WRITING AN ARTICLE

Steps of Article Writing

Article Writing Format: Suppose you have some opinions regarding a
topic and you want to tell people about it. How will you do so? You can
tell the opinions to persons near you. But what if you want to tell not
only those people but, say, the world? How will you do so? You will
write those opinions, isn’t it?

Many a time you have seen some writers or people write their problems
and suggestions in some newspapers, magazines, and journals or in their
blogs. They are writing their opinions and beliefs in the form of an
article. In this section, we will get ourselves familiar with article writing
and the article writing format.

Articles
An article is a piece of writing written for a large audience. The main
motive behind writing an article is that it should be published in either
newspapers or magazines or journals so as to make some difference to
the world.

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It may be the topics of interest of the writer or it may be related to some
current issues. The topic can either be serious or not-so-serious; Same
goes for its tone and language.

 Definition, Essential Elements of Article Writing

Objectives of Article Writing

An article is written with the following objectives

 It brings out the topics or the matter of interest in the limelight

 The article provides information on the topics
 It offers suggestions and pieces of advice
 It influences the readers and urges them to think
 The article discusses various stories, persons, locations, rising-
issues, and technical developments

The Format of Article Writing

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An article must be organized in a proper way so as to draw the attention
of the readers. The basic outline for an article writing format is

1. Heading / Title
2. A line having the writer’s name
3. Body (the main part of the article, 2 – 3 paragraphs)
4. Conclusion (Ending paragraph of the article with the opinion or
recommendation, anticipation or an appeal)

Steps for Article Writing Format

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Think of the topic you want to write the article about. Only after you’ve
decided your topic you can go ahead and undertake the further steps in
the process one by one:

 Target Audience: Identify the concerning reading group

 Purpose: Find the objective or aim of writing the article
 Collect & Select: Gather as such information as possible. Also,
identify the details that are most significant
 Organize: Arrange the information and the facts in a logical way
Once you’ve taken care of all the Above steps you move forward to the
final step- Writing.

 While writing an article, always use proper grammar, spelling,

and proper punctuations
 Use vocabulary skill
 Keep the introduction of the topic catching, interesting, and short
 Discuss the opinion and the matter in an organized and
descriptive manner

Common Mistakes in the Article Writing Format

Now that you know the steps of article writing and the article writing
format, the occurrence of mistakes becomes obvious. Some of the
common mistakes are:

 Not using facts or quotes or similar cases

 The language should not be too formal
 The article must be in easy language for better understanding
 The title of the article must be catchy and clearly understandable
 No use of paragraphs

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 Expressing personal views is fine but the author must never talk
about himself/herself

Points to Keep in Mind for the Article Writing Format

 The topics of the articles should be unique and relevant

 The article has to get attention
 It has to be interesting
 It has to be easy to read
 The reader is identified
 Find the main goal of writing an article. The goal can be anything
from providing information, entertainment, and advice or for
comparing, etc.
 The title must be eye-catching, clear, and interesting
 The introduction or the starting paragraph must be highly
attentive. Use your vocabulary skills or try to use
some interrogative words for the start
 Use clear statements and make assertions
 Avoid repetition and over the top logic and reasons
 Use the style of paragraph writing and write the contents
uniquely and unambiguously
 Avoid using the points which interest you only and not for the
general public
 Write a good and logical ending

Solved Example on Steps of Article Writing

Problem: Classify the following into Do’s and Don’ts in article writing.

1. Write very lengthy articles

2. Add the writer’s name

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3. The title should be lengthy and clear
4. The heading of the article should be short, clear and informative
5. Only the introduction and the conclusion should be attractive and
attention seeking
6. Target the audience
7. One can advise, suggest and give the solutions to a problem in
any paragraph other than the starting one
8. The language and the style of writing should be according to the
concerning readers
9. There must be only three paragraphs in an article – introduction,
middle one, and conclusion
10. Use proper punctuations
11. Use any tense, person, voice, as many abbreviations, and self-
made words while writing an article

Solution:

Do’s Dont’s

Add the writer’s name Write very lengthy articles

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 The heading of the article should be short, clear and
The title should be lengthy and clear
informative

Only the introduction and the conclusion should be attractive

Target the audience
and attention seeker

The language and the style of writing should be according One can advise, suggest and give the solutions to a problem
to the concerning readers in any paragraph other than the starting one

There must be only three paragraphs in an article –

Use proper punctuations
introduction, middle one, and conclusion

Use any tense, person, voice, as many abbreviations, and self-

made words while writing an article

Five Things You Need to Know about Writing

Articles
In Cambridge First or Cambridge Advanced, you might be asked to write an article. But do you know what
makes an article different from other types of writing?

1 The reader is identified

An article is like a direct conversation with the reader. The exam question might tell you who your readers
are. For example, the students at a school, or the people living in a town or people who are interested in
sports. Everything you write must speak to that reader and engage their interest right from the first
sentence.

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2 It has to get attention
If you're anywhere on the internet these days, you'll be bombarded with articles with headlines that pull
the reader in. It's called "click baiting" and all the writer is trying to do is make you open the page to read
their article. You need to think like a journalist when you're writing your article.
Look at the heading and the first line of this article. How did I get your attention?*

3 It has to be interesting
For an article to work, it has to be engaging enough to read all the way through. Remember how bored
the examiner must be after reading fifty exam papers. Make it easier for them to get a good impression
about your writing by entertaining them. Add humour, real life or made up examples, or make up quotes.

4 It has to be easy to read

Use subheadings to break up the text and make clear paragraphs. Write in a semi-informal,
conversational style. And make sure there is organisation to your ideas. The planning stage is vital for
this. Spend 5-10 minutes brainstorming ideas and choose the best three or four. Think what your
subheadings might be and then write a short introduction that lets the reader know what to expect.
Keep in mind that you want the reader to keep reading, so don't tell them exactly what they will read. This
is not an essay! In an essay you usually restate the question, explain how you will answer it and maybe
say why it's important. In an article, that will kill the reader's interest.
Look back at this paragraph. What sentence style have I used that makes it semi-informal and speak
directly to the reader?**

5 Write a good ending

In an essay you sum up the points that have gone before and draw a conclusion from that. But in an
article, it's better to give the reader something to think about, perhaps by asking them another question or
giving them a call to action. Often, the best endings link back to the starting point in some way.
Here are two endings I could use for this article:

 Look at your internet browsing history from the last day. Which articles got your attention? Can
you see how they did it?
 So, now you know how to write an article, why don't you write one giving advice on something
you know about?

Common mistakes students make in articles

 The language is too formal and more suited to essays. Avoid words like: to sum up, some people
say, nevertheless, on one hand etc.
 They don't use quotes or examples
 They either use not enough, or too many, questions. The questions, called rhetorical questions
because they don't require an answer, shouldn't be more than one per paragraph. Good
examples are:
 Have you ever ……..?
 What do you think about ……..?
 Are you one of those people who thinks that ……?
 What would life be like if ……?
 Will the future bring us ….. ?

* A title which makes the subject immediately clear. For some reason, people like reading lists! And a
direct, rhetorical question in the first paragraph to make readers want to find out the answer.
** I've used the imperative to give instructions. E.g. Think…Keep in mind…Write…Spend…

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