Every newspaper has its writing style or set of rules that govern how stories are written and the layout. This is called house style. Almost all newspapers and magazines have their own way of writing and layout that all new journalists and reporters employed by the paper must learn and use in working.
It therefore goes without saying that we do not have a particular writing style for all newspapers and magazines. But despite this, there are generally accepted styles that cut across all newspapers and magazines.
The language that we use in newspapers must have the following three main characteristics:
- The writing must be totally clear
- The writing must not beat about the bush; it should go straight to the point
- The writing must not be ambiguous
There is one thing that we should all know about newspapers and magazines. Newspapers do not have a lot of space. This means there is no room for unnecessary things. The writing has to be simple, short and straight to the point.
When it comes to news writing in newspapers and magazines, the following points must be adopted:
- Writers should always go in for shorter words in writing their sentences. For instance you can go in for the word ‘although’ instead of saying something like ‘despite the fact that’.
- Stay away from the excessive use of modifiers like adjectives and adverbs. Adjectives are words that qualify or describe a noun. Adverbs are words that modify an adjective, verb and adverb itself. It is not advisable to load your writing with a lot of adjectives and adverbs. Imagine how awkward a writing whose every noun is accompanied by an adjective would be. You don’t want to do this when writing in a newspaper. Of course modifiers are very important in every writing, but try not to abuse them. Take as many unnecessary modifiers out of your writing. Many modifiers in sentences are optional. This means that the sentence can’t still maintain its meaning even if the modifier were to be taken out of the equation.
- Stay away from very big words or strange words. Remember that you are writing for people from all walks of life. Someone should be able to pick up a newspaper and read its content without having to consult a dictionary after every sentence because you have used so many unusual or big words in your piece.
- It is advisable to write more in the active voice than in the passive voice. For instance write, ‘The President attended the function’ instead of ‘The function was attended by the President’. The reason why it is advisable to keep your writing in the active voice is because of the fact that active voices are more powerful than passive voices. Another reason is because of the fact that active voices take lesser words than passive voices.
- Use shorter sentences. The shorter the sentence is, the less likely it is to confuse your readers. But if you go in for long and complicated sentences then many of your readers are going to end up getting confused. You do not want that of course! The moment you see that you have made your point, it is imperative that you put a full stop and continue with a fresh one.
- Don’t use jargon in news writing. What is a jargon? They are words that are used by a particular profession or particular group of people for example lawyers, doctors, scientists, etc. It is therefore difficult for ordinary people to understand these words. You as a writer have the responsibility to breakdown the jargon into a language that the ordinary person will easily understand. Keep your writing simple and avoid the use of jargon!
‘Sell and tell’ with this ‘how to guide’ and our best example of newspaper headlines.
When looking through a newsstand, what’s the first thing most people notice? The answer is, of course, the newspaper headlines.
When done well, a good headline will grasp the attention of a passerby and make them want to pick up that paper and investigate the news story. The power of a newspaper headline shouldn’t be underestimated. They can be the difference between someone buying the paper and someone merely walking by.
Nowadays, headlines have even more power. For online publications, headlines not only have to grab the attention of the prospective reader, but they are also important for search engine optimization. Today, a reader is just as, if not more, likely to come across an article via an internet search as they are on a newsstand. Before deep diving into how to write newspaper headlines, we should look at their purpose.
Contents
- The Purpose of Newspaper Headlines
- How To Write a Newspaper Headline
- Step 1. Know Your Story
- Step 2. Be Short and Catchy
- Step 3. Think Outside The Box
- Step 4. Embrace The Rules
- Step 5. Practice And Take Help When Offered
- Step 6. Consider The Tact Test (Taste, Attractiveness, Clarity, Truth)
- Step 7. Optimize for Online
- Iconic Examples of Newspaper Headlines
- 1. Men Walk On Moon
- 2. Stay At Home
- 3. Kennedy Is Killed By Sniper As He Rides In Car In Dallas; Johnson Sworn In On Plane
- 4. Titanic Sinks Four Hours After Hitting Iceberg
- 5. Greatest Crash in Wall Street’s History
- 6. Mandela Goes Free Today
- FAQs About the Best Examples of Newspaper Headlines
- Author
The Purpose of Newspaper Headlines
The purpose of a headline is to ‘tell and sell’ a story. In other words, they are there to grasp the target audience’s attention and make them want to read more. Great headline writers know that there are several ways to do this. For instance, when iconic news stories break, articles can become representations of these moments in history. This is done when a newspaper captures the general feeling of the public after such an event.
For example, on November 5th, 2008, The New York Times ran the front page headline “Obama: Racial Barrier Falls in Decisive Victory.” This headline grasped the reader’s attention. It instantly became an iconic part of the story it was telling.
German newspaper Bild’s ‘Wir sind Papst’ (We Are Pope) is another example. They used this headline after a German was voted to become Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Of course, not every headline will have that power, as not every news story is iconic. However, clever headline writers know other ways to draw people in.
A headline can tell and sell with shock. Just consider one of the most iconic tabloid headlines of all time, Freddy Starr Ate My Hamster. In UK news writing circles, that headline that appeared in The Sun newspaper in 1986 is still discussed. Freddy Starr was one of the most famous comedians in the country at the time, and the shocking nature of the headline made the newspaper almost impossible to ignore.
Another tactic that is often used effectively to ‘tell and sell’ is humor. Whether they are to your taste or not, puns can be a great tool here. For instance, the Kodiak Daily Mirror’s headline describing an undergarment crime heist was widely praised. It read: ‘Underwear bandit caught, admits brief crime spree.’ The purpose of headlines is to capture a reader’s attention while connecting the title to the story. How you choose to do that will depend on your style and the news story itself.
How To Write a Newspaper Headline
You now know the importance of a headline and why it exists. You also know several effective techniques to capture a potential reader’s attention. Now we will break down the mechanics of this tiny piece of content and help you craft your own headlines and subheadings. If you want to work in news, you should know the following about headlines.
Step 1. Know Your Story
When it comes to headline writing, the first step is to identify the most important information within the story. Next, the headline needs to be an accurate representation of the news article. Otherwise, the reader won’t trust your publication in the future. You should ask yourself, ‘would the reader expect this article from this news headline?’ The answer should be ‘yes.’
Step 2. Be Short and Catchy
Catchy headlines are gold dust, and catchy headlines are not long. So, ideally speaking, your news headlines should be ten words at maximum. Headlines are primarily written in a compressed style, similar to a telegraph. Therefore, lose articles ‘a, an’ and, more often than not, ‘the.’
Step 3. Think Outside The Box
It would be best if you also mustered up all your creativity, as following the step is all well and good, but it’s hard to resist a bit of panache. Use exciting verbs while avoiding PR speak, such as ‘announce,’ ‘launch,’ and ‘partnered.’ They will make the article more like a press release and reduce overall interest. Be creative around the headline; if you need to, use the subheading to expand on this.
Step 4. Embrace The Rules
Regarding headline-ese, verbs are presented in the simple present tense. So, for instance, instead of the headline being ‘Lebron Has Signed The Contract,’ it would be ‘Lebron Signs Contract.’ If it is a future event, then an infinitive is used, with ‘to’ followed by an action verb – ‘Lebron To Sign Contract.’
Although it may seem contradictory after that last example, it is primarily the surname used when writing a headline about a person-centered story. Of course, exceptions (such as above) exist where their forename more widely knows the specified person.
It would be best if you also didn’t use unspecified pronouns, as this can lead to confusion. For instance, if you were reporting on Manchester United winning three trophies in one season in 1999, you wouldn’t write ‘They Won The Treble.’ Something along the lines of ‘Manchester Utd Win The Treble’ is far superior.
Step 5. Practice And Take Help When Offered
Like any other type of writing, the more you write headlines, the better you will get at it. It should also be noted that newsrooms are collaborative places, so run your best attempts by your colleagues. They will tell you what they like, what they don’t, and what they don’t get.
And if someone within the business doesn’t get it, it’s likely that your readers won’t either. It’s not just your colleagues that can help. There are also templates of the different headlines used throughout the years. If you are struggling for inspiration, try those out and see how they fit your story.
Step 6. Consider The Tact Test (Taste, Attractiveness, Clarity, Truth)
When you land on a headline, you should mentally run it through the TACT test. You can do this by asking the following questions.
- Is it in good taste, or could elements of it be interrupted that way?
- Does it sell the story and grab the reader’s attention? Is it attractive?
- Is it clear and accurate?
- Probably the most important out of all of these – is it factual? Will the readers feel lied to after they digest the story? A good headline has to be true to the story.
If the answer to the above is ‘no,’ you need to restart the process.
Step 7. Optimize for Online
Of course, the above are tips for newspaper headlines. That being said, you must also observe them when writing online.
However, when it comes to online, there are other considerations you must take into account. For instance, having your articles appear at the top of a search engine query could be the difference between them being ignored and read.
Thankfully, there are some valuable resources for this. For instance, NPR has even published an article to help journalists write digital headlines that readers and Google will love. There are also plenty of headline analyzers (although the one linked is the best we’ve found!) out there that have already helped content marketing firms make the most of their work.
Iconic Examples of Newspaper Headlines
These examples both ‘tell and sell’ the story. They became iconic documents of history after the event and remained so.
1. Men Walk On Moon
The New York Times ran with the above headline on July 21st, 1969. It was an iconic moment in America’s history, and the writers got it exactly right.
They wrote a four-word sentence that got the story across to readers, detailing further important information in the subheading: ‘Astronauts land on plain; collect rocks, plant flags.’ This is one of the best headline examples out there because it tells the story that the world is waiting to hear while making readers want to read more.
2. Stay At Home
From one generational moment to another, this one isn’t even close to being as cheerful. It was in 2020 when the San Francisco Chronicle was detailing lockdown orders due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the nation.
It followed up its simple three-word headline with the subhead ‘6 Bay Area counties order nearly 7 million people to shelter in place. The newspaper headline demanded that readers pick up the newspaper to read more. It did so with a simple statement that thoroughly told the story.
3. Kennedy Is Killed By Sniper As He Rides In Car In Dallas; Johnson Sworn In On Plane
The death of JFK was a story that rocked a nation and The New York Times got their headline of the story just right when they wrote the above. It passes the TACT test easily, as it is not in bad taste and is accurate, clear, and true. It breaks the rules a little with its length, but there are exceptions to every rule.
4. Titanic Sinks Four Hours After Hitting Iceberg
Similar to the JFK headline, what works with the above is clarity. It tells the story of the unsinkable ship that sank and enticed readers to pick up the paper to read more. The New York Times ran with that headline, as it became an iconic part of the reaction to the Titanic.
5. Greatest Crash in Wall Street’s History
The Daily Mail’s headline about the 1929 Wall Street crash signaled the end of the roaring 20s and the start of The Great Depression. The headline demanded that you pick up the newspaper and read more.
6. Mandela Goes Free Today
Nelson Mandela being freed from prison was an iconic moment in the world’s history and one that City Press captured perfectly. They linked the future president by his surname to a story that the entirety of South Africa and the world was eager to read.
FAQs About the Best Examples of Newspaper Headlines
What is the difference between a newspaper headline and a news headline?
A newspaper headline is a heading for a story for a specific newspaper publication, whereas a news headline can be for other mediums, including online. Therefore, the writer of a newspaper headline doesn’t have to consider SEO or social media, whereas the writer of an online news headline does.
What are the 3 types of headlines?
There are far more than three types of headlines. Just look through any newspaper, and you will see a great variety, with feature stories, news stories, editorials, and adverts requiring far more than just three types of headlines.
When it comes to news stories, if you want to break them down into three areas, you could break them down into the following three areas: headlines that draw the reader in with the magnitude of the story, ones that capture the reader’s attention through shock, and headlines that use humor to grasp the passing reader.
For help with this topic, read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing?
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Harmony seldom makes a headline.
Silas Ben
Task 1. Study
the following examples of newspaper headline language.
A. Features of headline language
Here are some typical
examples of headlines from tabloid
newspapers
with comments on their use or language. [popular papers with smaller
pages than more serious papers]
EXPERT REVEALS NEW MOBILE DANGERS
-
Articles, prepositions and auxiliary verbs are often omitted from
headlines. -
This use of the present
simple instead of the past tense makes the story sound more
immediate. -
The use of language is
often ambiguous. It is not entirely clear, for example, what mobile
refers to
here. It is actually about the dangers of mobile phone use but it
could have referred to dangers that can move in some way. Readers
have to look at the story in order to find out. -
Words with dramatic
associations such as danger
are often
used.
TV STAR TRAGIC TARGET FOR MYSTERY GUNMAN
This story is about how a well-known television actor was shot by an
unknown killer.
-
Tabloid newspapers like to use references to royalty or popular
figures like film or pop stars or sports personalities in order to
attract readers’ attention. -
Alliteration such as TV
Star Tragic Target
is often used to attract the eye in headlines and to make them
sound more memorable. -
Newspapers sometimes use ‘shorthand’ words such as ‘gunman’ in
order to express an idea or image as briefly and as vividly as
possible.
B. Violent words
Violent and militaristic words are often used in newspaper
headlines, especially in tabloid newspapers, in order to make
stories seem more dramatic.
EU acts to crush
terror of
the thugs
Palace besieged
by journalists
Crackdown
on soccer louts
Typhoon rips
through town
C. Playing with words
Many newspaper headlines in
English attract readers’ attention by playing on words in an
entertaining way. For example, a story about the theft of traffic
signs erected to help tourists coming to see a solar eclipse in the
area was headlined Dark
deeds.
In this
collocation dark
usually
carries the meaning of wicked,
but the
headline is cleverly playing with the word dark
because at
the time of an eclipse the sky goes dark.
Another example is the use
of the headline Ruffled
feathers
to describe an incident where a wife was angry with her husband, a
wildlife expert, for allowing a Russian steppe eagle to sleep in
their bedroom. We use the idiom to
smooth someone’s ruffled feathers,
meaning to pacify someone after an argument. It is apt to use it
here as the story is about a bird (although, of course, it was the
woman’s feathers which were ruffled).
Task 2.
Read these
headlines. What do you think the stories might be about?
-
MOSCOW
BLAST TERROR -
I’m
to reveal soccer lout plans -
TOP MP IN LONE BATTLE
-
CRACKDOWN ON PORN
-
THUGS BESIEGE TEEN STAR
-
COPS TARGET LOUTS
Task 3.
These
headlines were written in a pretend tabloid newspaper about Ancient
Greece. Match them with the subjects of their stories (a) to (e)
below and comment on the features of headline language they contain.
-
NUDE SCIENTIST IN BATHTUB SENSATION
-
KING PHIL’S MACEDONIAN
MASH-UP -
MARATHON MAN IN DROP-DEAD
DASH -
QUADRUPLE ROYAL MURDER SENSATION
-
IT’S CURTAINS FOR CORINTH
-
Mysterious death of four members of the royal family.
-
Philip of Macedonia wins battle against city states of Athens and
Thebes. -
Archimedes’ discovery of the laws governing the displacement of
water. -
Burning of city of Corinth to ground by the Romans.
-
Long-distance runner brings news of battle victory to Athens and
then dies.
-
Task 4.
Match the newspaper articles with the headlines following them.
-
A girl fell from the top of a 50-metre high cliff at Southport and
landed on a sandy beach. After the call, she stood up and walked
away with only a broken ankle. -
Theodore Lee has left all his money to the Society for the Blind.
He died in April and his entire will of $ 460,000 goes to the
Society. -
Two men broke into a supermarket in Italy and walked off with 240
tins of dog food, worth Lira 120,000. However, they did not take
anything else from the shop. -
Police yesterday began to look for thieves who stole 14 paintings
from a museum in Taipei. The paintings were among the best in the
museum. -
Two lorries crashed at the
start of a new road system and caused a 7-mile queue. It took
drivers three times longer to travel the same distance as on
the old road. -
Ted Cornwall, aged 77, has
started his own telephone service for unhappy people. They can ring
his home and listen to his choice of jokes. -
Robert Tadley had a hard day with his three-year-old daughter. At
last he asked, «Why do you cry all the time?» Back came
the answer: «But I don’t cry when I’m laughing, daddy.» -
An amazing voyage to outer space can at last help scientists to
discover the secrets of a mystery planet. The spacecraft Voyager 2
can reach the planet Neptune in three years.
-
Lost art
-
Dial a smile
-
Traffic chaos
-
Girl underground
-
Girl’s lucky break
-
Thieves with pets
-
Cats and Dogs
-
Picture of a city
-
Bad language
-
Buying a car
-
Ringing the bells
-
Gift for the blind
-
Like a bird in the sky
-
Journey into space
-
Laughter and tears.
Task 5.
Write these newspaper articles as complete sentences.
-
GRIMSBY’S NEW MP TAKES SEAT IN COMMONS
-
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY TO GO UP AGAIN
-
VALUABLE PICTURE STOLEN FROM ITALIAN MUSEUM
-
U.S. PRESIDENT TO VISIT IRELAND
-
GERMANY BEATS BRITAIN AT ATHLETICS
-
UNION LEADERS TO MEET PRIME MINISTER ON THURSDAY
-
UNIVERSITY LAB TECHNICIANS ON STRIKE
-
SIX KILLED IN MOTORWAY ACCIDENT
-
BABY HIPPO BORN IN DETROIT ZOO
-
NEW YORK’S OLDEST HOTEL DESTROYED IN FIRE LAST NIGHT
-
PICTURE BY PICASSO FOUND IN CELLAR
-
LARGE U.S. CAR COMPANY TO BE SOLD TO JAPANESE SOON
-
DOG LEFT IN GARAGE FOR 10 DAYS — OWNERS ON HOLIDAY
-
POP STAR SUZI WELLS KILLED IN ACCIDENT AT WEEKEND
Task 6.
Look at this collection of headlines. Say what the following
articles can be about.
-
President Announces Conference on Nuclear Weapons
-
U. S. Embassy Official Opens School
-
Typhoid Epidemic In Midlands: Doctors Blame Impure Water
-
Bomb Sent To Minister Of Agriculture By Post
-
United Nations Plan
Attacked In Parliament — «Impossible» Says Minister. -
14 Injured In Motorway Crash Taken To Hospital
-
10% Of School Leavers Illiterate Says Report — «Report Is
Inaccurate And Irresponsible» Says Education Expert -
New Shopping Precinct
Planned For City Centre -
Queen Visits School In Yorkshire
Task 7.
Match the headline to its story and explain the play on words in
each case.
-
Bad blood
-
Happy days?
-
Shell-shocked
-
False
impressions -
Happy Haunting
-
Hopping mad
-
Flushed
-
Highly
embarrassed -
Round-up
-
A grandfather’s
breathing problems were solved when doctors found four false
teeth at the entrance to his lungs. They had been forced down
his windpipe in a car crash eight years ago. -
A 25-year-old terrapin
is being treated for a fractured shell after surviving a 200 ft
drop. -
A Shetland teacher has suggested labradors or golden retrievers
could be used to control pupils in playgrounds. -
A ghost society has been told not to scare off a friendly
female apparition at a hotel. -
Adults who have never quite grown up are to be offered school
theme nights including uniforms, register, assembly and primary
school dinners by a Nottingham hotel. -
An ex-public loo in
Hackney, East London, is to be sold for £76,000. -
A Whitby curate has attacked the resort’s attempts to profit on
its connections with Dracula: ‘a pale-faced man with a bad
sense of fashion, severe dental problems and an eating
disorder.’ -
A toad triggered a police alert when it set off a new hi-tech
alarm system. -
Firemen had to scale a 30-foot tree in St Leonard’s, East
Sussex, to rescue a man who was trying to capture his pet
iguana.
SPEAKING
Task 8.
Look at the layout of any newspaper
or magazine and comment on the function of the various elements
used.
A layout
is the way elements are arranged on a printed page. The layout
includes such elements as the type of letters, the use of bold type,
italics, underlining, bullets ( = dots or other symbols used at the
beginning of a next passage), the size and number of columns, color,
the placement of illustrations. The layout determines whether a text
is attractive to the eye and it helps writers to structure their
texts and to emphasize certain words, phrases or passages.
WRITING
Task 9.
Take any recent story you’ve
heard seen or read and use it as a basis for a tabloid front page.
Choose an appropriate headline and design the layout.
READING&SPEAKING
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8 Grammar Rules for Newspaper Headlines
1. Use present simple tense for past events
The present tense (it does) is quick and current, and helps emphasise the action happening, rather than its completion.
- Parliament confirms new stray dog policy
- Lion escapes zoo
If we want to demonstrate the result of an action, or that something was completed, we can use perfect tenses (e.g. it has done / it had done), and for changing events, the present continuous may be used (e.g. it is doing). However, these tenses are often shown by using participles alone (e.g. done / doing).
- Lion recaptured earlier today.
- Parliament confirming new policies every day.
2. Leave out auxiliary verbs
With perfect (e.g. has done), progressive (e.g. is doing) and passive structures (e.g. is done), auxiliary verbs are not necessary (e.g. have, is). This makes some headlines appear to be in the past tense, when actually the headlines use past participles, or particles, not the past simple. Similarly, changing events are represented by the present participle on its own.
- New policy decided by Parliament (New policy has been decided by Parliament)
- Lion escapes zoo – ten killed (ten people have been killed / were killed)
- Four stranded in sudden flood (four people have been stranded / were stranded)
- Temperatures rising as climate changes (temperatures are rising)
3. Use infinitives for future events
Using the infinitive (e.g. to do), a future time is not always necessary to demonstrate the future tense in headlines (and likewise, other future tense verbs are not needed).
- Parliament to decide new policy tomorrow (Parliament is to decide / will decide a new policy tomorrow)
- President to visit France for further talks (President is to visit / is going to visit France for further talks later this week)
4. Leave out articles (a, an, the)
- Prime Minister hikes Alps for charity (The Prime Minister hiked the Alps)
- Man releases rabid dog in park (A man released a rabid dog in a park)
5. Leave out “to be”
- Residents unhappy about new road (Residents are unhappy…)
- Family of murder victim satisfied with court decision (Family of murder victim is satisfied…)
6. Leave out “to say”
- Mr Jones: “They’re not taking my house!”
- Bush on Iraqi invasion: “This aggression will not stand.”
Reported speech is usually represented by a colon, or a hyphen, with the subject introduced with ‘on…’. This includes leaving out other verbs such as comment, tell, argue, announce, shout – unless the act of speaking needs emphasising, for instance to demonstrate a promise or official policy.
- Warlord decrees “Peace by Spring.”
7. Replace conjunctions with punctuation
- Police arrest serial killer – close case on abductions
- Fire in bakery: hundreds dead
As with reporting speech, commas, colons, semi-colons, hyphens and so on can replace all conjunctions, or some joining verbs, to join clauses. Commas may also be used to join nouns (more common in American English).
- Man kills 5, self
8. Use figures for numbers
- 9 dead in glue catastrophe
- 7 days to Christmas – shoppers go mad
More Thoughts on Newspaper Headlines
As you can see, the grammar rules for newspaper headlines can lead to ambiguous headlines, as many words are implied and not written. You may also see different vocabulary in headlines, with less common, but concise, verbs, such as bid, vow and spark. There are many additional style issues that certain newspapers use, for instance the capitalisation of every word, or joining conjunctions with commas instead of conjunctions.
The 8 rules here are the most common and consistent used for headline grammar, however. If you’d like to learn more about grammar rules in English, you’ll find plenty more articles freely available on this site, and I always recommend Parrott’s extensive book (aimed at English teachers), and of course there’s the classic Strunk and White style guide.
Seen any headlines you’ve particularly enjoyed, or any rules you’re unsure of? Let me know in the comments below!
Writing a newspaper article is unlike writing other informative articles because a news article delivers content in a particular way. It’s essential to present information within a limited word count and to do so in a way that answers the five “W’s”: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
Table of Contents
- Six Parts of a Newspaper Article
- How to Write a Newspaper Article for School
- How to Write a Newspaper Article about an Event
- How to Make a Newspaper Article in a Short Timeline
- How to Write a News Article Overnight
- How to Get a Newspaper to Write an Article about You
This article will show you how to write a newspaper article for any school level. Learning this important skill may pave the way for a career in journalism, so we’re going to address several questions we get from students who are looking to learn how to write a good newspaper article that presents information clearly and concisely.
Six Parts of a Newspaper Article
Before we jump into how to write a newspaper article it’s important to identify the 6 parts that make up the article. Following this newspaper article format ensures that you incorporate all of the necessary components that make for a great article:
- Headline – This succinctly tells the reader exactly what the news story is about in a single phrase or sentence (e.g., Cavs Expected to Land #1 Pick).
- Sub-Title – This supports the headline by expanding on the subject in one or two sentences (e.g., The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to trade up with Golden State Warriors to pick #1 in next year’s draft).
- Byline – This line tells the reader who wrote the story and may provide some background information (e.g., John Smith – 20+ Years of Covering Cleveland Sports).
- Lead – The opening paragraph should tell all of the most important facts, addressing the who, what, where, when, and why).
- Body – This constitutes the majority of the article, containing more information on a piece of news.
- Quotes – These important because they provide direct sources for information from eyewitness, experts, and other people relevant to the news story.
Students of all levels want that need to learn how do you write a newspaper article find this simple 3-step process to be the most helpful. You can apply this to any type of article with just a few adjustments. Read this process carefully before starting on your assignment to ensure you understand it. This will prevent you from making mistakes and having to start over.
- Planning Your News Article
- Research your topic as much as possible before you get started. For your persuasive article to be viewed as credible, you must know your topic inside and out. Start by answering the 5 W’s we mentioned earlier. It’s advised you have a dedicated notebook or note cards to gather all of the related facts about the story.
- Next, you need to organize your facts. A great way of doing so is to break up your facts into three categories: 1) facts that must be included, 2) facts that are interesting but not essential, and 3) facts that are related but are not important to the main purpose. You want to be as detailed as possible when listing your facts. You can always cut out excess information when you start writing, reviewing, and editing the article.
- Create an outline to guide your writing. Many students want to learn how to write a newspaper article example so that they have a template they can keep referring to as they write more pieces. This is a great idea but it is much easier to find a few stories of similar style and length and then to build a good outline following the professionals.
- Writing Your News Article
- There are six parts to any news article which we have already mentioned. Leave the header, sub-header, and byline until the end. Start with the lead. This is the opening paragraph that provides all of the important details the reader must know to understand the rest of the article.
- After listing all of the most important factual information in the opening paragraph, follow up with additional content in the article’s body. There is no set amount of sentences or the number of paragraphs for the article. This will be determined by the specified word count which will vary from assignment to assignment. Try to keep your paragraphs short for improved readability.
- Finally, conclude your article with a strong sticking point that rewards the reader for sticking with you to the end. You can close by restating the opening statement or by giving some idea about anticipated future developments. You can also give the reader information for a call to action (e.g., a phone number or an address) he or she may be interested in knowing about.
- Proofing Your News Article
- The reviewing, editing, and proofreading exercises for a newspaper article are the same as for any other writing assignment. Try doing each of these exercises separately, giving yourself plenty of time in between to ensure that you always approach the writing with renewed vigor and a fresh perspective. If you use a newspaper article generator, make sure you double-check grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Even the most sophisticated electronic programs can make some costly mistakes that could keep your piece from being published.
How to Write a Newspaper Article about an Event
Many students get started learning how to write a newspaper article based on an event. This could be something planned for the school or the community. Students can report on the event before it occurs or can report on the event after it takes place. In both cases, the above 3-step process can be used to cover all the important details that a reader would like to know about. Time-management is very important since the event in question will occur at a specific date and time, so students must be fully prepared.
How to Make a Newspaper Article in a Short Timeline
What we mean by a short timeline is having to write a news story within a couple of days. This is the situation most journalists find themselves in. They are often given a story to research and report on and are required to submit a polished article to be published online or in print while the story is still fresh. You can follow the same 3-step process discussed above which should come naturally with plenty of dedicated practice.
How to Write a News Article Overnight
If you need to learn how to write an article for a newspaper overnight (which is common situation journalists face when there is breaking news), you follow the same steps we’ve covered above but cut some corners to get the article to the publisher early in the morning. Generally, you can combine the reviewing, editing, and proofreading exercises or you can minimize the time you spend in between each of these to just a few minutes.
How to Get a Newspaper to Write an Article about You
The fastest and easiest way to get a newspaper to write a story about you is to be involved in an important event or a situation that generates plenty of interest locally or nationally. Several local newspapers do human interest stories as well. You simply need to have a good story to tell. Perhaps you can discuss your involvement with the community or you can explain a unique story that inspires others. Most of the time newspapers will come to you, but you can also submit your ideas for an interview.
If you need more assistance on writing a persuasive news article or any other type of writing, our academic experts are ready to help. We can show you how to write a newspaper article template or an outline. We can review, edit, and write an article on any piece of news you have. Just email, call or chat with one of our friendly customer support staff members and he or she will connect you with a writing expert.