How to Write a Newspaper Article

How to Write a Newspaper Article

When you write a newspaper article, you share your thoughts with thousands, or maybe millions of readers. This can be a very rewarding experience, apart from helping you make a living as a reporter if your articles are good enough. There is now a lot of competition in the field of writing, with more and more freelancers sharing their thoughts (and doing quite a good job at it). In order for them to be good enough, it is imperative that you know how exactly to write a newspaper article. There is not much room to be creative when writing a newspaper article. However, you can follow your own unique writing style and deliver accurate and beautifully written material to your readers. Read on to know the tips for writing a newspaper article.

Tips for Writing a Newspaper Article

Think of a good story idea. The idea could be as simple as covering a local event that is happening in your neighborhood. Or, it could be an in depth report on investigation of a political scandal.

Get a rough draft of the material you are going to write. This could be in the form of random notes and audio or video recordings.

When you sit to write the article, ensure that you have a catchy headline. Also, remember that the headline should be accurate and should be in the present tense.

Surprise your readers and make them curious by keeping the first sentence short and dramatic. Your readers should want to know more and should want to read on.

Put the facts of the story first. Be clear about what you are writing and so not complicate things.

Keep the five W’s in mind and remember to use them: What happened, When did it happen, who was involved, Where did it happen, and Why did it happen.

Be accurate in what you write and ensure that all facts are correct.

When writing your article, use active verbs wherever you can. This will add more depth to your article.

Remember that in every story, there are two sides. Be fair and let the readers make up their minds, rather than taking sides. Of course, this does not apply if you are writing about some social evil or injustice, which is known not to have two sides to it.

If there are familiar, people or events covered in the article, find new ways to describe them. Avoid using clichés.

Use proper spellings and grammar. Badly written articles can give others a bad impression of you as a writer.

Make your story stand out from the others by looking for a special ingredient to add in. This could be a bit of humor or just anything that will make your newspaper article stand out, among all the rest of the black and white print.

Finally, review and edit your article keeping in mind the headline that you have chosen, ensuring that the story ties in with it.

Add in a picture if necessary.

Send your article to the newspaper editor to be reviewed and published.