How To Write An Article

An article is an assembly of thoughts and perceptions of a person penned down to reach the audience. It keeps its focus on topics that could be related to current affairs or it could be related to the events that took place in history. One of the most important things while writing an article is to wisely think about the topic beforehand.

It is of vital importance because the topic must provoke the audience to read your article even if they’re trying to put the paper down. The topic should be catchy and should be included at least twice in the paragraphs that have been written.

Try to include a hook sentence somewhere at the beginning or in the very middle of the article that draws the reader’s attention toward what is written. Another important aspect to keep in mind while writing an article is to know who your audience is. If you have a grip on judging your audience you will surely be able to write an exceptional article.

Format For An Article

• Title.
• Introduction.
• The Body (This consists of 2 – 3 paragraphs) that represent the main idea of the article.
• A conclusion is the last paragraph of the article, concluding with an opinion, recommendation, anticipation, or appeal.

The Basic Structure Of An Article

1. Write about a topic you are interested in.
2. You need to identify your target audience.
3. Make sure you research the facts to support your story.
4. Prepare an outline for your article.
5. Your outline should be pared down to a rough draft.
6. State the topic you will be writing about.
7. Make sure your draft is error-free by reading it aloud.

How Long Should An Article Be

One question that might arise while writing an article is the word count. Now it depends on the channel or the website you are writing for and the topic. The article could be of lesser word count if a topic does not have much expansive material.

 If you are writing an article for a blog or a magazine, it can increase up to 1000 words as well. If you were to write an article for a newspaper, then the word count might lengthen up to 4000-5000 words. The word count also depends on the writer’s opinions and knowledge about the topic.

There is always a difference between writing an article for a magazine or a newspaper. The articles written for a magazine will focus on the audience a little more.

The topics and situations that are highly demanded by the audience are usually preferred to be written. Of course, it is a foolish act to write about international relations in a fashion magazine.

  The magazine will include articles written on the topics that will intrigue the readers for example to write on new fashion trends, movie reviews, book reviews, and much more. On the other hand, the newspaper will have an article that can include international relations, current affairs, and social problems prevalent in society. This difference is because of the different audiences.

How To Write Magazines Or Newspapers

A person sits down to write a magazine article or newspaper but fails to do so. It happens because his thoughts are mumbled and incoherent. The ideas do not connect and it becomes monotonous.

The best solution to this problem is to make a rough draft of the topic you are about to write. Then break it into smaller parts and work on it with full attention. This will bring a flow to the ideas and there will be no incoherency. The next thing that the article must do is proofread its article at least twice or thrice, aloud.

This way, he will be able to recognize any spelling mistakes in the article, or any grammatical, punctuation, and sentence structure mistakes. Sometimes, some writers tend to make their articles a little fancy by adding complex idioms and words which divert the attention of the reader. It is better to use simple words in the language in which you are writing your article.

This will keep the reader going. Avoid using longer sentences and repetitive words to increase the word count and article length. 

If the article is being typed on MS word, it is better to use AP-style guidelines. The formatting, font style, and font size should be following the medium for which the article is being written.

The format of an article should include an introduction of the topic with a hook line, then two to three paragraphs about the topic i.e. the body, and the last paragraph should be the concluding one.

Some Tips For Article Writing

For every article, there are three parts to getting it done.

• It would help if you proofread your articles for punctuation and grammatical errors. Also, since media publications generally follow AP-style guidelines, it is beneficial to have an AP stylebook handy.
• Write your first draft and see how long it takes you if you have a set word count. The goal is to keep your manager or editor informed of your progress while managing your time and writing quality content on a steady basis.
• Clear, concise writing is the key to success. You should get your point across with fewer words rather than writing more to meet a word’s need. Find out the word limit and content guidelines from your manager or editor

There Are Six Main Benefits Of Article Writing

1. Experiencing catharsis.
2. Knowledge gained from new sources.
3. Conversations with greater clarity.
4. The ability to recall information better.
5. Increasing productivity.
6. Developing creativity and brainstorming skills.

CONCLUSION

 The last and most significant part of an article is the conclusion. It can start with specific concluding sentences and a summary of what was written above. The conclusion holds an important place in article writing because if a reader did not understand what was written in the above paragraphs, he might be able to understand the conclusion to know what had been jotted down. Thus, an article is incomplete without a conclusion. If an article has a perfect conclusion, it is a definite win for the writer. The purpose and the benefit of writing down an article stand to experience catharsis, gain knowledge from different areas, know about other people’s perceptions, converse with greater clarity, develop good brainstorming ability and recall information better, and most importantly channel one’s energy into productivity.