WRITING ARTICLES FOR NEWSPAPERS:The Heading, The Lead

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Journalistic Writing MCM310

LECTURE 39

WRITING ARTICLES FOR NEWSPAPERS

Articles (or op-ed writing), as a matter of fact, are analytical essays in which a writer attempts to analyze an

issue and offers his view point to his readers. Of course, his aim can be to inform, educate, and even to

influence his readers' behavior. To compose an analysis, the writer collects the information that is central to the

issue he is examining -- the claims, the evidence, and the assumptions -- and interprets the strengths and

weaknesses of all sides in the debate. The writer often asks a series of questions to determine the relative merits

of each side of the debate, questions that assess the quality and quantity of several different types of evidence

any author could use.

1. How to Write an Article.

Definition: An article is a piece of writing that investigates an interesting topic. It has to be written in a clear,

expository style, and has to be interesting to a wide range of readers.

General guidelines:

think about a topic;

if needed, do some researches; try to look for interesting, but not commonly know facts that can be

informative;

write down your thoughts

Tips on article writing:

Don't prepare yourself for an exhausting and hard-to-accomplish job. An article is shorter than a

research paper, and can be a lot of fun if you relax and just give it your best.

Be simple.

Try to reach for people's interests. Think about things that are common to your surrounding.

2. How to Write an Article. The Heading

Definition:

The heading is a summary of your article.

General guidelines:

try to summarize an article in three-four words;

If you are not sure what your writing is going to be about, write a workable heading that you can

change or alter afterwards.

Tips on article writing:

Headings for news articles should be informative.

Headings for amusing articles can and should be intriguing.

Headings don't have to be long. They also shouldn't contain unfamiliar words, or terminology.

3. How to Write an Article. The Lead

Definition:

Leads identify narrow topics.

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Journalistic Writing MCM310

General guidelines:

a lead summarizes the topic while saying to the reader that some conflict exists;

it gives the reader motivations to read an article;

try to stay with three sentences in your lead;

For short articles, a lead can be one sentence long.

Tips on article writing:

For informative heading leads can be either informative, or motivating. For motivating headings leads

have to be informative, for at least one part of this dual structure has to tell the readers what is going

on.

4. How to Write an Article. The Conclusion at the Top

Definition: A conclusion at the top is especially essential for informative articles. It gives the reader all the

necessary information about a problem that the writing is about.

General guidelines:

tell the reader that facts, reasoning and investigation have yielded a result that affects them;

Tips on article writing:

Eliminate unimportant information, long sentences, unfamiliar words, and everything that can turn

a short summary into a long storytelling.

5. How to Write an Article. Body Paragraphs and Headings

Definition: These requisites will explain your findings and allow you to make a case.

General guidelines:

body paragraphs are called expository because they explain facts and events, or certain points to

the readers;

expository paragraphs begin with topic sentences that signal the beginning of a new thought;

next sentences support the topic sentence with reasonable data;

expository paragraphs in articles usually have from four to five sentences;

add additional sentences if you need to support your paragraph's topic further;

start with the most interesting information;

an article allows you to explain something that no one has solved before;

Write an ending using less formal language and a clever statement.

Tips on article writing:

The reason why you should start with the most interesting information first is not only in catching

the readers. If there is not enough space on the page, an editor can allow cutting the last

paragraphs of your writing in order to fit an article into small space available. And you don't want

to lose your best information, do you?

Don't try to write one more conclusion. You've already placed it at the top, so no restatements,

please.

Source: http://custom-writing.org/blog/writing-tips/52.html

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