Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 5: Develop a Concept
• Method 2 of 5: Analyze the data
• Method 3 of 5: Develop a Plan
• Method 4 of 5: Write an article
• Method 5 of 5: Shut Down
• Tips
• Warnings

There are many different types of articles: news articles, editorial columns, biographies, instructions, and so on. Each of them has its own characteristics, but they all share common features.Writing articles will allow you to share useful information with readers, but for this you need to first come up with a topic, study the material, compose the text and edit it.

Steps

Method 1 of 5: Develop a Concept

1. 1 Study the type of article you want to write. Thinking over the topic and semantic accents, decide which type of article is most suitable in this case. Often, some types of articles are better suited to certain topics than others. The most common types of articles include the following:
   • News. The article reports on something that happened in the recent past or will happen in the near future. Typically, such an article contains answers to five questions: who / what, where and when, why and why.
   • Large article in a newspaper or magazine. In such articles, information is presented more interesting and with more details. An article can be about a person, phenomenon, place, or any other topic.
   • Column editor. Such an article provides the opinion of a writer on a particular topic or ongoing controversy. Its purpose is to convince the reader to take a different look at this problem.
   • Instruction. This article provides step-by-step information on how to do something.
   • Biographical sketch. This article contains information about a person that a journalist collects through interviews and studying various materials.
2. 2 Choose a topic. Make a list of possible topics. You might want to write an article about immigration, organic produce, or the city's animal shelter. To make the article logical and concise, the topic should be narrowed down. This will give you a specific problem around which to build a more compelling article. Ask yourself the following questions:
   • What interests you about this topic?
   • What moments do people usually overlook?
   • What do you want to tell people about this?
   • For example, if you want to write about organic farming, you might think like this: "I think it's important for people to understand what the labels mean. You can't always figure out what it all means."
3. 3 Choose topics that are very close to you. You should be interested in your chosen topic. Your passion will be visible in the article, and it will be more interesting for readers to read it.
   • Your job is to talk about something with such passion so that the reader understands that the topic you are raising deserves attention.
4. 4 Conduct a preliminary analysis of the materials. If you are not familiar with the topic you have chosen (as happens when the university is asked to write an article on a specific topic), you will need to start with a preliminary analysis.
   • Enter your keywords into an internet search engine. This will help you find articles related to this topic. These sources of information will allow you to familiarize yourself with different approaches to the topic.
   • Read as many different articles on this topic as possible. Go to your local library. Read books, magazine articles, interviews, and browse online sources including news, blogs and databases. If the information is not available on the Internet, start with a large database.
5. 5 Think about how you can look at the topic from a new angle. Once you have chosen and narrowed down your topic, decide what will make your article unique. If you are writing about something that other people also write about, try to create a unique work in terms of how you approach the topic. You should add something new to the topic, not just write what others have written about.
   • For example, a topic about organic foods might highlight the problem of a store owner who does not understand organic food labels. This can be a great start for an article describing your main point or point of view.
6. 6 Bring your thought to perfection. As a rule, in the article the author expresses his point of view - this is the whole point of the article. The author then presents arguments to support this point of view. In order for the article to be of high quality, your arguments must also be serious.After choosing from what point of view you will cover the topic, analyze your arguments.
   • For example, if you are writing about how a person learns to understand labels on organic products, your main point should be that readers should be aware of the tricks that food manufacturers use when labeling their products. This leads to advertising cheating. You can also write about how important it is to know who is the owner of the sources of information you are used to. If your local newspaper is owned by a large corporation, it is possible that you will receive very little news about your area.
   • State your main point in one sentence. Place this phrase near your computer or workplace. This will keep you focused on the topic.

Method 2 of 5: Analyze the data

1. 1 Learn more about your topic and reasons to support your point of view. Start exploring the resources on this topic. Go beyond the preliminary analysis you've already done. Explore the main problems, advantages and disadvantages, expert opinions.
   • Good writers know how to work with sources of information. They look for both original primary (including unpublished) materials and secondary materials.
     • Primary sources of information - this is the transcript of the court session, the text of the lawsuit, property value indices with extracts from the relevant documents, certificates of dismissal from military service, photographs. Primary sources also include extracts and references from national archives or special sections of libraries, insurance conditions, corporate financial statements, or curricula vitae.
     • Secondary sources of information includes data from open databases, books, excerpts from various sources, articles in different languages, bibliographies, dissertations, reference publications.
   • Information can also be found on the Internet or in the library. You can conduct interviews, watch documentaries, refer to other sources.
2. 2 Collect evidence to support your point of view. Start looking for material to support your point of view. You should find 3-5 arguments that would demonstrate that you are right.
   • There could be more arguments and examples. When you have more information, it will be easier for you to decide which of the arguments is the strongest.
3. 3 Rely only on reliable sources of information. Be wary of Internet resources. Trust only trusted sources of information, including serious publications, experts, websites of government agencies and universities. Look for information that provides links to other sources to support your claims. You can use printed publications, and here you should rely on the same recommendations.
   • Do not think that you can get completely reliable information from one source. This source uses arguments that support a particular point of view, so it omits facts that indicate opposing opinions.
4. 4 Record all sources of information. It is important to always write down where you got the information from, because otherwise, when writing an article, you will not be able to correctly place all links to sources.
   • Try to choose a citation method at the beginning, so that later it will be easier to place all the links. There are several ways to use quotes.
5. 5 Avoid plagiarism. As you explore various sources of information, pay close attention to how you frame your thoughts. Sometimes people just paste the text of the quote into their document and run the risk of confusing their words with the quoted words. Be careful not to appropriate someone else's text.
   • Do not copy or paste whole text from another source. Rephrase the thought and link to the source.

Method 3 of 5: Develop a Plan

1. 1 Decide how long the article will be. Should an article contain a certain number of words? Should it span a certain number of pages? Think about what you are writing about and how much space you need. Also consider how much text you need to fully cover the topic.
2. 2 Consider your audience. Think about who will read your article. You will need to consider the complexity of the text, the interests and expectations of the audience, and some other factors.
   • For example, if you are writing an article for a narrow group of scholars, your style and approach will differ significantly from the language of the article for a popular journal.
3. 3 Sketch the outline of the article. Before moving on to writing, it's important to sketch out a plan. This will allow you to determine the locations for each of the blocks of information. A plan will help you understand where you need more information.
   • A five-paragraph system can be used. In this scheme, one paragraph is occupied by the introduction, three - the main text, one - the conclusion. When you start filling out this diagram with text, you may realize that you are cramped within this framework.
   • This schema is not suitable for some types of articles. For example, if you are describing the biography of a person, you might be better off choosing a different format.
4. 4 Choose quotes and arguments that will reinforce your point. You probably came across information that coincided with your opinion. Such information can be someone's statement, a phrase from another article, which turned out to be very important. In quotes, choose only the most important and add this text to your article.
   • Place quotation marks carefully wherever the words do not belong to you. Here's an example of the correct citation: “As a dairy spokesman said,“ our milk is labeled as organic because our cows only eat organic grass. ”
   • Don't overdo it with quotes. Don't use all the quotes in a row. If there are too many of them, the reader will think that you are filling the space with them, because you cannot come up with anything yourself.

Method 4 of 5: Write an article

1. 1 Write an introduction. A compelling introduction will allow you to grab the reader's attention. For the first few sentences, the reader evaluates the article and decides whether to read it in its entirety. There are several ways to start an article:
   • Write a curious story that actually happened.
   • Use a quote from the interview.
   • Start with statistics.
   • Start with the basic facts.
2. 2 Follow your plan. You’ve already drawn up a sketch, and it will help you write a logical and thoughtful article. The outline will remind you how the facts should be related. It will also help you remember which quotes match all of your statements.
   • However, you can allow yourself to deviate from the plan. Sometimes in the process of writing a text, it becomes clear that something can be done differently. Be prepared to make changes if you find them necessary.
3. 3 Describe the context. Don't think that the reader knows as much about the topic as you do. Think about what information the reader will need to better understand the topic. The presentation of the context will depend on the type of article - it can be placed at the beginning before the main arguments, or it can be woven into the main text.
4. 4 Use descriptions. Try to write in interesting, descriptive language so that the reader understands better what you are talking about. Choose descriptive verbs and precise adjectives carefully.
   • For example, if your article is about the issue of labels on organic products, you might write this: "Maria carefully examined the peanut butter jars on the store shelf. The words" organic "and" natural "are the first things that catch your eye. Each jar was written something new, and Maria began to think that the cans were literally shouting "choose me!", "look, I'm here!"
5. 5 Use linking constructs. Connect new thoughts with each other with special constructs so that the text reads as a whole. Begin each new paragraph with a phrase that connects it to the previous thought.
   • For example, you can use words like "however", "it is also important to note that ..." or "it should be remembered that ...".
6. 6 Pay attention to style, structure and language. You should use a style, structure and language that is appropriate for your chosen genre. Analyze your audience and decide how best to present the information.
   • For example, in a newspaper article, information should be presented sequentially, in chronological order. The language must be clear and clear. In a scientific article, the language will be more formal and strict. The instruction can be written in simpler language.
   • When writing an article, at the beginning of each paragraph, use an anchor word to help the reader follow your thoughts. Alternate between short and long sentences. If all your phrases are approximately the same length, the reader will get used to the rhythm of the article and fall asleep. Short and abrupt sentences will give the impression of a promotional brochure rather than a thoughtful article.
7. 7 Write a convincing conclusion. Lead the article to a conclusion that prompts action. There is often a call to action in the conclusion, although this is not true for all types of articles. For example, an article on food labeling could be ended with words about how you can get more information about labels.
   • If you started out with a funny story or statistic, try linking the introduction to the conclusion.
   • The conclusion will make a strong impression if it contains a small example that leads the reader to new conclusions. The conclusion should guide the reader, satisfying his desire for knowledge.
8. 8 Consider adding additional content. To help the reader understand the problem better, you can include pictures or other visual materials in the article.
   • Use photographs, graphs, or infographics to illustrate some of your points.
   • It is also possible to expand some of the points with additional sections, in which each of the issues is discussed in more detail. For example, if you are writing an article about a film festival in your city, you can add a sidebar to tell you about the films. These blocks are usually small (50-75 words, but it all depends on the format of the article).
   • Remember that this is all supplementary material, which means your article must be comprehensive without them. The text should be clear, understandable and on the topic and without graphs, photographs or drawings.

Method 5 of 5: Shut Down

1. 1 Edit the text. Take the time to edit and review the article. If you have free time, postpone the article for 1-2 days. This will allow you to take your mind off her, and then you will return to work with a fresh mind.
   • Re-analyze the main point you want to convey or the key point. Does everything in your article confirm the correctness of this idea? Is there a paragraph in the text that stands out in meaning? If so, it should be thrown away or redesigned to fit your point of view.
   • Eliminate conflicting data, or show the reader how they can use this information.
   • Rewrite individual passages or the entire article, if necessary. Writers often do this, so don't feel like you're doing something wrong.
2. 2 Check the text for grammatical errors. Even if an article is well written, it will not be taken seriously if it is riddled with grammatical or spelling errors. For an article to be serious, there should be no errors in it.
   • It can be helpful to print a copy of the article. Go over it with a pencil or pen and highlight any mistakes, then go back to the electronic version of the document and correct them on your computer.
3. 3 Read the article out loud. Listen to the tone, rhythm, length of sentences, evaluate the consistency of the text, look for grammatical errors or errors in the content, analyze the validity of the arguments.Think of the article as a piece of music and evaluate the quality of the article, as well as its strengths and weaknesses in terms of hearing.
   • Often, grammatical or logical errors are detected at this stage. This will allow you to correct the article yourself.
4. 4 Ask someone to read your article. Show it to a friend, teacher, or any other person you trust. Did the person understand your reasoning? Was he able to understand your reasoning?
   • Perhaps this person will also notice mistakes and shortcomings that have escaped your attention.
5. 5 Write a title. Come up with an appropriate title for the article. The title should be short and to the point (it should contain no more than 10 words). The headline should be action-oriented and should explain why the topic is important. It should be catchy and draw the reader's attention to the article ...
   • If you want to reveal a little more information, use a subheading - this is the phrase that is placed under the heading.

Tips

• Take enough time to write your article. If you don't, you will be writing at the last moment, and the finished article will not be able to reflect all your skills and abilities.
• More information about material analysis tools and databases can be found on this site. There are also printed publications dedicated to this topic.

Warnings

• Don't write for newspapers and magazines for free. Check in advance what fee they pay to freelancers. Most often, publications are paid per word count or per article. Your job costs money. Writing free articles devalues ​​the profession and makes it difficult for those of us who freelance to make a living. But if you're a beginner, writing articles for small newspapers, student publications, and specialty magazines is a great way to build a portfolio.