Creating a Newspaper Article

1. Outline the purpose of your article 2. Choose an article topic 3. Research the article 4. Write the article 5. Edit the article - have a friend proofread it 6. Re rite the article and type it on the co!puter ". #o a spell chec$ %. Optional class activity& 'se a soft are pro(ra! such as )a(e*a$er or +uar$,press to create a ne spaper that ill contain all the articles

-or!ula for a Well-Written .e s /rticle

1. First paragraph 0n your first one or t o sentences tell ho1 hat1 hen1 here1 and hy. 2ry to hoo$ the reader 3y 3e(innin( ith a funny1 clever1 or surprisin( state!ent. 4o for variety& try 3e(innin( your article ith a 5uestion or a provocative state!ent. 2. Second/Third/Fourth paragraphs 4ive the reader the details. 0nclude one or t o 5uotes fro! people you intervie ed. Write in the third person 6he1 she1 it1 they7. 8e o39ective -- never state your opinion. 'se 5uotes to e:press others; opinions< 3. Last paragraph Wrap it up so!eho 6 don;t leave the reader han(in(. )lease don;t say....=0n conclusion= or =2o finish...= 6ya n<7 2ry endin( ith a 5uote or a catchy phrase. 'se active ords 6ver3s that sho hat;s really happenin(.7 2a$e notes hen you intervie . Write do n 5uotes< 2ell the really interestin( info first<

Steps
Determine your topic. Exactly what are you going to write about? Brainstorm for ideas if you have to. When writing for wikiHow, you may even wish to refer to requested to ics for ideas. !t shouldn"t matter that the same ty e of article had been written before or not, #ust think what you want to write.

$
Figure out who your audience is. %re you writing for a beginner, an intermediate, or an advanced audience? &or exam le, if you are writing an article about '(reating )ower)oint *lides,' are your readers new to )ower)oint, or business eo le looking for advanced ti s?

+
Do your research. How well do you know the to ic? !s it something you can write easily about with little or no re aration, or do you need more information from ex erts in the field?

,
Decide on the length of the article . -eachers, maga.ines, and news a ers will often give you a limit. wikiHow articles, on the other hand, are often 'as long as they need to be and no longer.'

/
Compile a list of possible sources for you to consult. -his can include documents, internet research and eo le to talk to.

0
Write either an outline or a summary of your article. -his will hel bring the conce t of the article into shar er focus.

1
Write the rough draft of the article as follows2

-ell your readers what you are going to tell them. -his is your introduction. &or exam le2


slides.

-his article ex lains how to create a )ower)oint slide resentation. !t covers the following information2 choosing a theme, creating a title slide, and creating to ic

o o

-he information in this article is written for a beginner. -he author assumes that you have never used )ower)oint. -ell your readers what you romised to tell them. !n this section you tell them how to

choose a theme, create a title slide, and how to create to ic slides. -ell your readers what you #ust told them. &or exam le2

slides.

-his article taught you how to create a )ower)oint slide resentation. 3ou learned how to choose a tem late, how to create a title slide, and how to create to ic

Check over your piece for presentation .

o o o o o

(heck for faulty information. Have you double4checked your facts? 5elete any unnecessary or contradictory information. -he only time you should have information that doesn"t su ort your to ic is if you"re doing a ' oint4counter oint' iece. Eliminate anything that is #ust taking u s ace. 5on"t fill your work with fluff. !f you need to do more research, go ahead and do it. (heck for grammar and s elling errors. 6ead it aloud to yourself to make sure the text flows smoothly.

Rewrite the article as often as it takes.

78

Tips
9either the outline nor the summary for your article has to be in traditional !, !!, !!! format. -he oint of formatting is to hel you. !f you feel you can find your focus by writing a list of incom lete sentences, then go for it. :ater, if your teacher wants a formal outline, you can create one from the article itself.

By checking grammar and s elling errors last in the editing rocess, you won"t waste any time by correcting those on something you may delete. !f you"re writing for a news a er or maga.ine and are new to rofessional writing, it"s customary to introduce yourself and your story in a query or itch letter. &ind the name of the editor who will be handling your iece ;i.e.< if you"re writing an article about cars for a news a er, find the name of the car4section editor=. -his information can be found in the masthead, a box containing the names of the editors, usually found near the front or comment ages of a ublication. Write a catchy but brief outline of what your story is about and why that ublication"s readershi would be interested in it. %lso include a few lines about your ex erience as a writer. -he tone of this letter should be rofessional, but affable and friendly. !t is not the lace to make demands, or admit your shortcomings as a rofessional writer. 5iscussing wages and freelance fees should come after the editor has acce ted your itch.

!f you have no ex erience as a rofessional writer, do not start off itching columns ;o inion ieces=. (olumns are generally reserved for eo le who have either been working at a ublication for a very long time, or for eo le who have a articular ex ertise in a field. !f you"re new to writing, start small. -hink obituaries, human4interest stories and sim le news articles. !t"s generally easier to start with news a ers than with maga.ines. -ry writing for life, fashion, arts, cars or travel sections before itching stories to news. -hese sections tend to be understaffed and therefore have a greater budget for freelance writers.

!f you"re interested in ursuing a career as a writer, be realistic. )eo le who make their living as writers generally start to build their ortfolio of ublished work as early as high school. !t generally takes even the most dedicated writer several years before he can make a living off of the trade. !n other words, don"t quit your day #ob. Ease into writing gradually, erha s doing freelance ieces while maintaining a more stable #ob art4time.

-ake some courses in both non4fiction and fiction writing. 9ot only will they hel with your work, but also you can make contacts in the business by getting to know your rofessors and fellow writers. -his will hel you to be taken seriously when you start itching articles for ublication. Being a good freelance writer means knowing how to write and how to network.

>ake sure your article answers five 'w' and one'h' questions2 who,why, where, when, what and how.

Warnings
7. When writing for a news a er or maga.ine, do not do so for free. %sk what their freelance fee
is beforehand. 3our ay will usually be calculated on a er4word basis. 3our work is valuable. Writing for free demeans the rofession and makes making a living more difficult for those of us who de end on freelance fees to ay the bills. ;But if you"re #ust starting out, volunteering to do some articles for smaller community a ers, student ublications and trade maga.ines

is a great way to build your ortfolio. Be warned that these ublications rarely have the money to ay freelancers anyway.=

$. >ake sure to give yourself lenty of time to write the article. !f you don"t, then you"ll be rushing
at the last minute to create something that isn"t re resentative of what you can truly do.

+. 5o not be a diva. 3our work will go through several editors, co y4editors and fact checkers
before being ublished. !t will be changed. )ulling a tem er tantrum is a surefire way to not be invited to work for that ublication again.

,. 3our re utation as a writer is almost as im ortant as the work you submit< do not make errors
or lagiari.e. (o ying something without attribution is the quickest way to get blacklisted as a writer. ?ee your notes and source lists handy so that your editors can verify your work. !f you do make a mistake, come clean immediately and a ologi.e rofusely.

/. 5on"t miss deadlines. @enerally s eaking, a late article is worse than a mediocre one. 0. :iterary circles are small and gossi y. 5on"t say anything bad about a fellow writer or editor,
ever. 3ou never know who"s married to whom.