How to write an article in a newspaper?

Where to start to write a scientific article in a journal?

 Hi friends!

Now you are my readers, but judging by the statistics, every second person dreams of testing himself as an author, and every fifth person realizes this dream – at least once in his life, though not very successfully, but still. A well-written text is a kind of capital.

And no matter what genre and volume, it does not matter whether it is a note in a city newspaper or a novel – everything that is well written has common characteristics: the originality of the presentation, the integrity of synonyms, the rigidity of language. A well-written speech is easy to read, understand and remember.

Want to learn the science of writing good lyrics? Then it’s time to learn how to write an article in a magazine about the event or something else, let’s take this example, because many well-known authors have learned to write in scientific articles.

Journalism was and remains one of the most popular professions and the most risky: everyone tries to find in a certain article a slander, an insult, a slander and sue the editorial office for a tidy sum of compensation for moral damage.

Therefore, the first condition of a good and safe article: the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the truth. That is – an objective presentation of the fact.

He warned about the main thing. Now I am ready to explain why you have all this headache with writing a scientific article, which everyone can perceive in their own way and not always positively. Each author is rewarded for his work. The amount of the fee depends on which magazine the article will be in. Perhaps several publishers will want to buy an article from you – so it will be relevant and well written.

Writing scientific articles is an income. The more often and better you write them, the higher the chance of getting a fee. If you are interested in this prospect – take note of the basic recommendations for writing articles for magazines and newspapers.

I once wrote an article for a newspaper, a work of genre diversity

The average person used to call an article everything that was published in a newspaper, regardless of the volume and style of presentation. But if you want to learn all the ins and outs of journalism, you need to learn genres.

A note is a short message with a stated fact or voiced problem.

Article – a small work with an analysis of the situation, process, phenomenon. Articles are journalistic, critical, scientific, analytical.

An essay is a work of small volume in which an individual impression of something is expressed.

But it’s not about volume, it happens that a concise note in a few lines is valued more than a detailed article about anything. Therefore, watch the genre, and do not forget about the relevance.

What is needed to write an article in a magazine

1. Write about something relevant and close to readers. If you write in the city magazine, find out what citizens live, what worries them, what interests them. For example: communal services do not clean the streets from snow, a fair was organized on the main square, there are no light bulbs in the entrances of houses. Go to the city forum – on what topic the most messages, then take for the article.
2. Draw a plan of the article. With the plan, the work will go quickly. The article should consist of:

• ice (introduction) – 2-3 sentences;
• the main part – it is necessary to disclose all the details of the event or analyze the fact (dispassionately, from the standpoint of the observer);
• the final part – it is designed to make the reader permanent, here you can intrigue, promise a new interesting article.

1. Use only reliable information, no otsebenyok and “fiction”.

The role of the title in a journal article

How to competently write an article for a magazine? You need to start with the title. A gloomy standard such as “Students have visited a home for the elderly” is not appropriate. It is possible to present more interestingly and attractively: “Other people’s grandmothers became relatives”. And in the lead to decipher the title, as an example: “Children delighted the attention of the residents of the nursing home.”

To name an article correctly is 90% of success. If the article is an event – about the event – call it brightly and in tune with the event or person. For example, the deputy met with voters – the event is deliberately boring and planned. But it can be interestingly called: “What did MP Ivanov think in the yard of the house №5”, or “Playground as an indicator of Ivanov’s work”.

Conciseness is the sister of talent or a lot of water in a magazine article

And who is right, if not Chekhov, who else can teach us from his 19th century not to inflate the text, but to make it compact and easy to read? Write your first little article and admire how much better it looks against the background of huge “sheets” (so-called large newspaper articles on the whole strip with large paragraphs, “not diluted” with illustrations, other fonts or “windows”).

The topic should also be short and meaningful (50-100 characters). But there are other standards in world journalism, such as the Italian headline in a few lines: “The whole city watched Senor Cappuccino divorce her husband over a trifle.” It seems that the intrigue is preserved, but the essence is clear – the senior is dissatisfied with her husband’s inability to do something around the house, so she divorced. It is not interesting to read further, so this sample is not suitable for us.

Always aim to write an interesting article – from the title to the ending. Get creative, choose options, rewrite the text several times, bringing it to perfection.

Use simple short sentences that will be clear to the reader. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes.

Practice describing any event (even just today) from the perspective of your mother, your child, your neighbor, your cat.

Write, do not be stopped by the fact that you do not like what is written, that someone’s articles are better and more saturated. Skill comes with experience.

Get the opinion of a professional – offer your first article to the editor of any of the local newspapers, and do not worry if he offers you to refine it a bit.

We learn to write an article in a newspaper.

Some of the events require that they be covered in the media, such as newspapers.

An experienced journalist writes an article in a newspaper in less than half an hour, a beginner spends a whole day on it. To write an article in a newspaper you do not need to have a special talent, you need to learn to work with the facts and follow the five points that help to write a professional newspaper article.

Search for an idea

Writing an article in a newspaper begins with finding an idea. An experienced journalist does not look for an idea on purpose, he may seem to start his working day with the usual ritual – read news news agencies, parse letters, press releases and inquiries received by e-mail, study the publications of fellow competitors, out of the corner of his eye watches world and city news (often on several channels at the same time). Despite the external passivity, his brain is actively working and captures any unusual events, the course of action.

If something always happened in one scenario, and today the scenario has changed – then something happened that affected the development of events in this way. What happened is not obvious and not noticeable at first glance, but it changed the usual course of events, and this is a great idea for the article.

Collection of facts

When the idea of ​​an article is found, the journalist checks it, looking for confirmation in various sources. We need to make sure that this is not a “drain” or “throwing” of false information by people interested in misinforming society and journalists. Typically, to verify an idea, you need to get three confirmations from unrelated sources that you can trust.

Having received confirmation of the found idea it is necessary to take a deep breath and to stop for a second.

It is good if you have an editor, because now is the time to discuss with him the idea that arose.

As a rule, the editor has more experience than you, perhaps he himself once wrote or edited an article on this topic. Remember, an editor is not a critic, it is your assistant who helps you find the best way to work on the idea. The editor will help to look at the article from a different angle, give links to other materials, if necessary, ask for information from the editor of another department, give mentors a more experienced journalist (if the topic is very complex and important for the publication) or can take control.

Appreciate the moments of working with the editor, as they allow you not only to learn to write great articles, but also teach to interact with other editors and journalists within the editorial office. There is no rigid hierarchy in newsrooms, but novice journalists are often frightened and embarrassed to seek help from a more experienced colleague or editor whose names they see on the front page of their newspaper. Discard your fears and doubts and ask for help from anyone you think is necessary, but first discuss your idea with your editor.

If you do not have an editor and you work independently, you need to become an editor yourself. Put aside your sketches and do something else. In an hour or two, return to your idea and quickly take a critical look at it.

Analysis of facts and drawing up a plan

Before you start drafting an article, ask yourself, “What will be the quintessence of the article, what will it really be about?” Write the answer in one sentence – it will be useful to you as a guide when writing a draft and editing, so as not to get lost.

Now that you have a canvas, sort the facts into important and minor.

State the important facts in a logical sequence, which will eventually become the plan of the article. Remember that the plan of the article may change slightly in the process of writing a draft and preparing an article.

If when working on articles you have to radically change the plan of the article, you should take a step back to collecting facts and once again discuss with the editor the vector of work on articles. Remember that a strong structure is the key to a successful article.

When drawing up an article plan, make sure that all family facts are grouped in one item of the plan, and not scattered throughout the article – this will complicate their understanding and analysis.

Work similarly with the details – they should help the reader see the big picture, not distract him from the story.

Writing a draft

Copy your plan into a draft and start “painting” each item.

That’s why I always make the most detailed plan of the article – such a plan allows me to write an article quickly, I have no difficulty with the logic of the story, I always have the right words in my head and I do not have “blank sheet disease”, because I start writing no from a blank document, and from a draft, where the plan of the article is copied.

If in the course of writing the article you do not have enough facts, then select them from sources you trust, but do not forget to check the information used.

If in the process of writing there is a big logical gap – the story hangs in the air and you do not understand where to go next – consult with the editor. You may want to take a few steps back, review the facts gathered, and make adjustments to your article plan. You should not have unanswered questions.

Do not mislead the reader, do not force him to do your job – otherwise the next time he will choose another publication and another journalist to get the right information.

Preparation of the article

When you have finished writing the draft, set it aside for at least a quarter of an hour, if time allows. Go down and have a cup of coffee, have a snack, help a colleague with writing his article. This will help you “tear” the newly written draft from you, to later turn it into a great article.

Edit the draft as much as time allows. Save each version to be able to return to it quickly.

If time is short, make sure your article is accurate, concise and clear.

1. One thought – one sentence.
2. Write short sentences.
3. Use verbs at the same time.
4. Avoid unnecessary details.
5. Use terms only when necessary.
6. Quote vivid statements.
7. Give the background of the event.
8. Draw an analogy to complex events.
9. Answer all readers’ questions.
10. Confirm all the facts used.

Before submitting, read the article aloud to check the connections between paragraphs, choose long and unsound words, and sentences that are too long. Make the latest changes and submit the article for publication.

I want to talk step by step about the basic principles of writing articles. This knowledge will help you establish contact with potential customers and secure expert status. The more articles you place on the Internet and in print, the more recognizable your name will be and as a result – your status will increase and more people will use your services.

Let’s start with the basics.   Using the following step-by-step instructions, you can write an article easily and simply:

1 step. Choice of theme

When choosing a topic, remember,  one article  reveals  one topic . Another important aspect – the topic should be interesting, familiar and relevant to you personally. In addition, it should be targeted at your target audience, ie those people who will need it and who will later use your service.

In this regard, I want to touch on another important issue – the format of the article  . To maintain expert status, you need to write in the following formats or layouts, whatever you want:

So, the first format:  “Problem + solution”   – to highlight the problem of your target audience, and voice it in the article. And most importantly, give some practical recommendations for solving this problem. If you describe the right recommendations and practices, readers will immediately understand that you are a practitioner versed in theory, not a theorist – a bastard.

Second format:  “Tool designed for« “   – describe a technique or tool that is used only in your area, but which few people know how to use correctly. So you will declare that you not only know how to use it, but also can explain to others.

Third format:  “My clients often ask… (question – answer)”   – describe the problem situation with which you were approached by a client or several clients, tell about the decisions that your client came to after working with you and what do his problems have in common with the problem of the majority and how to solve it. In general, everything is in this spirit.

The fourth format:  “Expert assessment”   – write on any phenomenon (book, novelty in your market of services, known fact, etc.) and give your expert assessment, analyze, reflect, provide useful information or give practical advice.

Format five:  “Practical recommendations”   – step by step describe one or more techniques that give a complete picture of action in a problematic situation relevant to your readers. The article you are reading is written in this format.

It is in the above formats that you should learn to write articles in the first place, because they are in demand by people who want to solve their problems. In addition, it is the practical content that interests magazines and newspapers. “Water” got everyone.

If your goal is to write an article for print media, then first analyze the subject and style of the magazine or newspaper, its target audience. Write an article that would be sustained in the style of the publication. If your target audience is not among your target audience, don’t waste time and effort. Look for suitable publications and your readers who can later become your customers.

2 steps. Choose a name

The main thing in choosing a name is not to overdo it and stick to the golden mean. It is not necessary to be very original, but also it is not necessary to roll down on banality. The title of the article should interest, arouse the interest of readers, arouse the desire to know what’s next.

There are rules for a good headline:

• It is important that the title draws attention, “sticks”.
• It is important to arouse curiosity and motivate to read the article.

Articles whose titles contain a hint , a hope for meeting a need, or a solution to a problem are more likely to attract attention . If in the title “reveal all the cards”, then reading it will no longer be so interesting and necessary. Your task is to hint, intrigue, inspire you to read the article. The title does not ask or offer, it attracts and declares.

• The title should be read with one glance. Between a long and a short name, choose a friend.
• Use words that are understandable and often used by the target audience for which the article is written.
• If you are writing an article for a site, use a keyword in the title, ie the word that is related to the popular topic described in your article.
• Too much good is too much. You should not add emotionality to the title (and article) with an exclamation mark and a question mark. Nobody has canceled the spelling rules yet. Also, don’t write the title in capital letters. This usually gives emotionality, but in this case, it seems that the author is shouting or aggressive.
• If you are writing for a print publication, be prepared for the fact that your name may be changed to another, but this is a negotiated topic, and still remember this.
• Use working article title templates:

“Like…”   Quite a common beginning, and very successful. This is a direct indication of the problem and the way to solve it.

– “How to build a successful business”

– “How to find your vocation”

“Short guide…”   Now society loves concentrated knowledge without excess water, and the offer of a short guide on anything will be in high demand.

– “A Quick Guide to Building a Successful Business”

– “A Quick Guide to Finding Yourself”

“Method / method…” Will   add to the article an image of scientificity and / or practicality. It “shoots” well, if you add epithets to it.

– “The most effective method of building a successful business”

– “The best methods of finding your vocation”

“Fast way / how fast…” For a   long time and many people do not want to mess with the problem, most people will not give up the opportunity to solve their problems quickly.

– “How to quickly build a successful business”

– “A quick way to find your vocation”

“Easy way / simple solution…”   This template also works. Simple solutions are always needed.

– “An easy way to build a successful business”

– “Easy way to find your way”

“Create…”   This template is an appeal to the emotions and creativity of readers.

– “Create your own formula for successful business”

– “Create your way to self-knowledge”

“Now you can…”   That is, thanks to this article you will achieve, you will be able to do what you need, if you want, of course.

– “Now you can make a successful business”

– “Now you can find your vocation”

“Free, unique, the best, reliable, effective, unique, etc.”   These words always attract attention.

– “Free course on creating a successful business”

– “An effective way to find your vocation”

“What everyone should know…”   This title fuels the need to test their competence in a particular issue.

– “Every businessman should know this”

– “Every successful man knows this”

“Figures”.   Articles are very successful if there are numbers in the title. 5, 7, 15, 100, 101, etc. are well suited for names. Often the numbers are combined with other patterns.

– “How to build a successful business in 6 months”

– “5 simple methods of finding your vocation”

“Secrets”.   Innate human curiosity and curiosity work here. This template works well in combination with numbers.

– “Secrets of successful business”

– “7 ancient secrets of finding your way”.

These are not all existing headline templates. Other examples you can easily find on the internet and in books. And yet, this does not mean that all the titles of your articles should begin or contain templates. Experiment, act, look for your own style. In addition, the “fashion” for the names is changeable, be aware, come up with your own.

3 steps. Article plan

You need to write a plan on which to build the article. It happens that a person tries to write based on only one topic, so as not to build a general concept of the article. This usually leads to collapse and waste of energy.

It is necessary to prescribe a plan. It should be simple enough:

• name,
• introduction (briefly reveals the main idea of ​​the text),
• the main part, consisting of several recommendations or theses,
• conclusion (conclusions, summarizing).

4 steps. Introduction

The introduction should gently bring the reader to the main topic. In addition, in the introduction you indicate the issues of the article (about what?) And the target audience (for whom?).

5 steps. Main part

Direct discussion. Here are some important practical recommendations or explain the basic concepts of this topic. The description of abstracts  should be specific , useful and valuable information. Stories or parables, interesting facts will be a good addition. As well as your own experience and view on the issue covered in the article. Well, if you fill the text with epithets, it will add emotion to the dry facts. In the main part you need to provide answers to the questions posed in the introduction.

Try to fit in 2-3 thousand characters, ie 1-2 pages. At the same time, remember that you are writing not just an article,  but an article for a specific target audience , or rather for a good and nice person who cares about this topic. You need to remember this in order for your text to be friendly and understandable, then you will be able to build a relationship of trust with your readers.

6 steps. Conclusion

Here you summarize, focusing on a positive result. And also on the fact that the information given in the main part will help to cope with the problem.

7 steps. Read the article

It is necessary to read (check and correct) the text only once, without thinking for a long time and without delving into idealism, otherwise it will lead to exhaustion, countless corrections and as a result, to an unwritten article. The purpose of proofreading is to correct mistakes and remove repetitions, replacing them with words and synonyms. The text should be easy, literate and simple.

8 steps. Check the uniqueness

This is a very, very important stage. If your article is one hundred percent unique, then on the Internet it will be indexed as new. Hence, its ranking against other articles on this topic will increase among search engines. This means that the probability of getting into the first positions will increase significantly. The more conversions to a unique article, the more popular the site. This means that the influx of visitors is growing and your popularity with it.

The text will be considered unique if the word combinations used in it are nowhere to be found. It’s even about the texts that you wrote yourself from the first word to the last point. Sometimes the phrases you use have already been used by other authors. You can check the uniqueness and increase it in special programs. One of them is Text.ru (https://text.ru). One hundred percent uniqueness is in demand in print media.

9 steps. Text formatting

It is important to format, ie format the text. Formatting techniques create visual cues for readers and make reading the text easy and clear.

There are the following formatting elements:

• Selection of headings and subheadings. Choose for yourself two – three ways to highlight the text, if there is more, you risk causing unconscious irritation and fatigue in your readers.
• Bulleted or numbered lists. Our brains are used to classifying everything, and this formatting technique will make reading easier.
• Highlight key phrases or words. It helps with speed reading, you can immediately see if you should delve into more details.
• Readable font. Some fonts are difficult to read, which can also lead to unconscious irritation and fatigue from reading. So choose a font that is easy to read, I personally like Calibri.
• Simple suggestions. In psychology, there is a golden formula – 7 plus, minus 2. It can be applied to the number of words in a sentence.

Remember the middle ground, excessive use of formatting elements can lead to loss of text quality. Speaking about the design of the text, we must also mention the illustrations – pictures, tables, charts, photos are welcome. It is important that the illustrations are of good quality and fit the theme.

10 steps. Save

Now is the time to save the article, close it, and most importantly – remember in which folder it lies. Ideally, it would be good to create a separate folder, something like “articles to promote my personal brand.” If the article is written by hand, it is better to translate it into electronic form, and then save, close and remember where it lies.

You should not rush to publish a newly written article. If possible, let her lie down and after a while, read aloud in a different setting. This will help identify and correct possible deficiencies. Ideally, it’s a good idea to give the article to another person.

Using this step-by-step guide, you can easily write your article, even if you are doing it for the first time. Good luck in creativity, all the best!

Friends and readers! Welcome to my site !. Today we will talk about the correct writing of articles for the media. Do you already know where to start and in what sequence it is better to form a written statement?

Consider how to write an article in a newspaper and a sample text. Let’s start with a good example. Then we will study a number of nuances in more detail.

I will note at once that the content of the sample below is fictional. It is written for example only.

Sample article

New generation computers will appear in 2020.

A.B. as an official representative of the company made a sensational statement – in 2020 on the shelves will be heavy-duty computers based on the latest technology “T”.

It will be recalled that the development of a new model of computer began in 2014. This was reported on the official website of the company. All the details of the development have not yet been disclosed. However, A.B. in his statement noted that the experimental sample has already been created and, unlike conventional PCs, it is capable of intelligent software training and clearly recognizes the user’s voice commands.

According to AB, new details of the unique development will be covered in the coming month. Details will be published as they become available. Stay in touch.

Features of quality texts

Before disassembling the sample for the correct writing of articles for newspapers, I will report one great news. Do you make money online? Do you want to work from home and earn an income? In general, I will not “pull the rubber”.

You can make good money on copywriting on the Internet. Do you know how? In search of really useful information, I found this school of copywriting. It has three levels of training – beginner, specialist and professional. If you wish, you can watch.

We continue the main theme.

So, following the example of an article written for a newspaper, did you notice that the structure of the text is clearly distinguished? For clarity, I divided it into 4 paragraphs:

1. In my example, it is dotted, as the text is not “independent”. In general, headlines are written without a period.
2. Ice or introduction. The purpose of this paragraph is to intrigue, to describe the general content, but not to reveal all the content.
3. Main part. Details are already being revealed here.
4. Final part. In the example, it serves a single purpose – to make the visitor a regular reader by promising to provide interesting thematic information in the future.

This is one of the schemes of writing articles in the newspaper. In fact, there are several. It all depends on the type of material (information, news and others).

• The title should be as short as possible (up to about 50-70 characters with spaces) and attract attention. After reading it, a person must clearly understand the main topic of the material.
• Ice is best made short. It should make you want to know the details.
• It is also desirable to make proposals shorter, without complicated turns. Short sentences are easier to accept.
• It goes without saying that you need to write competently.

There is another nuance to consider. Only reliable information should be used. Alternatively, you can refer to authoritative sources. Have you noticed in the example the mention of the official site, the representative of the company?

This is a brief analysis of a sample of the correct and interesting writing of an article for a newspaper, as well as a few recommendations completed. Was it informative? Leave comments and rate the publication on a five-point scale.

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