue and enhance flow.

STEP 4: Conclusion

The concluding paragraph reminds the reader of the article’s main idea.

You can suggest or recommend an appropriate course of action.

FACTS TO CONSIDER DURING THE WRITING:

Tone and style

Use a more personal approach and make sure the language is suitable for the newspaper or
magazine, it means to make the language playful and don’t make the person feel like reading an
essay using words like consequently, as a result…

A more personal tone is created through the use of informal language, for example contractions
and the first person narrative.

Grammar tips

Don’t start sentences or paragraphs with the word “however”

• Avoid using “that” in almost all instances – it is a demonstrative adjective specifying a noun
(thought you’d like to know) such as “that chair” or similar. Remove it where you are tempted to
use it unless the deletion changes the meaning of the phrase.

• Do not use the phrase “in order…” and start the sentence with the inevitable next word of “To…”

• Use active tense- when you spell check, and it tells you a phrase is passive tense, please take
notice. Active tense is clearer, uses less words and assigns ownership to actions (you want all your
police reports to be active tense, also)