Article

What are some best advice to write good articles?

Here are some of the important tips to write good articles:

1. The title must be eye-catching, clear and attractive

2. The article has to get attention. Always begin with your strongest point. You can accommodate the weaker ones in between and end with another strong point. (REMEMBER: Strong-Weak-Strong)

3. Use clear statements and make assertions

4. Feel free to give your personal opinion in one or two lines

5. It is very important that you do not deviate from the topic

6. Avoid repetition of ideas

7. Make small sentences. It restricts the scope of grammatical inaccuracies

8. Write a good and logical ending

9. Make sure you double-check for grammatical accuracy and spellings. Here’s a quick list to help you catch errors or omissions:

• Did you include all the important steps?

• Is the order logical?

• Did you use words that indicate sequence (linkers): first, next, then?

10. Always have a few general details in handy. They show that you’re prepared. You can use:

• Statistics

• Quotes

• Definitions

• Anecdotes (short, illustrative stories about yourself or someone else)

Language in your article

Articles are usually written in Standard English, but colloquial sayings or phrases might be used to emphasise a point. Persuasive devices, such as rule of three, rhetorical questions and alliteration can be used to encourage the reader to agree with your point of view.

Example of an article for a newspaper

Here’s an extract from an article that tries to persuade the reader to eat a more balanced, healthy diet:

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Eat Right: Live Longer

It has been scientifically proven that the less junk food a person consumes, the longer they are likely to live. So why isn’t everyone dumping the junk? Jordan McIntyre investigates.

Fast food equals fat

A staple part of twenty-first century British home-life is the weekly takeaway treat: finger-licking burgers, sticky ribs and crispy chicken wings are, for many, the normal Friday night feast. The average national calorie count in the UK is a whopping 4500 a day, a key factor in the obesity cases that are soaring. Fast food is packed with fat and obesity contributes to a range of health issues – most significantly heart disease and depression. So why aren’t we changing our lifestyles?

Short on time

Families these days are spending less and less time at home during the working week. School commitments, work meetings and extra-curricular activities mean that time is short and fewer people are prepared to put in the effort to prepare fresh, healthy meals.

And when time is tight, it seems we are even more willing to compromise our waistlines for a little bit of what we fancy – fast fatty food.

Eat yourself healthy

However, Georgia Thomas of the University of Food says, ‘I am convinced that it is possible to live a busy lifestyle AND prepare healthy, satisfying meals. It seems that people have simply got out of the habit of cooking. We are busy people; how do we reward ourselves? You guessed it – food.’ Britain clearly needs to shift the stodge, and fast.

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The article uses a short, bold headline using alliteration to get the reader’s interest and present the topic of the article. The rhetorical question in the opening paragraph encourages the reader to challenge the topic. The subheadings direct the reader through the text, and act as mini headlines, drawing the reader’s attention. The writer uses hyperbole, and colloquial sayings to produce a lively, interesting article. This style of language is used throughout with phrases such as ‘little bit of what we fancy’ and ‘shift the stodge’ adding a conversational tone to the whole piece.

The final paragraph uses quotations from an expert to add credibility to the argument. You would expect the article to go on to explore how we can eat healthily and to conclude with an explanation of how easy it is to do this.

Descriptive language is used to help the reader feel almost as if they are a part of the scene or event being described. Description is useful because it helps readers engage with the world of the story, often creating an emotional response. It can help a reader visualise what a character or a place is like.

Here are some techniques and examples of how they can be used:

Proverbs in English

Binomials in English

Intensifiers in English

Example

In the example below, look at how the writer uses descriptive techniques to create a vivid setting for the reader and how the weather reflects the mood of the text.

The ground crumbled like sand under my feet as I heaved another step towards the summit. Looking below, the trees were dots to my squinting eyes in the midday heat. Beating down upon my back, the sun was relentless as I wiped the drips of salty sweat from my neckline. The silence of the chasm below was deafening; suddenly, eagles broke the silence and screeched above me in hunger.

Analysis

The writing opens with a simile to show the texture of the ground. The sun is personified as it is described as ‘relentless’, giving it a ruthless personality. The silence is described as ‘deafening’, an oxymoron that helps to emphasise how unbearable the situation is for the character. Pathetic fallacy has been used here – the uncomfortable heat mirrors the character’s struggle as she continues on her journey. These descriptive techniques allow the reader to feel as if they are there and pull them into the story.

Structure of the article

The structure of an article is usually in three parts:

• Title – a catchy, memorable headline is essential to grab your readers’ attention and entice them to read the whole article.

• Introduction – engaging the reader, or outlining the main point of the article to follow.

• Middle – making clear and interesting points about the topic.

• End – a concluding paragraph that draws the points together.

If the aim of an article is to persuade the reader, then the opening and closing paragraph will outline the writer’s viewpoint and make it most memorable. Subheadings are sometimes used to signpost the content of each.

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 many 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.

• Asking a rhetorical question that you later answer within the following paragraphs.

Give 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 to understand the topic. 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.

Show 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.”

Write 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 labelling, you might convey to your readers how they can learn more about labelling.

• 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.