I’ve dabbled in newspaper article writing here and there for a few years now. I’ll be honest and admit that I haven’t written one for a while, but if I were to add up all of the articles I’ve written over a span of about five years, it’s probably in the hundreds, which is wild.
While I realize proper newspaper writing isn’t exactly applicable information for every Tom, Dick and Harry, there very well could be some folks out there curious as to how to go about writing a structurally correct article. So, I thought I would delve into the archives and see what I can still remember about this topic.
First and foremost, you’re going to want to come up with a strong headline. There should be something in your headline that grabs the attention of readers, and it should be informative. Avoid using a lot of or any conjunctions, and keep the wording as simple as possible.
After the headline comes your byline, which is your name. For example, ‘By Lauren Arva.’
Next comes your hook which is the first and opening sentence of your article. Your hook should snag the reader’s attention enough that they continue reading – it should lure them in.
Next up is your lead which should contain one or two sentences addressing who, what, when, where, why and how.
Following the lead is your body, or the meat of your article, if you will. This is where your quotations and secondary information will exist.
Lastly is your conclusion, which should tie the contents of your article in a way that finishes your article off with a lasting impression on the readers.
Newspaper articles follow an inverted pyramid technique, meaning your most important information should be towards the beginning and middle of your article, not at the end. However, to contradict this, a powerful quotation is a nice way to finish off an article.
There you are, my friends.