How to write an article

1. HowToWrite An Article
Recap & Next Steps

2. Recap - Structure
• Headline
• By-line
• First par –Who,What,Where,When,Why?
• Second par - Elaborate information on one of the 5Ws if it’s the most
relevant.
• Third par to fifth par - Usually the quotes from sources
• Sixth to tenth par – Elaborate information on other 5Ws and How?With
more quotes
• Onwards - Summarise other relevant information
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35484085

3. Recap – Feature
• Feature articles are about the human experience, giving more detail and
description than a hard news story.
• They focus on an event or individual (profile feature), giving the reader a
chance to fully understand something interesting about that topic.
• A feature article is designed to be written in a way that the information is
not time-based, but is timeless.
• It can be a Q&A style or Continuous Prose style (Continuous prose is a piece
of written work with text flowing from one paragraph to the next)
• http://www.vibe1076.co.uk/news/new-music/phase-out-charles-dixon/
• http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/26/mika-interview

4. Recap – Feature Structure
• Headline (sometimes with a sub-header)
• Stand-first - an introductory paragraph in an article, usually written in larger
or bolder type or in italics, that summarizes the article
• Main body
• Conclusion

5. Feature
• Cover the essential elements of who, what, when, where, how and why
• Put the most important things at the beginning, preferably in the first paragraph
• Plan out what you are going to say beforehand
• Look at your chosen theme carefully. Consider the questions suggested and
attempt to answer some of them
• But remember: you need an "angle" - a way to focus your feature.You can't
answer all of those questions.That's why an "angle" is important: even if your topic
has been covered in the past, there will always be something new to say.
• You need quotes. But if these quotes have been gathered by someone other than
you, and in particular if they have already been published, you MUST say where
they came from. If you don't, this is plagiarism and you will be disqualified.

6. Recap – Opinion/Comment
• This style of writing is published in a newspaper or magazine, and mainly
reflects the author's opinion about the subject.
• Bloggers use this style often with a bigger personal voice.
• http://www.vogue.com/13379566/breathless-karley-sciortino-ghosting/

7. Opinion/Comment
• BEVERY OPINIONATED. Here’s the one time it’s helpful to be a hothead. Avoid being mild-
mannered, as well as offering both sides of the story.An argument is much better than a discussion.
•
• CONVEY A STRONG LINKTOYOUR SUBJECT. When you are an expert on a topic, it’s fine to
emphasize your authority with the first-person voice, especially if your personal story resonates in a
universal way. Just make sure you do have authority.
• ADD UNKNOWN FACTS. Keep asking yourself what’s new, fresh, unusual and timely. Include specific
or obscure facts, updated statistics and direct quotes to support your argument.
•
• DON’T SHARETHE OBVIOUS SLANT. Even if you can pen a smart argument on a topical subject,
nobody wants to print what everyone already knows. Rage, play devil’s advocate, argue as only you
uniquely can.
•
• KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET. A good piece is between 300 and 600 words. Longer pieces can be
used but only if you really are the expert in the field!
•
• BE AWARE OFYOUR AUDIENCE. Different audiences look for different things. Know your audience.
Consider who you are writing for and what they want to read. Write for them and they will read.

8. Recap – Listicle
• A listicle is a combination of the words "list" and "article“, and refers to an
article that is written as a list, snacks of information
• List Journalism articles are stories on the Internet presented in the form of a
numbered or bullet-pointed list.
• Some are wordy and substance based while others just fire off the list
straight away

9. Recap – Listicle
• Usually numbered headline – “3 ways” to or “5 things that” or “10 facts about” etc.
• First par – Acts as a stand-first. Introductory. (Not always used)
• Main body of lists
• No conclusion, but a one line summary or close is used sometimes
• http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/aug/12/5-
ways-listicle-changing-journalism
• Some websites tend to dive straight into the list
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/tolanishoneye/beauty-resolutions-you-should-
definitely-make-this-year#.nhK52waQr

10. Listicle
• Decide on a suitable topic to write about.
• Gather a lot of ideas related to your chosen topic.
• Choose the format or type of listicle that you're aiming to write.There
are three main approaches: Ranking the list, Giving the list a theme, and
Making a random list.
• Write down the list in the format you've chosen to follow.
• Flesh it out. Add the meat to the list's bones by writing something
interesting about each item in the list. It's up to you what writing style you
adopt, such as witty, joking, informative.
• Be considerate about your target audience. KNOW WHOYOU’RE
WRTING FOR!

11. Remember
• Pick a topic you’re passionate about.
• Keep it new and current.
• Research and plan.
• Write what and how you would say it, conversational. No clean clinical
boring BBC speak. BUT BE CONCISE.
• Know you’re audience.
• Grab them with the headline and first par.
• You have creative freedom, have fun writing the things you love!

12. Recap - Jargon
• Assignment - A job given to a journalist by an editor
• Attribute - to quote the original source of material, whether it be a quote of
copyrighted work
• B2B - Business to business; describes a business whose primary customers
are other businesses.
• B2C - Business to customer; describes a business whose primary customers
are individuals.
• Byline - A journalist's name at the beginning of a story.
• Caption -Text printed below a picture used to describe it and who took it.
Sometimes called a cutline.
• Churnalism - Bad journalism; journalists that churn out rewrites of press
releases.

13. Recap - Jargon
• Crosshead - A few words used to break up large amounts of text, normally
taken from the main text.Typically used in interviews.
• Defamation - Information that is written by one person which damages
another person's reputation
• Embed - A term meaning to place a specific piece of content from one web
page inside of another one.
• Follow-up - An update on a previous story.
• Headline -The main title of the article.
• Intranet - A private computer network inside a company or organisation for
internal use only.

14. Recap - Jargon
• Intro/First-Par-Very important first paragraph
• Link journalism - Linking (of hyper-linking) to other reporting on the web to
enhance, complement, source, or add more context to a journalist's original
reporting”
• Listicle - List journalism
• Hyperlink - A link that redirects the user to another web page.
• Prosumer - Marketing term used to describe professional consumers.

15. Recap - Jargon
• Pull-out quote - Selected quote from a story highlighted next to the main
text. Often used in interviews.
• Quote - Record of what a source or interviewee has said
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — A suite of techniques for improving
how a website ranks on search engines such as Google
• Standfirst - Line of text after the headline that gives more information
about the article.