How to Write a Good Newspaper Article

Writing a newspaper article is a thing! Hundreds of questions may arise when an inexperienced writer ventures into the new sphere – newspaper articles. How to start and where to stop? How to create a newspaper article that deserves a good review from famous analysts? How to choose the right size and font? Where to find the best ideas and how to reference a newspaper article? First of all, don’t panic! Take a deep breath and read our article. Believe us, after you read the FAQ-guide about newspaper article writing, you’ll find out that this task is a piece of cake!

A small FAQ-guide to newspaper article writing

1. How to start a newspaper article?

Just pretend you are a reader who looks through a number of pages in search of something he/she may become interested in. So, what are you looking for? Correct! You want to see a catchy header. One of the most important parts of every newspaper article is a header that points to the theme of the piece of writing and attracts the reader. Believe us or not, but rich newspapers like New York Times or BBC news have separate creative writers in their team who specialize in newspaper article headline writing. Another logical question is how to make a newspaper article header appealing without external assistance? Variety of techniques exists. The surefire way to win is to follow these simple rules:

• Include numbers into the heading. One, two, million or hundred. Readers are intuitively attracted by numbers as they expect to see structured information.
• Apply unique rationale using words such reasons, facts, moments, suggestions, ideas, times, tricks, secrets. For example: Ten “how-to” secrets of turning your dying business into a thriving fortune.
• Use attractive adjectives. Forget about tiresome words interesting, good, and bad. Equip your header with catchy adjectives, like brilliant, incredible, glorious, brain-blasting, painstaking absolutely, free, skyrocketed, congenital.
• Try to use trigger words: Who? Where? How? Readers expect to get answers in the text. Thus, it is significant they see a question in the header.
• Play with contrasting words: huge-small, dying – thriving, tedious – nutty, always – never etc.
• Promise to reveal the secret of the century in your article, and even the most picky reader will suppose your interesting newspaper article is worth reading.

The header is the first part of the start. Your newspaper article ideas are reflected in the header, but there should be something else. The next important part is the introductory paragraph. There are generally two ways for successful start – either the summary or catchy circumstances leading to the main idea of the text. For example, if the article presents the results of the elections, the beginning of the writing may be the information about the competing parties, results of the primaries and poles.

2. How long is a typical newspaper article?

In fact, there is no standard length that is considered to be ideal. However, one should take into consideration readers’ expectations and preferences. Some time ago newspapers were available only in print, so the article should have fit the size of the page for most. Now, a part (let’s say the major part) of our lives went online, and so did newspapers. If you publish online, you have unlimited space. But what about the reader? Does he/she prefer reading the small newspaper article or the long one? The statistics shows that both long and short newspaper articles are popular among readers. Those who like to get a brief snapshot of news during the morning coffee prefer short articles. Those who are curious about studying details and profound information give preference to long articles. The most inefficient group is the average-length articles of 500 to 800 words. In such pieces, people cannot get the deep analysis and detail. But, at the same time, an average article is too long for a morning coffee.

3. What are the required parts of a newspaper article?

The structure of the article depends on the type. News articles usually start with a short summary followed by a detailed narration of the events and explanation of the occurring things. Another type, feature articles, usually starts with the description of the event or news, followed by the analysis of the chosen feature. For example, the feature article about the Toyota recall causes may start with the presentation of the recall, dates, number of people affected, etc. Further, the article will concentrate on one feature – the drawback in engine that caused the recall. And the third type, opinion article, will start with the event or book description followed by the writer’s opinion, review, and comments.

4. How to reference a newspaper article?

Newspaper articles may be referenced in different styles. The most popular citation styles are APA and MLA. Here, we will give you some examples of how to reference a newspaper article in these formats.

Sample referencing newspaper article in APA

APA style, print version of the newspaper:

Author, A.A.. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Magazine Title, pp. xx-xx.

APA style, online article:

Author, A.A.. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Newspaper Title, Retrieved from newspaper homepage URL

Sample referencing newspaper article in MLA

MLA style, print version of newspaper:

Last, First M. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title [City] Date Month Year Published: Page(s). Print.

MLA style, online source:

Last, First M. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title Date Month Year Published: Page(s). Website Title. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.

5. How to frame a newspaper article?

First of all, let’s consider the purpose of framing. Usually, newspaper article framing is done with an aim to preserve one’s piece of writing. For example, you mother has published an article in print newspaper, and this piece of work is the pride for your family. So, you want to keep it in a good condition to show your children and grandchildren once upon a time. Another case is when articles are framed as decorative parts in interior design. Newspaper article frames could be of various shapes and styles, and they may add stylish look to a modern home. If you want to preserve an article, keep in mind that newspapers are printed on cheap acidic paper that is destroyed easily by sunlight. So, framing technologists perform some de-acidification techniques to decrease the acidity of the paper. The best idea of framing a newspaper article and guaranteeing it a long life is plague sealing the article.

6. How to end a newspaper article?

When you are close to the finish line with your newspaper article, you have to keep in mind the following points:

• It is good to end your writing with the short summary of newspaper article;
• You have to choose newspaper article fonts carefully. The fonts should be readable. Pointer, Times New Roman, Franklin Gothic, Helvetica, Utopia, Nimrod and Century Old Style are considered the best fonts for newspaper articles texts.
• Don’t forget to proofread the article, check for grammar and punctuation.
• Let a person who can offer a fresh opinion read your article. Make sure he/she understands your ideas.
• AND go ahead with your first newspaper article!

Use our tips, and enjoy your writing rewards!