HOW TO WRITE AN ARTICLE

Summary
1. Mandatory task: no
2. Word count: around 100 words
3. Main characteristics: title, interesting/engaging language
4. Structure: introduction, main paragraphs, ending
5. Language: interesting adjectives & adverbs, questions
6. Example

Introduction
In the PET exam you always have to write an email, but you can choose if you want to write an
article or a story.
In an article task you get the topic from a website or magazine and there is some
information or questions that you have to write about. Also, your language should
normally be between neutral and informal.
What does a typical article task look like?
In every writing task in the PET exam there are a few things you have to analyse before you can
start to put your pen to paper.
1. What is the situation?
2. What do I have to include in my article?
3. Who is going to read my article?
It is really important and helpful to answer these question first because you get a lot of useful
information so writing the article becomes easier from the beginning.
A typical article task might look like the one below:

Now that we have a task, let’s answer the questions from earlier.
Firstly, your article needs to be about films and secondly, there are two main questions
that you have to answer in your text (films you enjoy [1] and if you prefer going to the
cinema or watching films at home with reasons [2]).
Last but not least, the readers of the English-language website are the people you write your
article for. That means your language should be neutral to informal because it is not for your
friends, but neither for your boss or teacher.
In neutral English you can use contractions like ‘I’m’ or ‘she’s’, phrasal verbs or informal
punctuation (e.g. ‘!’), but no slang words or anything that is not in the dictionary.

How to organise your article

You can always organise your articles in a similar way. This makes it a lot easier for you
because you will know how to complete this kind of writing task step by step.
1. Title
2. What kind of films do you enjoy?
 3. Do you prefer watching them at the cinema or at home? Why?
4. Final sentence

Always make a plan

If you plan your article, you can save a lot of time because you know exactly what the
different parts of your text are and what you want to include.

The different parts of an article:

Look at the task again and remember what we have to do. With this in mind, are you ready?

Title
Every good article has a title.
Try to make the title interesting so the reader wants to see what you have to say. For example,
in our task from earlier we could choose one of the following ideas:
1. Films I like (and how I watch them)
2. Home or cinema – How do you watch your favourite films?

You can see that the topic is clear and it creates some interest for the reader. However, don’t
feel stressed. If you just use the title “Films”, you won’t lose any marks. It is more
important to give your article some kind of title.

Main paragraphs
The main paragraphs are the most important pieces of your article and you should always think
about these two things:
1. Does the paragraph talk about about one of the main questions in the task?
2. Do I use good language (neutral/informal, linking words, good grammar and
interesting vocabulary)?
One of the most important things in the PET Writing exam is that YOU HAVE TO ANSWER
THE QUESTIONS IN THE TASK VERY CLEARLY. DON’T TALK ABOUT THINGS
THAT ARE UNRELATED, BUT FOCUS ON THE TOPIC.

Final sentence
As soon as you finish your main paragraphs, you should end your article with a nice final
sentence. It can be a little bit funny or surprising, but you can also just summarise your
article. Remember, the more interesting your article is, the better it is for your marks.
In my final sentence I try to be funny and I speak directly to the reader. This is a good way
of making your article more interesting because the reader feels as if they are part of the text.

Example:

Home or cinema – How do you watch your favourite films?

I know many people who love animated or romantic films, but for me, there is nothing better
than an amazing drama or adventure movie like ‘Indiana Jones’ because I’m a big fan of
stories with a fascinating plot.

In my opinion, watching a film at home isn’t the same as going to the cinema to enjoy a great
movie on a huge screen with popcorn and cola. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would go every week.

So, if you want to give me some money to go to the cinema more often, or to tell me which you
prefer – the cinema or the TV screen, leave a comment.