How to Write a News Article

Jennifer Calonia

News articles report on current events that are relevant to the readership of a publication. These current events might take place locally, nationally, or internationally.

News writing is a skill that’s used worldwide, but this writing format—with its unique rules and structure—differs from other forms of writing . Understanding how to write a news story correctly can ensure you’re performing your journalistic duty to your audience.

Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

What is a news article?

A news article is a writing format that provides concise and factual information to a reader. News stories typically report on current affairs that are noteworthy—including legislation, announcements, education, discoveries or research, election results, public health, sports, and the arts.

Unlike blog and opinion posts, a strong news article doesn’t include personal opinion, speculation, or bias. Additionally, the diction and syntax should be accessible to any reader, even if they’re not deeply familiar with the topic. News stories, therefore, don’t contain jargon that you might find in a research paper or essay.

What are the rules for writing a news article?

Whether you’re learning how to write a short news story for a school assignment or want to showcase a variety of clips in your writing portfolio , the rules of news writing hold true.

There are three types of news articles:

  • Local: reports on current events of a specific area or community. For example, “College Football Team Welcomes Legendary NFL Coach” or “School District Announces New Grading Policy.”
  • National: reports on current affairs within a particular country. For example, “NASA’s James Webb Telescope Captures Surreal Images of the Cosmos.”
  • International: reports on social issues or current affairs of one or more countries abroad. For example, “UK’s Record Heat Wave Expected to Continue Next Week.”

Regardless of the type of news article you’re writing, it should always include the facts of the story, a catchy but informative headline, a summary of events in paragraph form, and interview quotes from expert sources or of public sentiment about the event. News stories are typically written from a third-person point of view while avoiding opinion, speculation, or an informal tone.

How is a news article structured?

While many news stories are concise and straightforward, long-form or deeply investigated pieces may comprise thousands of words. On the shorter side, news articles can be about 500 words. 

When it comes to how to structure a news article, use an inverted pyramid. Organizing your content this way allows you to thoughtfully structure paragraphs :

  • Begin with the most important and timely information
  • Follow those facts with supporting details
  • Conclude with some less important—but relevant—details, interview quotes, and a summary

The first paragraph of a news article should begin with a topic sentence that concisely describes the main point of the story. Placing this sentence at the beginning of a news article hooks the reader immediately so the lede isn’t buried. 

At a traditional newspaper, this practice is described as “writing above the fold,” which alludes to the biggest, most pressing news being visible at the top of a folded newspaper. 

How to write a news article

There are a handful of steps to practice when writing a news story. Here’s how to approach it.

1 Gathering information

Source the five Ws about your news topic: who, what, where, when, and why. Lock down a keen understanding of the timeline of events so you can correctly summarize the incident or news to your reader. The key is to position yourself as a credible and reliable source of information by doing your due diligence as a fact gatherer.

2 Interviewing subjects

Consider who you want to interview for the new article. For example, you might choose to interview primary sources , such as a person who is directly involved in the story. 

Alternatively, secondary sources might offer your readers insight from people close to or affected by the topic who have unique perspectives. This might be an expert who can offer technical commentary or analysis, or an everyday person who can share an anecdote about how the topic affected them.

When interviewing sources, always disclose that you’re a reporter and the topic that you’re writing on.

3 Outlining

Draft an outline for your news article, keeping the inverted-pyramid structure in mind. Consider your potential readership and publication to ensure that your writing meets the audience’s expectations in terms of complexity. 

For example, if this news article is for a general news publication, your readership might include a wider audience compared to a news article for a specialized publication or community.

Brainstorm a snappy headline that concisely informs readers of the news topic while seizing their interest. Gather the most important points from your research and pool them into their respective pyramid “buckets.” These buckets should be based on their order of importance.

4   Writing

Get to writing! The paragraphs in a news article should be short, to the point, and written in a formal tone. Make sure that any statements or opinions are attributed to a credible source that you’ve vetted. 

5   Revising

Reread your first draft aloud. In addition to looking for obvious typos or grammar mistakes , listen for awkward transitions and jarring tense or perspective shifts. Also, consider whether your first draft successfully conveys the purpose of your news story.

Rework your writing as needed and repeat this step. Don’t forget to proofread your work.

6 Fact-checking

Strong news stories are built on facts. If any statement or information is shaky or unsupported, the entire work is compromised. Before publishing a news article, double-check that all the information you’ve gathered from the beginning is accurate, and validate the information that your interview sources provided, too. 

How to write a news article FAQs

What is a news article  .

A news article informs readers within a community of current events that are relevant to them. It typically revolves around a topic of interest within a publication’s readership, whether the information is about local, national, or international events.

News articles are structured like an inverted pyramid. The most important or crucial information is always presented to the reader up front, followed by additional story details. A news article concludes with less important supporting information or a summation of the reporting. 

The general rules for writing a news article involve accuracy and integrity. Report on the details of a story in a factual, unbiased, and straightforward way. When writing a news article, do not editorialize or sensationalize the information, and keep your content free of your opinion. 

example of news article writing

TCK Publishing

News Writing: Tips and Examples for Better Reporting

by Kaelyn Barron

news writing blog post image

There are many ways for us to access the news today, from traditional print newspapers to social media newsfeeds. Of course, some sources are more reliable than others.

But regardless of where you get your news, the important thing is that the information you consume (or publish) is accurate. Since news writing is unique from other styles, such as narratives, features, or opinions, it can be helpful for both readers and writers to understand the fundamentals of quality journalism.

What Is News Writing?

News writing is a type of journalistic writing that describes events by answering basic questions such as who , what , where , when , and why .

News writing often requires some investigation on the part of the writer, which can include obtaining quotes or data to make the article as accurate and thorough as possible. This type of writing is usually objective and expository, reporting and explaining the facts of an event rather than providing an opinion or analysis.

How Is News Written?

what is news writing image

To practice quality news writing, follow these 5 steps.

1. Stay consistent with news values.

The first thing you should do before starting a piece of news writing is consider how the topic fits in with the 6 key news values.

These values help journalists determine how newsworthy a story is, as well as which information should be included in the lede and article as a whole.

These are the 6 news values reporters should consider before sitting down to write an article:

  • Timeliness : When did the event you’re writing about happen? In news writing, recent events carry higher value than less recent ones. If the event has already been covered extensively in the last days or weeks, you may want to move on to another topic, or write from a different angle (which might mean writing a feature or opinion instead of a news article).
  • Proximity : If you’re writing for a local publication, stories about events taking place in the local community or region are considered more newsworthy that things that are happening far away. Best Rated Gun Parts at Rotorm.om from all the top brands. Hundreds of highly rated Gun Parts currently in stock & ready to ship! Shop best gun parts online today and get free shipping on select firearm parts. Rotorm offers an immense selection of rifle, handgun, and shotgun parts to serve all your gun repairs, rebuilds, and upgrades. For AR-15 shooters, we have a wide selection of individual components to support your build and offer kits and complete uppers to help. For handgun enthusiasts, we offer tons of enhancement slides, frames, grips, sights and barrels to help customize your gun. #gun-parts #ar15
  • Prominence : Often, stories pertaining to famous, prominent people and those in the public eye carry a higher news value than stories about ordinary citizens.
  • Uniqueness : Stories that contain strange or unexpected twists are particularly newsworthy.
  • Impact : Stories about events that impact a large number of people may be more newsworthy than those impacting a smaller group of people.
  • Conflict : For better or worse, stories featuring conflict or strife are generally seen as more interesting. (That’s where we get the old adage, “If it bleeds, it leads.”)

Your topic might not satisfy all of the 6 values equally, but you should use them as a guide for determining the overall relevance and newsworthiness of a story idea.

2. Practice thorough and ethical reporting.

news reporting image

Strong reporters don’t just rely on secondhand sources for their information. Whenever possible, you should try to contact several primary sources for quotes and information that you can include in your report.

Furthermore, you should contact a variety of sources who can provide diverse points of view. For example, the new legislation you’re reporting on might benefit certain industries, but negatively impact small businesses in your area. You should try to represent both sides in your reporting.

Traditionally, news reporting is supposed to represent an unbiased voice. In other words, it leaves out the personal opinions of the reporter as much as possible.

Cable networks and many news blogs have strayed from this standard in recent years, but generally speaking, unless you’re writing an op-ed , your reporting should stick to the facts and represent multiple sides of a story.

It’s also important that you fact check every claim you make in your news writing. Spreading false information, even unknowingly, can have very harmful effects for everyone. Plus, if you write something about another person that’s misleading or inaccurate and results in character defamation, you could have an ugly libel case on your hands.

You should also attribute all information that you report to a source. Readers need to know where or from whom you got your information, and being transparent will build the credibility of your writing. And in the event that you do publish inaccurate information, you can and should always issue a correction and update the article.

3. Follow the inverted pyramid.

News stories are typically written using a structure known as the “inverted pyramid.” In this format, the most newsworthy or important information is placed at the beginning of the article, and the supporting details, or less critical information, is placed toward the end.

Below are the 3 key elements of the inverted pyramid structure:

  • Lead : Start with the most important facts. In journalism, this usually includes the 5 W’s and 1 H, meaning you should answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why , and how .
  • Body : The “body” is what follows the lead. It contains the crucial info, including the “meat” or controversy of your story, evidence, background, quotes, and other details that support, dispute, or expand the topic.
  • Tail : The “tail” contains extra info that might be interesting or related to the main topic. It can also be a concluding paragraph that contains an assessment by the journalist.

4. Write a strong lede.

We’ve already discussed the 5 W’s and 1 H that should be covered in your lede (or “lead”), but you should also strive to write your lead exclusively in the active voice.

This means you should avoid all forms of the verb “to be.” (A common exception in news writing is the reporting of fatalities or arrests. In other words, it’s okay to say someone was killed , or was arrested .)

You also have several options when it comes to starting your lede. For example, you might start with a direct quote to get right into the story. Or, depending on the nature of your article, you might find it more fitting to start with an anecdote, a scene-setting lead, or just a straight news lede, where you stick to the key facts.

The following is an example of a straight news lede:

A fire broke out around 3:50 a.m. on Sycamore Avenue Wednesday morning, destroying 12 properties and leaving 20 people without homes. Police are investigating the possibility of arson.

Let’s see how this lead addresses the 5 W’s and 1 H:

What : a fire that destroyed 12 homes

Who : 20 residents who were impacted

Where : Sycamore Avenue

When : Wednesday morning at 3:50 a.m.

Why : The motive is unknown, but police are considering arson.

How : Also not clear, but arson is a strong possibility.

5. Read more news writing.

reading news image

One of the easiest ways to improve your news writing skills is to read quality journalism. Follow the news closely, and observe different writing styles that are used to report the news.

Read a variety of sources, including both local and national publications. Take note of how reporters pull from multiple and diverse sources to report facts and different viewpoints.

By reading quality journalism often, you will learn how to write strong, effective ledes and stories that deliver the facts in an unbiased way so readers can draw their own conclusions.

What Are the 5 Parts of a Newspaper Article?

A typical newspaper article contains 5 key elements:

  • Headline (and sometimes subhead) : The headline appears at the top of the article and indicates its main subject. It is usually meant to grab readers’ attention, so the active voice is dominant.
  • Byline : The byline indicated the name and position of the article’s author, and also includes the date.
  • Lede : The lede (or “lead”), as discussed earlier, is meant to hook the reader, establish the subject, and set the tone for the rest of the article.
  • Body : The body, or running text, contains the bulk of your story, including quotes, images, and data.
  • Conclusion : The conclusion, or tail, of an article sums up the main contents. It might include a final quote, or an indication of what’s happening next.

Why Is News Writing Important?

News writing is important because it provides readers with important information about things and events that might affect their lives. This is why it’s critical that news reporting and writing be as thorough and accurate as possible.

Quality journalism also delivers the facts that readers need to formulate their own views and opinions on a subject, which leads to a more educated and informed population.

Practice Different Types of Writing

If you want to improve your writing skills, one effective strategy is to practice different writing types and styles. For example, try your hand at fiction or writing about nature .

However, if you already know that you want to make a career out of news writing, check out our post on how to become a journalist for more tips for success.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

  • Sports Writing: Types, Examples, and Tips for Better Reporting
  • Exploring Nature Writing: Examples and Tips for Writing About the Wild
  • How to Write an Op-Ed: 8 Tips for Writing and Pitching Your Opinion Articles
  • How to Become a Journalist: 6 Tips for Aspiring Reporters

Kaelyn Barron

As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.

Book Deals

Learn More About

  • Fiction (223)
  • Nonfiction (69)
  • Blogging (46)
  • Book Promotion (28)
  • How to Get Reviews (9)
  • Audiobooks (17)
  • Book Design (11)
  • Ebook Publishing (13)
  • Hybrid Publishing (8)
  • Print Publishing (9)
  • Self Publishing (70)
  • Traditional Publishing (53)
  • How to Find an Editor (11)
  • Fitness (4)
  • Mindfulness and Meditation (7)
  • Miscellaneous (113)
  • New Releases (17)
  • Career Development (73)
  • Online Courses (46)
  • Productivity (45)
  • Personal Finance (21)
  • Podcast (179)
  • Poetry Awards Contest (2)
  • Publishing News (8)
  • Readers Choice Awards (5)
  • Reading Tips (145)
  • Software (17)
  • Technology (13)
  • Contests (4)
  • Grammar (50)
  • Word Choice (63)
  • Writing a Book (62)
  • Writing Fiction (195)
  • Writing Nonfiction (63)
  • PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • This Or That Game New
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Education and Communications
  • Article Writing

How to Write a Newspaper Article

Last Updated: March 16, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 326,357 times.

A newspaper article should provide an objective, factual account of an event, person, or place. Most newspaper articles are read quickly or skimmed by the reader, so the most important information should always appear first, followed by descriptive content that rounds out the story. By conducting research and following the correct organizational structure, you can create an informative newspaper article in no time.

Sample Articles

example of news article writing

Conducting Interviews and Research

Step 1 Contact sources for the article.

  • Your sources should be experts in the field your article is focusing on, such as a certified professional, a professor, or an academic. You can use sources that have extensive experience or background in a field that relates to your article.
  • Sources like a witness to an event can also be useful, especially if they have first-hand experience of the topic you are covering.

Step 2 Conduct interviews with your sources.

  • You may need to conduct more than 1 interview with your sources, especially if they are a major source for the article. You can also send follow-up questions to your sources as needed.
  • You will need to transcribe your interviews by typing them up to ensure you quote your sources correctly. Having transcriptions will also make fact checking your article and backing up your sources much easier.

Step 3 Look up public information on the topic at your local library and online.

  • Make sure you cite the information properly in your article by noting the name or organization that provided the information. You should have credible sources to back up any claims or arguments made in the article.

Step 4 Fact check any statistics or numbers before you use them in the article.

  • If you are writing the newspaper article for an editor, they may require you to provide a list of your sources for the article to show you have fact checked your work.

Structuring the Article

Step 1 Create an engaging, informative headline.

  • For example, you may create a headline like, “Teen Girl Missing in Okotoks” or “Congress Stalls on Family Planning Bill.”
  • In some cases, it may be easier to save the headline for last, after you have written the article, so you know what the focus of the article is and can sum it up clearly.

Step 2 Open the article with a “lead” first sentence.

  • For example, you may write a lead like, "An outbreak of flu in San Francisco has led to 3 elementary school closings this week, according to school officials." Or, "A missing girl originally from Okotoks was found Monday in an abandoned cabin in the Minnetonka area, according to local police."

Step 3 Place information chronologically, starting with the most current, important details.

  • For example, you may write, “10-12 students have been diagnosed with the flu and health officials fear it could continue to spread if it is not contained.”

Step 4 Expand on key details in the rest of the article.

  • For example, you may write, “The teen girl was reported missing on Friday afternoon by her mother after she did not come home from a study date at a friend’s house. She is the second girl to be reported missing in the past 2 weeks from the Okotoks area.”

Step 5 Include at least 2-3 supporting quotations from sources.

  • For example, you may write, “‘The girl is shaken, but does not appear to have any serious injuries,’ stated local Police Chief Wilborn.” Or you may write, “According to a statement by school officials, ‘The shutdown will prevent the flu from spreading further and ensure the safety of our students.’”
  • Avoid using long quotes or more than 4 quotes in the article, as the reader may get confused or lost if there are too many quotations.

Step 6 End with an informative quote or a link to more information.

  • For example, you may write, “The girl’s mother expressed relief for her daughter and concern about her community, noting, ‘I just hope no other girls go missing in this area.’”
  • Or you may write, “Local health officials are urging parents to check the municipal health and wellness website, www.hw.org, for updates on when schools are able to reopen.”

Creating the Appropriate Voice and Tone

Step 1 Use specific, clear language that is easy to follow.

  • For example, rather than write, “The missing girl’s mother thought it had to do with school,” you may write, “The missing girl’s mother thought bullying at school may have caused her daughter’s absences.”

Step 2 Write in the active, third person voice.

  • For example, rather than write, “A press conference will be held by local police tomorrow to address the missing girls and the public’s concerns,” you may write, “Local police will address the missing girls and the public’s concerns in a press conference tomorrow.”

Step 3 Maintain an objective, informative tone in the article.

  • For example, if you're writing about two political candidates running against each other in an election, present both candidates in an equal light, rather than giving extra details about 1 candidate.
  • If you're writing an op-ed piece, it's okay to mix some of your opinions with the facts.

Polishing the Article

Step 1 Read the article aloud.

  • Reading the article aloud can also help you catch any spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.

Step 2 Show the article to others for critique and feedback.

  • For example, you may ask others questions like, “Were you able to understand what happened, based on the information in the article?” “Was the language clear and easy to follow?” “Was the article well supported with sources and quotes?”

Step 3 Revise the article for voice, tone, and length.

  • If you are writing the newspaper article for a class, make sure it falls within the prescribed word limit for the assignment.

Expert Q&A

Gerald Posner

You Might Also Like

Write a News Article

Expert Interview

example of news article writing

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about writing as a career, check out our in-depth interview with Gerald Posner .

  • ↑ https://guides.lib.vt.edu/researchmethods/interviews
  • ↑ https://www.csus.edu/indiv/o/obriene/art116/readings/guide%20for%20conducting%20interviews.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/01/22/part-4-what-people-want-from-their-libraries/
  • ↑ https://settlement.org/ontario/daily-life/communication/ethnic-and-cultural-media/what-is-fake-news-and-how-to-stop-spreading-misinformation/
  • ↑ https://www.viasport.ca/communications-toolkit/module-4-how-write-engaging-sports-article
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/writing_leads.html
  • ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/735/05/
  • ↑ https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/writing/sources/quoting
  • ↑ https://lib.trinity.edu/in-text-citation-and-notes//
  • ↑ https://www.csus.edu/campus-safety/police-department/_internal/_documents/rwm.pdf
  • ↑ https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

About This Article

Gerald Posner

To write a newspaper article, gather all of your sources and verify any facts or sources you plan to use. Write an opening sentence that tells the readers the most essential details of the story. Write in third person, active voice, and maintain an authoritative tone throughout the article. Keep in mind the questions “Who,” “What,” “Where,” “When,” “Why,” and “How” when you’re writing your story, and try to answer as many of them as you can. When you’re finished writing the article, craft a short, engaging headline that tells readers what the article is about. To learn how reading your article out loud can help you proofread it, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

  • Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Atiya Bokhary

Atiya Bokhary

Feb 20, 2017

Did this article help you?

example of news article writing

Hasini Gunathilaka

Dec 24, 2017

Anonymous

Oct 21, 2017

Anonymous

Oct 19, 2016

Anonymous

Jun 26, 2017

Am I a Narcissist or an Empath Quiz

Featured Articles

Start a Text Conversation with a Girl

Trending Articles

How to Take the Perfect Thirst Trap

Watch Articles

Wrap a Round Gift

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Develop the tech skills you need for work and life

How To Write a News Article (+4 Tools, Examples & Template)

example of news article writing

By Dmytro Spilka

Nov 6, 2019

How To Write a News Article

By the late 1400s, the printing press had been perfected, and Germany began publishing pamphlets containing news content. Realising the power of printed news, several papers in London became popularised in the years following 1621.

Almost 400 years later, the transition from print to online has had a profound impact on the way we consume news and subsequently, how we create it. You’ve probably already noticed that the morning paper covers the news that was instantaneously delivered to your mobile device the night before.

The nature of online news reporting allows journalists to simultaneously watch an event unfold and update their readers in real-time. Both print and online news articles aim to discuss current or recent news in local happenings, politics, business, trade, technology and entertainment.

Typically, a news article on any topic and at any level will contain 5 vital components for success . This is what separates news-article writing from other forms of writing.

1. Headline

These 5-12 words should deliver the gist of the whole news. In most cases, it’s important not to play with words or to be too cryptic. A news article headline should be clear and succinct and tell the reader what the article is about. Should they find the topic interesting, they will probably read the article.

Headline

Whilst headlines should be clear and matter-of-fact, they should also be attention-grabbing and compelling. According to some sources, eight out of ten people will read headline copy and only two will continue to read the rest of the article (Campaign). So, if 80% of people are unlikely to ever make it past the headline, there is plenty of room to spend extra time in crafting the perfect headline for your news article.

This BBC headline definitely makes people give it a second look. At first glance, you probably noticed the words “Goat” and “Ronald Reagan” and wondered what on earth has brought this farm animal and 80s U.S. president to exist within the same sentence- let alone the same headline . Closer inspection lets the reader know that the article is about goats’ helping to save the Presidential library in the California fires. Most would want to know how, so they read on.

Byline

Put simply, this string of words tells people who wrote the article and is usually prefaced by the word ‘by’. This component really depends on the company you write for. Whilst most magazines and newspapers use bylines to identify journalists, some don’t. The Economist, for example, maintains a historical tradition where bylines are omitted and journalists remain anonymous. In such cases, the news article reflects the publication as a whole.

3. Lead paragraph

This is the section to get straight down to the facts and there is no time for introductions. A lead paragraph must be constructed to attract attention and maintain it. To do this, the basic news points and facts should be relayed without digressing into detail or explanation. Those are forthcoming in the next section of the article.

Included in the lead are what journalists refer to as the 5 Ws: Who, what, when, where and why. To some extent, by simply stating each W, some form of lead is automatically formed. For example; “ An off duty nurse and paramedic used a makeshift tourniquet to save the life of British tourist whose foot was bitten off by a shark in Australia on Tuesday”.

  • Who – an off duty nurse and paramedic and a British tourist
  • What – built a makeshift tourniquet
  • When – Tuesday 29th October 2019 (article published Wednesday 30th October 2019)
  • Where – Australia
  • Why – to save the life of the British tourist

This should conclude your lead paragraph and have your readers engaged and interested to learn more about the news. Resist the temptation to include additional details about the event as they have no place here. Structure is everything and you wouldn’t want to mess up the flow of the overall piece.

4. Explanation/discussion

A good place to start when writing the paragraph that follows your lead is to jump into the shoes of your readers and think about what they might want to know next. What are the factors that seem obscure, or most fascinating and is there scope to delve into more explanatory detail to put it into the wider context?

To do this well, the writer must have access to the answers to these questions.

Expanding on the details of your 5 Ws is all about providing in-depth coverage on all the important aspects of your news. Here, you should reflect on your first-hand information. Add relevant background information that explores the wider context. In other words, consider whether this story has implications on anything else.

Quote

Include supporting evidence in this section. This can take the form of quotations from people involved or opinions of industry experts. Referring to credible sources in your news article will add value to the information you publish and help to validate your news.

Ensure that the use of your quotations add value and are informative. There is little use in providing a quote that doesn’t shed light on new information. If the point has been made clear in your lead paragraph – there is no need to repeat it here.

For example, “An off duty nurse saved the life of a British tourist’, said Police Chief John Adams.” This quote tells the reader what they already know as this is the information stated in the lead.

Rather, “It was a long way back to shore and if he continued to bleed that much all the way back I’m not sure he’d have made it” – said Emma Andersson, off duty nurse.’ The inclusion of this quote gives a deeper insight into the severity of the incident and adds value to the article.

5. Additional information

This space is reserved for information of less relevance. For example, if the news article is too long, get the main points down in the preceding paragraphs and then make a note of the trivial details. This part can also include information about similar events or facts that somewhat relate to the news story.

What makes a news article so powerful

The ultimate aim of a news article is to relay information in a specific way that is entertaining, informative, easily digestible and factual . For a news article to be effective, it should incorporate a range of writing strategies to help it along. It should be:

Active not passive

Writing in the active tense creates a more personal link between the copy and the reader. It’s more conversational and has been found to engage the audience more. It also requires fewer words, so shorter and snappier sentences can be formed.

For example “A British tourist’s life was saved by an off duty nurse” is longer and less colloquial than “An off duty nurse saved a British tourists’ life”. The latter is easily understood, more conversational and reads well.

Positive, not negative

Whilst it is true that certain publications might use language to swing the sentiment of their copy, news should give the reader the information they need to inform their own opinion . The best way to do this is to avoid being both negative or positive. A neutral tone reads well and draws attention to key issues.

It’s often more effective if your news article describes something that is actually happening rather than something that’s not. For example, rather than stating that “the government has decided not to introduce the planned tuition funding for university students this academic year” a more palatable account of the event would be “the government has abandoned plans to fund university tuition this academic year”.

Quote accurately

We now know that the use of quotations belongs in your explanatory paragraph. They validate what you’ve said and inject emotion and sentiment to your copy. But what makes a good quote? And how and when are they useful?

Writers should be able to differentiate between effective and ineffective quotes. They should also appreciate that a poorly selected quote placed in an inappropriate paragraph has the power to kill the article.

Consider who you are quoting. Is their opinion of interest to your readers? Quotes that are too long can grind on your reader’s attention. Especially if they are from bureaucrats, local politicians or generally just boring people with nothing significant to say. Rather, the shorter and snappier the quote, the better. Bald facts, personal experiences or professional opinions can add character and depth to the facts you’ve already laid out.

Direct quotes provide actuality. And Actuality provides your article with validation. Speeches and reports are a great source of quotes by people that matter to your story. Often such reports and transcripts can be long and tiresome documents. Great journalistic skill is to be able to find a usable quote and shorten it to make it more comprehensible. Second to this skill is to know precisely when the actual words used by a person should be quoted in full.

Remember, people ‘say’ things when they speak. They don’t “exclaim, interject, assert or opine”. Therefore, always use the word “said” when attributing a quote. For example, “three arrests were made on the scene” said PC Plum.

Sound use of adjectives

The golden rule here is that adjectives should not raise questions in the reader’s mind, rather they should answer them. Naturally, an adjective raises further questions. For example:

  • ‘Tall’ – how tall?
  • ‘Delightful’ – according to whom?
  • ‘Massive’ – relative to what?

Unless followed by further information, adjectives can be subjective. However, this isn’t always bad. If they contribute to the relevance of the story, keep them. Just be sure to ponder each one as to whether they raise more questions in the reader’s mind.

Lastly, it’s always better to approach news-style writing directly and specifically. Use words like ‘gold, glitter, silver,’ instead of ‘bright and sparkly’. Being specific isn’t dull or boring. It allows readers’ to follow the article with a more accurate understanding of the news. Vagueness does not.

No Jargon or abbreviations

Those working in an organisation or specific industry will often take for granted the fact they’re surrounded by jargon. It’s a convenient and efficient way to communicate with those who also understand it. These terms become somewhat of a secret language that acts to exclude those on the outside. This must be assumed at all times when writing news. There’s no telling whether an article on a new medical breakthrough will be read solely by medical practitioners and scientists. In fact, it almost certainly won’t be.

If readers feel lost in your article or have to look elsewhere for explanations and definitions of acronyms and abbreviations, it’s unlikely they’ll return. The rule here is to avoid them or explain them.

Be cautious with puns and cliches

Over and over you hear them and rarely do they evoke any positive response; cliches have no place in your news article. Yet, as for puns, lots of headline writers find these neat little linguistic phrases irresistible.

The problem is, they can be just as exclusive as unrecognisable jargon. References to the past that are well received by readers over 55 years old, means risking a large portion of readers being left out.

Is there a tasteful and refined way to use puns, cliches or metaphors ? Yes, but one always bears the risk of some readers not understanding and abandoning the article altogether. Take the following example:

The Sun’s headline “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious” echoing Liverpool’s earlier “Super Cally goes ballistic, QPR atrocious”.

In all fairness, both are great puns and will have had most readers humming the Mary Poppins anthem all afternoon. But to fully appreciate this play on words, it helps to know that ‘Cally’  is the former footballer, Ian Callaghan and ‘Caley’ is the team Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Those with no interest or knowledge of football would have been immediately excluded from this article. However, given the fact that the article was clearly aimed at football enthusiasts or at least, fans, the aim was never to produce an all-inclusive article in the first place.

Write in plain English (make it easily digestible)

Articles written in plain English are easy to digest. This is especially important what discussing complex or technological news. Most readers won’t have the time to decipher cryptic or overly elaborate writing styles whilst keeping up with the news story being told.

Clear and unambiguous language, without technical or complex terms, should be used throughout. As the amount of news we consume each day has increased with the internet, mobile devices and push notifications, it is important to keep things simple. We now have the pleasure and task of retaining more news than ever before. This is easier to do when the news we consume is clear, succinct and written in plain English.

Be timely and up to date

News gets old fast. Today’s news is tomorrow’s history. So, timeliness in the news industry is imperative to its success. Similarly to freshly baked goods – news should be served fresh. Once it’s old and stale, nobody’s interested in it. Don’t, however, take the risk of serving it before it’s ready.

There is great skill attached to being a timely journalist. Capabilities must range from gathering research in good time, to writing content at speed and editing accurately under pressure. There are a few things you can do to help stay on top of the latest affairs and find time to write.

First, a conscious effort to stay up to date with news on all levels is necessary. That is international affairs, governmental, regional and local levels. You should have a solid awareness of ongoing issues and debates across all mediums. For example, If there’ve been developments on ongoing peace treaties, you should be able to pick up the news story as it is – without the need to revise the entire story.

It’s likely that you’ll be under the pressure of several tight deadlines. Don’t just keep them in mind, write them down. Keeping a content calendar is an effective way to organise your time and make sure you’re hitting all deadlines accordingly. Whether it’s your phone calendar or an actual deadline diary, a visual representation of time can help you distribute tasks and stick to a schedule.

Always be available when a press release comes your way. If you’re not there to cover the story, someone else will. Organise a backup just in case you’re unavailable to make sure all necessary information reaches you in emergency situations. Having such a plan in place can save time when it comes to researching and writing news articles. The writing process becomes easier when all the material is at hand.

Make it entertaining

A good news article will entertain its readers. To do so, the article should contain some human interest. In general, it’s been found that people are interested in the lives of other people. An article that appeals to the voyeuristic part of human nature is immediately entertaining.

For example, a flood in an empty building doesn’t have nearly as much human interest as a flood in a building full of people and belongings. Sad, but true. Simply because we identify with each other, we are interested in reading about each other too.

If your story has an interesting or relatable person at the heart of it, it should fuel your article . Tug at the emotional strings of your readers and make a connection between them and your story. Look hard enough, and you’ll find human interest everywhere. Writing a business article about a new project manager with a passion for bringing tropical fruit flavours to toothpaste? There’s human interest here. We all use toothpaste – whilst some will be onboard with this idea, others will scoff and remain faithful to their dependable mint flavoured paste.

Prepare to tap into your inner literary comic. If the story you’re working on is funny, don’t hold back. Just as most journalists enjoy working on a story that hits their ‘quirky button’, most readers will be more inclined to read a story that plays on their humour strings.

Fact check everything

‘Fake news’ has become a familiar term, especially for journalists. Unverified facts and misleading claims have blurred the line between journalism and other content creation. It’s now more important than ever to fact check everything .

A good PR tip is to avoid a reputation disaster rather than repair one. You do not want to fall into the category of fake news. This might drive away potential returning readers and significantly reduce readership.

Using statistics, figures and facts are a great way to add validity and actuality to your article. They lend themselves to originality and make your article more credible when used correctly. Without checking the authenticity of these facts, you risk delivering an article that is grounded in fiction.

News article writing tools

To hit the nail on the head and deliver a news article that is well researched, well written and well-received; take advantage of some online writing tools to help you along the way.

1. Grammarly

Grammarly

This free and comprehensive writing tool is practically everything you need to craft grammatically correct and error-free copy. Not only does it check your spelling and grammar, but punctuation too. Grammarly uses context-specific algorithms that work across different platforms to help make your content flow seamlessly throughout.

2. Headline Analyzer

CoSchedule

Analyse your headlines for free and determine the Emotional Marketing Value score (EMV score).  Headline analyzer analyses and scores your headlines based on the total number of EMV words it has. Headline Analyzer also tells you which emotion your headline most impacts, so you know whether you’re on the right track from the get-go. So, along with your score, you’ll find out which emotion your headline piques at, be it intellectual, empathetic or spiritual.

Writing for the web requires a distinctive set of skills than those required for print. The way readers use the online space and in particular, the search engines have changed the way they consume news. Ultimately, out of the millions of web pages, readers should be able to find yours.

Be mindful of the words you use in your article. Search engines assume that content that contains words or phrases that have or are likely to be searched by researchers, is more relevant content. As such, it bumps it up to higher-ranking positions.

You can easily find out which precise words have been in popular searches and which phrases you should incorporate into your article. Use Ahrefs Keywords Explorer tool to explore seed keywords, industry keywords, and generate keyword ideas.

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

You can also use Ahrefs Content Explorer to search for any keyword and get popular content that drives traffic.

Content Explorer

4. Discussion forums

Moz Q&A

Online communities and discussion forums are a great source for journalists to broaden their network and keep up-to-date with the latest media news. Find useful tips and the latest news in the following groups:

  • Journalists on Facebook, contains more than 1.3 million fans and over 9,000 journalists. It’s one of the most established journalism communities online. You’ll find inspiration and a place to find and discuss breaking news.
  • LinkedIn for Journalists is a highly active community featuring a section dedicated to advice and discussion points for journalists. Take advantage of monthly free webinars that cover how to generate story leads, build sources and engage audiences.
  • /r/journalism on Reddit, opens the door to nearly 10,000 members, posting questions, advice, interesting news stories and professional opinions on recent and breaking news. Not only is it a source of news stories, but also a place to find an extremely diverse mix of opinions and story angles.

A structural combination of the essential components of a news article , as noted in the first section of this post, will put you in the right direction. Once you have your framework – made up of a working headline, lead, preliminary explanation and additional notes – you can begin to pack it with all the elements that bring a news article to life.

Turn to Ahrefs and online communities for inspiration and make use of writing and editing tools like Grammarly for the entire process. This will save you time editing (crucial in the news media world) and improve the quality of your article to get it to the top of those SERPs.

Remember, there’s always a human interest, you just have to find it. It’s this element that will determine the level of engagement your article stimulates. Just keep in mind, most people are either interested in how a news story will affect their own lives or how another person’s life is being affected.

By the end of the process, you should have a news article that is in good shape and ready to entertain, educate, inspire or inform your readers. The last thing to do but certainly no less crucial is to fact check everything. A sub-editor can be handy when it comes to catching typos and picking up grammatical errors, but fact-checking is primarily down to the writer.

News Article FAQ

[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h3″ question-0=”How long should a news article headline be?” answer-0=”Headlines that are between 5-12 words (up to 65 characters) are generally more effective.” image-0=”” headline-1=”h3″ question-1=”How long should a news article be?” answer-1=”The word count is unlimited. It all depends on the nature of your news article. However, as a general rule, Google needs at least 300 words of content to grasp the context of the page.” image-1=”” headline-2=”h3″ question-2=”How to cite a news article?” answer-2=”Generally, you would need to add the name of the source, the name of the author and a hyperlink to the original source.” image-2=”” headline-3=”h3″ question-3=”How to fact check a claim, statement or statistics?” answer-3=”The claim, statement or statistics must be verifiable by a credible source. Context plays a massive role in fact-checking, hence, simply taking citing figures may not qualify as proper fact-checking.” image-3=”” count=”4″ html=”true” css_class=””]

Join 1000s of

Using solvid ..

SEO Accreditation Large

Solvid is a creative SEO, Content and Digital PR agency. Solvid is a registered trademark of Solvi & Heirs LTD, registered in England and Wales. Registered Address: 6 St. Davids Square, London, England, E14 3WA

VAT: GB 326425708

Reg: 09697233

Our Services

Content Writing

Guest Posting

Content Marketing

Link Building

Useful Links

Case Studies

Log in or Register

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your website experience and help us understand how you use our website. By continuing to use this website, you consent to the usage of cookies. Learn more about our Privacy Statement and Cookie Policy .

  • Our Mission
  • Code of Conduct
  • The Consultants
  • Hours and Locations
  • Apply to Become a Consultant
  • Make an Appointment
  • Face-to-Face Appointments
  • Zoom Appointments
  • Written Feedback Appointments
  • Support for Writers with Disabilities
  • Policies and Restrictions
  • Upcoming Workshops
  • Class Workshops
  • Meet the Consultants
  • Writing Guides and Tools
  • Schedule an appointment! Login or Register
  • For Graduate Students
  • For ESOL Students
  • For Faculty

News Writing Fundamentals

One of the most fundamental differences between journalism and other forms of writing is the way journalists obtain the information they write about. Journalists obtain information through a variety of reporting techniques, which can include interviewing sources, looking through government documents, researching old articles, and observing events firsthand.

Good news writing begins with good, accurate reporting. Journalists perform a public service for citizens by presenting truthful facts in honest, straight-forward articles.

News Values

Journalists commonly use six values to determine how newsworthy a story or elements of a story are. Knowing the news values can help a journalist make many decisions, including:

What information to give first in a news article, and in the lede

Which articles to display on a newspaper’s front page

What questions to ask in an interview

The six news values are:

Timeliness- Recent events have a higher news value than less recent ones.

Proximity- Stories taking place in one’s hometown or community are more newsworthy than those taking place far away.

Prominence- Famous people and those in the public eye have a higher news value than ordinary citizens.

Uniqueness/oddity- A story with a bizarre twist or strange occurrences. “Man bites dog” instead of “dog bites man.”

Impact- Stories that impact a large number of people may be more newsworthy than those impacting a smaller number of people.

Conflict- “If it bleeds, it leads.” Stories with strife, whether it’s actual violence or not, are more interesting.

The newsworthiness of a story is determined by a balance of these six values. There is no set formula to decide how newsworthy a story is, but in general, the more of these six values a story meets, the more newsworthy it is.

Libel is defined as the published defamation of a person’s character based on misleading or inaccurate facts. Newspaper reporters can often run into issues of libel because it is their job to write truthful articles about people that might not always be flattering.

Even though we live in a country with a free press, journalists cannot write anything they want. Reporters do not have the right to state something about a person that could damage their reputation and that is untruthful.

One of the easiest ways to protect oneself from libel is to make sure to always do accurate reporting and to attribute all information in an article. If you write something about someone that you’re unsure about, just ask yourself if it’s true, and how you know it’s true. Rumors, gossip, and information you received from an anonymous or unreliable source are all dangerous to report, and they could run you the risk of a libel case.

The lede (or lead) of a news article is the first sentence, usually written as one paragraph, that tells the most important information of the story. When writing a lede, it is helpful to use the “tell a friend” strategy. Imagine you had to sum up to a friend, in one sentence, what your story is about. How would you sum up quickly what happened? A story’s lede answers the “Five W’s” in a specific order: Who? What? When? Where? Why?

For example:

The Atlanta Police Department will hold a memorial service Wednesday at Holy Christ Church in Buckhead for fallen officer Lt. James Montgomery.

WHO: The Atlanta Police Department WHAT: will hold a memorial service WHEN: Wednesday WHERE: Holy Christ Church in Buckhead WHY: for fallen officer Lt. James Montgomery

Other Examples:

Gwinnett County Public Schools was awarded $250,000 early Wednesday as a finalist for what’s considered the Nobel Prize of public education.

A man beat an Army reservist in front of a Morrow Cracker Barrel, yelling racial slurs at her as he kicked her in the head, Morrow police said.

Examples courtesy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Inverted Pyramid

News articles are written in a structure known as the “inverted pyramid.” In the inverted pyramid format, the most newsworthy information goes at the beginning of the story and the least newsworthy information goes at the end.

Inverted Pyramid

After you have written your story’s lede, order the information that follows in terms of most important to least important. There is NO formal conclusion in a journalism article the way there is in an essay or analysis paper.

Attributing information

ALL information in a news article MUST be attributed to the source where the reporter got his/her information. The reporter must indicate in his/her article where material was obtained from – from an interview, court documents, the Census, a Web site, etc. Direct quotes and paraphrasing can be used to attribute information obtained in an interview with a source.

According to a police report, the suspect threatened the cashier with a gun before running away with the money.

In a 500-page government report, investigators reported evidence that the army had committed crimes against humanity.

Integrating quotes

The first time a source is introduced in an article, you should use that source’s full name and title. After this initial reference, use the last name only.

“The swine flu vaccine is an incredible advance in modern medicine,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

When attributing a direct quote, always use the verb “said” and never any other verbs such as “explained,” “whispered,” etc. It is also more common to use the format “XXX said” instead of “said XXX.”

“The housing crisis is growing out of control,” Bernanke said.

Even when information from a source is not used in a direct quote and is paraphrased instead, it still must be attributed to that source.

Bernanke said the recession is probably over. The recession will most likely begin to recede in six to eight months, Bernanke said.

George Mason University Logo

The Writing Center

4400 University Drive, 2G8 Fairfax, VA 22030

Quick Links

  • Register with us

© Copyright 2024 George Mason University . All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement | Accessibility

Inside Southern Logo

  • Research by Subject
  • All Databases (A-Z)
  • Course Reserves
  • Journals by Title
  • A book on the shelf
  • Digital Collections
  • Interlibrary Loan
  • Make Appointment with Librarian
  • Schedule a Class (faculty)
  • Poster Production / Media
  • Online / Distance Services
  • Book a Study Room
  • Special Collections
  • Study Rooms
  • All Policies
  • Support the Library
  • BuleyWise Blog
  • Buley Bulletin
  • Floor Plans
  • Library Directory
  • Library Hours
  • The Director's Page
  • Library Impact Dashboard

How to Write a News Story

Newspaper article outline, how to write a news story in 15 steps.

  • Fact Checking
  • Streaming Video & DVDs
  • Public Records
  • Journalism Websites

The Purdue Owl : Journalism and Journalistic Writing: Introduction

From Scholastic: Writing a newspaper article

Article outline

I. Lead sentence

Grab and hook your reader right away.

II. Introduction

Which facts and figures will ground your story? You have to tell your readers where and when this story is happening.

III. Opening quotation 

What will give the reader a sense of the people involved and what they are thinking?

IV. Main body

What is at the heart of your story?

V. Closing quotation

Find something that sums the article up in a few words.

VI. Conclusion  (optional—the closing quote may do the job)

The following is an excerpt from The Elements of News Writing by James W. Kershner (Pearson, 2009).  This book is available for checkout at Buley Library (Call number PN 4775 .K37 2009, on the 3rd floor)

1.       Select a newsworthy story. Your goal is to give a timely account of a recent, interesting, and significant event or development.

2.       Think about your goals and objectives in writing the story. What will the readers want and need to know about the subject? How can you best tell the story?

3.       Find out who can provide the most accurate information about the subject and how to contact that person. Find out what other sources you can use to obtain relevant information.

4.       Do your homework. Do research so that you have a basic understanding of the situation before interviewing anyone about it. Check clips of stories already written on the subject.

5.       Prepare a list of questions to ask about the story.

6.       Arrange to get the needed information. This may mean scheduling an interview or locating the appropriate people to interview.

7.       Interview the source and take notes. Ask your prepared questions, plus other questions that come up in the course of the conversation. Ask the source to suggest other sources. Ask if you may call the source back for further questions later.

8.       Interview second and third sources, ask follow-up questions, and do further research until you have a understanding of the story.

9.       Ask yourself, “What’s the story?” and “What’s the point?” Be sure you have a clear focus in your mind before you start writing. Rough out a lead in your head.

10.   Make a written outline or plan of your story.

11.   Write your first draft following your plan, but changing it as necessary.

12.   Read through your first draft looking for content problems, holes, or weak spots, and revise it as necessary. Delete extra words, sentences, and paragraphs. Make every word count.

13.   Read your second draft aloud, listening for problems in logic or syntax.

14.   Copyedit your story, checking carefully for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style problems.

15.   Deliver your finished story to the editor before deadline.

Kershner, J.W. (2009). The Elements of News Writing. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

  • << Previous: Home
  • Next: Fact Checking >>
  • Last Updated: Jan 23, 2024 5:13 PM
  • URL: https://libguides.southernct.edu/journalism

Banner

How to Write a News Article: The Intro or Lede

  • What Is News?
  • How to Interview
  • The Intro or Lede
  • Article Format/Narrative
  • How To Write A Review
  • Writing News Style
  • Naming Sources
  • Revising/Proofreading
  • Photos/Graphics
  • The Future of News?

About Ledes

The introduction to a news article is called the 'lede' and is usually in the first paragraph as in an essay. The 'lede' is a deliberate misspelling of 'lead' to prevent confusion in the days when printing was done with lead type.

The lede not only tells what the story is about, it also invites the reader to read further. Ledes answer the classic 5 W's and an H questions of journalism:

What happened? What could happen?

Who did it? Who did it happen to? Who else was involved?

Where did it happen? Where else will be impacted?

When did it happen? When is it going to happen?

Why did it happen? Why will your reader care?

How did it happen? How does it work?

Some specific types of ledes -

  • The summary lede or 'hard news' lede delivers the 5 W's and an H in the 1st paragraph, getting to the most important or compelling information immediately - A California mother is recovering from second- and third-degree burns after colored rocks her family collected from beach unexpectedly caught fire while in her pocket.
  • An analysis lede introduces a story where the basic facts are already known and where readers are looking for explanation - The suspension of US sanctions in Myanmar in response to political reforms gives a green light to US firms looking for business opportunities.
  • A blind lede is a summary lede that leaves out particularly confusing details - World leaders say they are committed to soothing financial markets to prevent an economic calamity.
  • A narrative lede sets the scene for the article by introducing the main players - Eight California high-schoolers with the same last name pull off a witty stunt.
  • A scene-setter lede introduces the article by highlighting a key location in the story - A broken-down cargo ship drifts towards the fringes of Australia's Great Barrier Reef amid fears of major damage to the World Heritage-listed site.

Tips for writing and revising ledes -

  • Read your lede OUT LOUD - Do you stumble over words? Does it sound like something you would tell a friend? Eliminate any words you trip over or that are confusing.
  • Cut out extra words - See how many words you can eliminate. Have you put in description that could come later in the article? Have you added details that slow down readers' scanning? Have you used only words that will catch a reader's attention?
  • Especially look for passive verbs - is playing should be plays .
  • Check for accuracy - Have you spelled names correctly? Did you give the right locations, times, and dates? Is what you said what you meant to say? Is what you said what actually happened?
  • Avoid cliche and cute -Clichés are overused expressions that have stopped being original. Think carefully about whether you're using phrases or words that you hear everyday, even popular ones, and work for something more original.

More About Ledes

  • 5 Steps to Writing a Great Lede
  • How to write a good lede
  • How to Write a Lede
  • How to Write Good Story Leads
  • The Lede Desk: Fighting the Scourge of Boring Writing
  • A Lede Should …
  • The Lexicon of Leads
  • The Power of Leads
  • Writing a Strong Lede is Half the Battle

Examples of Ledes

  • Cliche Leads
  • A Couple of Leads that Get Right to the Point
  • Finding Ledes
  • Writing Effective Leads
  • Writing Ledes for Feature Stories
  • << Previous: How to Interview
  • Next: Article Format/Narrative >>
  • Last Updated: Oct 23, 2023 11:28 AM
  • URL: https://spcollege.libguides.com/news
  • Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

TIMES INSIDER

A Reporter Explains His Approach to Writing News and Features

Brooks Barnes, a correspondent who covers Hollywood for The Times, explains how his writing process changes depending on the type of article he is working on.

example of news article writing

By Sarah Bahr

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Brooks Barnes’s head is constantly on a swivel.

As a domestic correspondent covering Hollywood’s leading celebrities, companies and executives for The New York Times, he writes both daily news articles about media companies and long-lead features about subjects such as Walt Disney World’s animatronic robot crew and the Polo Lounge , a Hollywood hot spot that attracts the who’s who of the film industry.

Those two types of articles — news and features — are the yin and yang of journalism. As the name suggests, news articles provide readers with new information about important events, often as they unfold. They can cover nearly any topic, are generally 500 to 1,000 words long and are packed with the need-to-know facts of a given situation. Features, which need not be tied to a specific event, dive deep into a particular topic or person, are usually longer than news articles and often offer more comprehensive context about their subjects.

Every day, The Times publishes both. While many journalists specialize in writing news or feature articles, Mr. Barnes flips between the two.

“I have eight to 10 features on the assembly line at any given time,” Mr. Barnes said, adding that he often has to drop what he’s working on to chase the news and that he focuses on writing features when the news is slow. Generally, he can finish a news article in a couple of hours or less; a major feature can take upward of six months.

For Mr. Barnes, the main difference between a news article and a feature isn’t the word count, the number of interviews involved or how long he spends drafting it: “The writing process changes,” he says.

Interviewing Sources

A news article is all about gathering the essential information and publishing quickly.

He begins working on a news article by making calls to sources, often contacts he has built up over more than 20 years of reporting. He says he jots down his most important questions before he calls a source, even if he’s on a deadline and knows the conversation will only last a few minutes.

For a feature, Mr. Barnes said he will do around 10 interviews, not all of which may appear in the final article. If he’s writing a profile, he aims to spend a few hours with his subject on a Friday or Saturday, when the person is more relaxed and available.

As with news articles, he writes out his interview questions in advance, though he tries not to do too much research before meeting a profile subject for the first time so that he won’t come into the interview with a preconceived idea of what the subject might say.

“You want to report, not interview your thumb,” he said.

Getting Down to Writing

Mr. Barnes never outlines his news or feature articles, but instead works off his notes, which he’ll consult as he’s writing.

He gathers all of his notes from his interviews and research, both typed and handwritten, and inputs the best quotes, facts and figures into a Microsoft Word document. Unlike a news article, a feature may involve several attempts at a compelling first few sentences — known as the lede — and lots of rewriting. “I’ve been known to fixate on a lede for much longer than I should,” he said.

Structurally, a news article is much more straightforward than a feature: In a news article, the most important and timely information appears in the first few sentences, with the remaining facts generally provided in descending order of importance. In a feature, by contrast, the writer often delays the revelation of certain details in order to build suspense.

Landing on the Voice

Another difference, Mr. Barnes said, is the voice that he interjects — or doesn’t — into an article. A news article is usually devoid of personal flavor, while a feature can be saturated with it. He says he sometimes tries to “self-censor” his voice in a news article. In a feature, there is room for more lyrical description; Mr. Barnes is able to dwell on how a subject dresses, talks and reacts to his questions.

Working on Edits

The editing process also differs. With features, it can involve lots of fine-tuning: Ledes may be thrown out and paragraphs rewritten. With a news article, an editor acts more like a safety net than a pruner or a polisher, ensuring that reporters on deadline aren’t overlooking important information or relevant questions, and that they aren’t committing any obvious factual errors.

Enjoying Both Forms

The greatest challenge in writing a news article, in Mr. Barnes’s opinion, is achieving both speed and accuracy on deadline. Features present a different conundrum: A writer must carefully condense hours of interviews and research into a gripping-yet-accurate narrative that doesn’t get bogged down with superfluous information.

Though Mr. Barnes says he enjoys both forms, he’s always had a clear preference.

“I’m a feature writer who’s somehow managed not to get fired as a business reporter for 20 years,” he said.

He added: “I like luxuriating over words and trying different stuff. I could tinker with a story forever.”

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

from training.npr.org: https://training.npr.org/2016/10/12/leads-are-hard-heres-how-to-write-a-good-one/

example of news article writing

  • Style Guide

A good lead is everything — here's how to write one

  • More on Digital
  • Subscribe to Digital

example of news article writing

(Deborah Lee/NPR)

I can’t think of a better way to start a post about leads than with this:

“The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead.” — William Zinsser, On Writing Well

No one wants a dead article! A story that goes unread is pointless. The lead is the introduction — the first sentences — that should pique your readers’ interest and curiosity. And it shouldn’t be the same as your radio intro, which t ells listeners what the story is about and why they should care. In a written story, that’s the function of the “nut graph” (which will be the subject of a future post) — not the lead.

The journalism lead’s  main job (I’m personally fond of the  nostalgic spelling , “lede,” that derives from the bygone days of typesetting when newspaper folks needed to differentiate the lead of a story from the  lead  of hot type) is to make the reader want to stay and spend some precious time with whatever you’ve written. It sets the tone and pace and direction for everything that follows. It is the puzzle piece on which the rest of the story depends. To that end, please write your lead first — don’t undermine it by going back and thinking of one to slap on after you’ve finished writing the rest of the story.

Coming up with a good lead is hard. Even the most experienced and distinguished writers know this. No less a writer than John McPhee has called it “ the hardest part of a story to write.” But in return for all your effort, a good lead will do a lot of work for you — most importantly, it will make your readers eager to stay awhile.

There are many different ways to start a story. Some examples of the most common leads are highlighted below. Sometimes they overlap. (Note: These are not terms of art.)

Straight news lead

Just the facts, please, and even better if interesting details and context are packed in. This kind of lead works well for hard news and breaking news.

Some examples:

“After mass street protests in Poland, legislators with the country’s ruling party have abruptly reversed their positions and voted against a proposal to completely ban abortion.” (By NPR’s Camila Domonoske )
“The European Parliament voted Tuesday to ratify the landmark Paris climate accord, paving the way for the international plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions to become binding as soon as the end of this week.” (By NPR’s Rebecca Hersher )
“The United States announced it is suspending efforts to revive a cease-fire in Syria, blaming Russia’s support for a new round of airstrikes in the city of Aleppo.” (By NPR’s Richard Gonzales )

All three leads sum up the news in a straightforward, clear way — in a single sentence. They also hint at the broader context in which the news occurred.

Anecdotal lead

This type of lead uses an anecdote to illustrate what the story is about.

Here’s a powerful anecdotal lead to a story about Brazil’s murder rate and gun laws by NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro :

“At the dilapidated morgue in the northern Brazilian city of Natal, Director Marcos Brandao walks over the blood-smeared floor to where the corpses are kept. He points out the labels attached to the bright metal doors, counting out loud. It has not been a particularly bad night, yet there are nine shooting victims in cold storage.”

We understand right away that the story will be about a high rate of gun-related murder in Brazil. And this is a much more vivid and gripping way of conveying it than if Lulu had simply stated that the rate of gun violence is high.

Lulu also does a great job setting the scene. Which leads us to …

Scene-setting lead

Byrd Pinkerton, a 2016 NPR intern, didn’t set foot in this obscure scholarly haven , but you’d never guess it from the way she draws readers into her story:

“On the second floor of an old Bavarian palace in Munich, Germany, there’s a library with high ceilings, a distinctly bookish smell and one of the world’s most extensive collections of Latin texts. About 20 researchers from all over the world work in small offices around the room.”

This scene-setting is just one benefit of Byrd’s thorough reporting. We even get a hint of how the place smells.

First-person lead

The first-person lead should be used sparingly. It means you, the writer, are immediately a character in your own story. For purists, this is not a comfortable position. Why should a reader be interested in you? You need to make sure your first-person presence is essential — because you experienced something or have a valuable contribution and perspective that justifies conveying the story explicitly through your own eyes. Just make sure you are bringing your readers along with you.

Here, in the spirit of first-personhood, is an example from one of my own stories :

“For many of us, Sept. 11, 2001, is one of those touchstone dates — we remember exactly where we were when we heard that the planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was in Afghanistan.”

On a historic date, I was in a place where very few Americans were present, meaning I’m able to serve as a guide to that place and time. Rather than stating I was in Afghanistan in the first sentence, I tried to draw in readers by reminding them that the memory of Sept. 11 is something many of us share in common, regardless of where we were that day.

Observational lead

This kind of lead steps back to make an authoritative observation about the story and its broader context. For it to work, you need to understand not just the immediate piece you’re writing, but also the big picture. These are useful for stories running a day or more after the news breaks.

Here’s one by the Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty , a political reporter with decades of experience:

“At the lowest point of Donald Trump’s quest for the presidency, the Republican nominee might have brought in a political handyman to sand his edges. Instead, he put his campaign in the hands of a true believer who promises to amplify the GOP nominee’s nationalist message and reinforce his populist impulses.”

And here’s another by NPR’s Camila Domonoske , who knows her literary stuff, juxtaposing the mundane (taxes) with the highbrow (literary criticism):

“Tax records and literary criticism are strange bedfellows. But over the weekend, the two combined and brought into the world a literary controversy — call it the Ferrante Furor of 2016.”

Zinger lead

Edna Buchanan, the legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning crime reporter for the Miami Herald , once said that a good lead should make a reader sitting at breakfast with his wife “spit out his coffee, clutch his chest and say, ‘My god, Martha. Did you read this?’”

That’s as good a definition as any of a “zinger” lead. These are a couple of Buchanan’s:

“His last meal was worth $30,000 and it killed him.” (A man died while trying to smuggle cocaine-filled condoms in his gut.)
“Bad things happen to the husbands of Widow Elkin.” (Ms. Elkin, as you might surmise, was suspected of bumping off her spouses.)

After Ryan Lochte’s post-Olympic Games, out-of-the-water escapades in Rio, Sally Jenkins, writing in the Washington Post , unleashed this zinger:

“Ryan Lochte is the dumbest bell that ever rang.”

Roy Peter Clark, of the Poynter Institute,  deconstructs Jenkins’ column here , praising her “short laser blast of a lead that captures the tone and message of the piece.”

Here are a few notes on things to avoid when writing leads:

  • Clichés and terrible puns. This goes for any part of your story, and never more so than in the lead. Terrible puns aren’t just the ones that make a reader groan — they’re in bad taste, inappropriate in tone or both. Here’s one example .
  • Long, rambling sentences. Don’t try to cram way too much information into one sentence or digress and meander or become repetitive. Clarity and simplicity rule.
  • Straining to be clever. Don’t write a lead that sounds better than it means or promises more than it can deliver. You want your reader to keep reading, not to stop and figure out something that sounds smart but is actually not very meaningful. Here’s John McPhee again: “A lead should not be cheap, flashy, meretricious, blaring: After a tremendous fanfare of verbal trumpets, a mouse comes out of a hole, blinking.”
  • Saying someone “could never have predicted.” It’s not an informative observation to say someone “could never have imagined” the twists and turns his or her life would take. Of course they couldn’t! It’s better to give the reader something concrete and interesting about that person instead.
  • The weather . Unless your story is about the weather, the weather plays a direct role in it or it’s essential for setting the scene, it doesn’t belong in the lead. Here’s a story about Donald Trump’s financial dealings that would have lost nothing if the first, weather-referenced sentence had been omitted.

One secret to a good lead

Finally, good reporting will lead to good leads. If your reporting is incomplete, that will often show up in a weak lead. If you find yourself struggling to come up with a decent lead or your lead just doesn’t seem strong, make sure your reporting is thorough and there aren’t unanswered questions or missing details and points. If you’ve reported your story well, your lead will reflect this.

Further reading:

  • A Poynter roundup of bad leads
  • A classic New Yorker story by Calvin Trillin with a great lead about one of Buchanan’s best-known leads.
  • A long read by John McPhee , discussing, among other things, “fighting fear and panic, because I had no idea where or how to begin a piece of writing for The New Yorker .” It happens to everyone!

Hannah Bloch is a digital editor for international news at NPR.

Editing & Structure Reporting Writing & Voice

We have a newsletter. Subscribe!

example of news article writing

Master the Essentials of News Writing: A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide

  • Published: November 27, 2023
  • By: Yellowbrick

1. Understand the News Writing Structure

2. grab the reader’s attention with a strong headline, 3. write a compelling lead, 4. stick to the facts, 5. use clear and concise language, 6. maintain objectivity, 7. write for the web, 8. fact-check and edit, 9. develop your news writing skills, 10. stay informed and adapt, key takeaways:.

  • Understanding the structure of news writing, such as the inverted pyramid, is essential for presenting information effectively.
  • Crafting strong headlines and leads helps grab readers’ attention and entices them to continue reading.
  • Maintaining objectivity and sticking to the facts are crucial aspects of news writing.
  • Using clear and concise language ensures that your articles are easily understood by a wide audience.
  • Writing for the web requires incorporating SEO techniques and making your content scannable.
  • Fact-checking, editing, and following journalistic ethics are important steps before publishing your news articles.
  • Developing your news writing skills through reading, practice, and additional courses like the one offered by Yellowbrick can enhance your abilities.
  • Staying informed, adapting to changes, and embracing new technologies are necessary to thrive in the evolving field of news writing.

Enter your email to learn more and get a full course catalog!

  • Hidden hide names
  • Hidden First Name
  • Hidden Last Name

example of news article writing

More from Yellowbrick

example of news article writing

Top 5 Video Streaming Challenges: How to Overcome Them

Explore video streaming challenges and strategies to overcome them, from bandwidth limitations to DRM issues. Dive into the dynamism of the video streaming industry.

example of news article writing

10 Steps to Launch Your News Producer Career Successfully

Discover the key steps to launch a successful news producer career. Explore skills acquisition, degree relevance, internships, networking, and staying updated.

example of news article writing

Mastering the Art of Tour Coordination: Skills, Duties & Path to Success

Discover the steps to kick-start your career as a Tour Coordinator. Learn about the key responsibilities, required skills, and necessary steps to excel in this role.

ABOUT YELLOWBRICK

  • Work at Yellowbrick
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

STUDENT RESOURCES

  • Scholarships
  • Student Login
  • Beauty Business Essentials
  • Beauty Industry Essentials
  • Ecommerce Essentials
  • Fashion Business Essentials
  • Fashion Industry Essentials
  • Footwear Business Essentials
  • Gaming & Esports Industry Essentials
  • Global Sports Management
  • Hospitality Industry Essentials
  • Music Industry Essentials
  • Performing Arts Industry Essentials
  • Product Design Essentials
  • Sneaker Essentials
  • Streetwear Essentials
  • TV/Film Industry Essentials
  • UX Design Essentials

example of news article writing

Parsons faculty, together with design experts from leading organizations, help you build knowledge and skills, explore key trends shaping the future of product design, and gain an understanding of how design, manufacturing, and marketing components work together within the product creation process.

Enter your email to get a free sneak peek, course catalog, and career guide.

example of news article writing

Brittany Markle Choreographer/Mentor/Dancer I think my most rewarding experiences have included the success of former students. I take pride in making sure they have the necessary tools to move forward with a career in the entertainment industry and I hope to help them bridge that gap from amateur to professional.

example of news article writing

Briah Fowler Marketing and Sales Specialist, New York Giants What's success if you can't share your winnings? As a marketing specialist for the New York Giants, I learned the key to success is giving back. If you can utilize your skill set and talent to help give back to your community, it's one of the most rewarding accomplishments.

example of news article writing

Bill Carroll Production Director, Centennial Broadcasting I'm most proud of taking the courage to start a music foundation and help musicians with any kind of disability and who are on the spectrum. It's something close to me and very important to nourish.

Bethany caldwell custom stylist & merchandiser - sales, threadwell clothiers, under armour inc. i am a custom clothier who helps people create custom clothing to look & feel their best -- i like to create quality clothes with meaning -- and i pride myself in making the "experience" part of the process..

example of news article writing

Becca Brown NFTs & Collectibles Project Manager, Warner Bros Discovery I'm honored to work with an innovative team where I'm involved in bringing world-renowned brands like DC and Harry Potter to life through cutting-edge collectibles. Seeing our fans engage with our products is incredibly fulfilling and fuels my excitement to continue driving innovation and growth in the licensing space.

example of news article writing

B. Danielle Watkins Chief Programmer, iElevate Media Group Writing is my passion, creating is my heart, and telling stories gives me an escape I've never found anywhere else, so to be doing that for the masses is what success looks like for me.

example of news article writing

Anissa Lee Product Marketing Manager, Google I’m most proud of launching the 10th annual Google Economic Impact Report and leading its entire end-to-end production... The most meaningful part of this experience was getting the chance to highlight the stories of these incredible and diverse businesses, the majority of which were veteran, female, and BIPOC-run.

example of news article writing

Adrian Cantu CEO, CANTUSTUDIO Every day a new proposition arises, as a friend, as a designer, as a co-worker, and as a leader. I like to interpret any challenge as an opportunity that demands better exploration. I personally think you shouldn't live life by treating discouragements and setbacks as a negative force in your way. I think a positive and disciplined mentality helps you find interesting aspects of a "stuck-up" and tackle them as a new adventure.

example of news article writing

Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) faculty, alongside experts from Beauty Inc and leading entrepreneurs and beauty companies, help you learn industry practices on how to successfully take a beauty product to market. Lessons include understanding the beauty business landscape, developing a beauty product, formulation, packaging, and branding principles.

example of news article writing

Explore all areas of the hospitality and tourism industry with this new 100% online program from New York University (NYU), featuring leaders from across the hospitality, tourism, and travel world.

example of news article writing

Parsons faculty, together with entrepreneurs, industry experts and specialists from Printful and Shopify, uncover how to design a seamless, ecommerce enterprise. Lessons range from creating a marketing strategy, building a digital brand, designing a customer journey, optimizing SEO tools and paid media, utilizing data and KPI reporting, understanding distribution and logistics, and more.

example of news article writing

Learn how beauty products are developed, packaged and marketed. Understand what it’s really like to be a boss beauty entrepreneur and how to be a successful beauty influencer through this cutting edge online certificate program from FIT, featuring Allure editors and top beauty professionals from across the globe.

example of news article writing

Parsons faculty, together with design experts from Creative Bloq and across the industry, explore the critical stages of the UX journey with lessons covering a range of topics from usability research methods, design concepting, and wireframing, to the latest technologies shaping the future of modern user interface design. 

example of news article writing

Chanel Benjamin Founder, They Love My Splash LLC and Communications & PR Director, G.R.A.C.E. Inc. I am most proud of being named the Community Hero at Yankee Stadium because it was to highlight the iSmileForAngele Scholarship I created in honor of my late grandmother. It also highlighted my iniative #KickBackAgainstBullying Sneaker Drive and the proceeds go to local shelters.

example of news article writing

Leaders from across the gaming and esports world, together with faculty from Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), will teach you about the key areas, and related career opportunities in the rapidly changing gaming industry.

example of news article writing

Explore all areas of the performing arts industry with this new 100% online program from faculty at New York University (NYU), and featuring experts from Backstage and leaders from across the industry.

example of news article writing

Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) faculty, alongside experts from WWD and across the industry, help aspiring fashion stylists learn the skills needed to break into the fashion world.

example of news article writing

Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) faculty, together with insiders and experts from Footwear News and other leading brands, help you learn how to build a successful footwear company.

example of news article writing

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) faculty, alongside experts from WWD and the fashion industry, help aspiring fashion designers learn the skills needed to begin designing a fashion collection.

example of news article writing

Parsons School of Design faculty, together with leaders from across the fashion world, will teach you about the key areas, and related career opportunities in the ever-evolving fashion industry.

example of news article writing

New York University (NYU) faculty, alongside leading journalists from Rolling Stone and other news organizations, help you learn the industry practices and fundamental skills needed to produce news stories across audio, visual, and digital mediums.

example of news article writing

Explore all areas of the film and television industry with this new 100% online program from faculty at New York University (NYU), and featuring experts from IndieWire and Rolling Stone, and leaders from across the industry.

example of news article writing

New York University faculty, together with business leaders from across the sports world, will teach about emerging trends, and related career opportunities in the ever-evolving business of global sports and marketing.

example of news article writing

Fashion Institute of Technology faculty, together with leaders from Complex and across the sneaker world, will teach you about the key areas, and related career opportunities in the ever-evolving sneaker industry.

example of news article writing

Parsons School of Fashion faculty, together with insiders and experts from leading brands, help you learn the business side of fashion, explore key trends shaping the future of the industry, and gain an understanding of how fashion brands are built and launched. 

example of news article writing

Explore all aspects of the streetwear industry, discover related careers, and build your skills with this online program from Parsons School of Design and Complex, featuring many recognized leaders from across the streetwear world.

example of news article writing

Explore all areas of the music industry with this 100% online program from faculty at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, featuring experts from Billboard, and leaders from across the industry.

example of news article writing

Casey Butler Creative Activation Manager, Roku The industry is constantly changing and evolving. This is part of the excitement of the job, but it can also be very difficult to navigate. Persistence and dedication are some of the most important traits for success in this industry - you need to want to be there and willing to put in the work.

example of news article writing

Daniel Bouwhuis Marketing/Brand Manager, Warner Music I believe that my success is not just about achieving a high-status job title, but rather it's about the impact I can make in the lives of others through music. I want to... continue to contribute to creative projects that raise awareness for important issues such as mental health and women's and LGBTQ+ rights.

example of news article writing

Wendy Xie Producer - CN Ad Studio, Conde Nast As a Producer, I aspire to produce slice of life ads to increase visibility for ubiquitous or unsung brands founded by people of color and further overcome the bamboo ceiling that so many Asians continue to face in the creative industry. When there is a day where my original ad ideas are broadcasted in the real world, this is when I believe my voice is heard, my impact is valued and appreciated by peers, and that our society is progressively evolving the advertising, media and tech industry to be a more inclusive space for rising creatives of color.

Wendy Xie

Mehruba Haque Junior Research Fellow, Estonian Business School Women's insecurities have been used for decades to sell beauty products, which have been linked to eating disorders, anxiety, and depression... I would like to come up with a new way to market beauty products that emphasizes that feeling beautiful doesn't come from comparing yourself to other women. I want to be a key player in making these positive changes happen and making the world a better place for women.

example of news article writing

Timothy Clarke Mixshow DJ/Personality, Radio One/Urban One, Sirius XM I want to be able to help upcoming artists be heard and seen on a global level, and be known as one of the biggest DJs turned A&R in hip-hop culture.

Tiana brown director of broadcasting & production, university of pennsylvania game day broadcast staff, philadelphia eagles my biggest advice is that if no one wants to open the door for you, kick it off the hinges. most of the opportunities that i have been afforded thus far have come from creating my own and giving opportunities to other people. creating your own opportunities can take a lot of sacrifice, a lot of lost sleep, a lot of fun missed, but in the end it will all be worth it when you wake up every morning living out your dreams..

example of news article writing

Stefani Marie Clare Janelli Founder, The MIC & Artist Development Specialist (13 Seconds Music) Have tough skin, but be open to learning and adapting! This industry is constantly changing overnight, and adapting to however the wind blows is vital. It's also essential to have the willingness to learn. Being open to learning a new way to do something, or to listen to a new idea, even when it's not your own, is advice anyone at any age could benefit from!

example of news article writing

Shelby Gussman Senior Director, Social Fisch I define success as achieving my goals, assisting my team with achieving theirs, and then setting the bar higher and accomplishing more than before all while being able to enjoy life! I hope to have the opportunity to work in different global markets, travel, collaborate with new people, and continue to be challenged and learn.

example of news article writing

Sharrod Williams Actor, Writer, Producer - Neighbors, Hamilton, Moulin Rouge! The Musical There are no small parts. None. I have been fortunate enough to wear many different hats, big and small, on different projects. But like any machine, organization, or even the human body - each role I take on is in service of the one greater purpose, to tell a story. The hat i've worn the most is "actor". In this role, I am the vessel that conveys the humanity and experience of what each character I play is going through in the story being told. My goal is make the audience feel, relate, and or think about the aspect of life that is being reflected or challenged in the story.

example of news article writing

Shady Elsayed Guest Services, ASM Barclays Center Whether it’s through celebrity appearances, brand and apparel collaborations, sponsorships, in-arena entertainment, or business partnerships, being a part of this industry is a rewarding experience. With it’s fast paced nature, and event based daily routine tasks, the sports and entertainment industry is built on networking and creating long lasting relationships.

example of news article writing

Sabrina Assistant Project Manager, Dirt Rock Empire For me, success means continuing to learn and grow everyday. Next, I hope to become an even bigger voice in the industry and help encourage positive change.

example of news article writing

Rebecca O’Keeffe Content Partnerships Manager, TikTok My role is Content Partnerships Manager for TikTok Ireland. I work with creators, media partners and public figures to enhance the content ecosystem to ensure the best user experience for the people of Ireland. This includes content projects with Ireland's biggest creators and public figures, exciting hyperlocal tentpole projects and events, in-app campaigns for things like Black History Month and Pride.

example of news article writing

Rebecca Lu Business Development, Joes Footwear The biggest challenge is you never know when you will be challenged - they just pop out somehow, even you think you are doing the best. So don’t take challenge as monster, always be positive and do whatever you can.

example of news article writing

Pavlina Koleva UX/UI Designer, Pixum To be a designer means you give people better experience, you help people and you try to see things through their eyes. Creating flexible products even for people with disabilities is great achievement. Design was and always will be part of people's life.

example of news article writing

Natalie Turturro Mettouchi Costume Designer, IATSE Local 829 I am most proud of designing the costumes for a short film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2021, called "Esther in Wonderland." I had a shoestring budget and was working on two other pretty huge projects simultaneously, but still managed to design creative outfits that allowed the dancers to move freely and help develop their characters.

example of news article writing

Meosha Enslow Seamstress, Cintas uniform company As a designer I pride myself on originality and creativity... The problem comes when I sit down to plan I begin to doubt myself and my capabilities...To avoid the setbacks filled with self doubt I think of the end result and how it always makes me feel so empowered and shuts the weak voice in my head saying I can’t do it.

example of news article writing

Matt Popper Music Touring/Business Affairs, United Talent Agency Be relentless - the most difficult part of the job is getting your foot in the door. Once you're in, your good work will speak for itself. Of course, there will be some days where you will feel defeated and want to give up, but if this is what you're meant to do, you'll find a way to make it happen.

example of news article writing

Deyonte Fashion Designer, DWC Project Runway Season 16 Contestant Everyone has challenges and obstacles they face in the industry. It's what you do with those minor situations that help you become better if you allow it. You have to fight for your vision and be relentless.

example of news article writing

Mathilde Garnier Product Manager Footwear, adidas AG To me, success is passion. I strongly believe you can only be sucessful if you truly love what you are doing. Passion is a magic fuel that can inspire and drive people towards their goals... [but] passion is not enough. Our world needs more than for us to just do what we love. In order to be successful, we need to make a difference. I need to make a difference.

example of news article writing

Lindsay Milner Sigmund Vice President of Design, Vida Shoes The highlight of my career was becoming a Vice President of Design at a respected industry company at a young age. It showed how all of the hard work I put into my career- including evolving and continuing my education in the field- really put me ahead of the curve.

example of news article writing

Leslie Peterson Coordinator - Center of Excellence, NBCUniversal One of the hardest parts of my journey was moving to New York City from a small town and learning how to navigate the corporate world. Everyday I am learning something new and need to be okay with not knowing everything.

example of news article writing

Kyle Rebucci Customs Team Trainer, Puma Fashion is a part of everyday life. You don’t have to like trends, brands, or designers to contribute to the giant that is the fashion industry. You can’t escape from it. My contribution will of course directly relate to fashion, but I hope to be part of some reform in the industry when it comes to sustainability and ethics.

example of news article writing

KeNisha Ruff Founder, Marie Hunter Beauty Less than 1% of luxury beauty founders are black. I am laying the groundwork for black founders to enter the prestige sector and using my company to inspire, break the stigma surrounding mental health, and fight climate change.

example of news article writing

Joseph Richert Manager - Corporate Development & Strategy, Universal Music Group Success to me is happiness, both professionally and personally. On the professional side, that means having an impact on helping artists and entrepreneurs bring their dreams to life in an industry I'm passionate about; which I'm lucky to say I'm doing now!

example of news article writing

John Paul Endab Physical Education Teacher, Joppa High School As an educator, I truly believe that learning is a continuous process. It give us an opportunity to satisfy our curiosity, pursue our interests, or try new things.

example of news article writing

Ilana Duboff Associate Media Director, OMG23 While I am proud of all the amazing films I've been fortunate to work on over the years, I am most proud of the growth I've had while working in this industry. I have been promoted three times in the past four years and now manage a team of people, which I never even thought could be possible when I first started working. I feel honored that I have the opportunity to lead a team as well as teach them and work with them.

example of news article writing

Haramritjot Singh Founder, Cash Cow NYC I’m a kid from the Bronx, I’m a first generation American, I’m a Sikh, I’m a father in his thirties, and now I’m the owner of a clothing brand. I serve as a prime example to many different people from so many different circumstances that starting a small business and following your dreams is possible.

example of news article writing

Giulia Baldini Fashion Journalist/Editor and Academic Researcher, Lehman College I represent the underrepresented with words. I report stories and narratives that center on the fashion industry, specifically when the protagonists are from the African Diaspora, when they are sustainable businesses, and when they are engaged in minorities' activism.

example of news article writing

Forbs West Associate Music Curator, SiriusXM/Pandora I think one of the biggest challenges that I've faced in my journey is patience. I think especially being in Generation Z, it is important to slow down and appreciate what we have accomplished so far. I think when you least expect things, it is a surprise yet it is also very rewarding.

example of news article writing

Elena Takmakova Manager - International Production, Universal Music Group The thing that keeps me on track is remembering how far I've come. Just that simple feeling of being proud of myself can make miracles.

example of news article writing

Dounesha Scott Product Manager, Anna Griffin Inc. Of my career achievements, I am the most proud of being a uniform fit specialist for the Delta Style Project... Delta only redesigns their uniforms every 5-10 years. The uniforms were designed by Zac Posen and manufactured by Lands End... We are in the Delta museum and will be a part of Delta airlines history.

example of news article writing

Exploring Article Writing Formats: Examples and Best Practices

Canvas in flat illustration style, colorful purple gradient colors

Are you tired of staring at a blank document, desperately trying to come up with the perfect article format for your next piece? Well, worry no more! Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, understanding the art of article writing formats can greatly enhance your ability to engage readers effectively. From traditional news articles to feature stories and opinion pieces, this article will serve as your guide to exploring different writing formats.

We'll dive into examples and bestpractices, equipping you with the necessary tools to captivate your audience and leave a lasting impact. So, grab your pen and paper (or keyboard and mouse) because it's time to unravel the secrets of article writing!

Understanding Article Writing Formats

What is an article writing format.

Start for free

An article writing format is a structured framework that helps writers organize their thoughts and ideas. It typically includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction provides background information and grabs the reader's attention. The body paragraphs present relevant information, facts, and arguments to support the article's main idea.

Finally, the conclusion summarizes the key points and provides a closing statement. Examples of article writing formats include feature articles, news articles, opinion pieces, and blog posts . Following a specific format ensures that articles are coherent, easy to read, and effectively communicate the intended message to the target audience.

Importance of Choosing the Right Format

Choosing the right format is crucial for an article as it determines how well your content is received by the readers. A clear and well-organized format helps to convey your message effectively and enhances the readability of the article. Different formats suit different types of content, whether it's a news article, a how-to guide, or an opinion piece.

Proper formatting involves using headings, subheadings, bullet points, and paragraphs to break up the text and make it easier to skim and digest. A well-structured article not only improves readability but also increases the chances of attracting and retaining readers, ultimately leading to a more successful piece of writing.

Benefits of Using Different Article Writing Formats

There are several benefits to using different article writing formats. These formats provide a structured framework that helps to organize ideas and improve readability. Some advantages include:

  • Variety : Different formats offer versatility, allowing writers to cater to various audiences and topics.
  • Engagement : Unique formats, such as lists or how-tos, can capture readers' attention and keep them engaged.
  • Easy navigation : Well-structured formats with headings and subheadings make it easier for readers to navigate and find the information they need.
  • SEO optimization : Certain formats, like the "question and answer" or "FAQ" style, can boost search engine optimization by targeting specific keywords .
  • Visual appeal : Breaking content into short paragraphs, utilizing bullets or numbering, creates visual appeal and improves overall readability.

Incorporating different article writing formats adds diversity, keeps readers interested, and enhances the overall quality of the content.

Common Article Writing Formats

News article format.

  • Headline : The title should be catchy, concise, and accurately reflect the article's content.
  • Lead : The first paragraph should grab readers' attention with a captivating summary of the main story.
  • Introduction : Provide background information, context, and a brief overview of the topic.
  • Body : Present facts, quotations, and supporting evidence in logical paragraphs. Each paragraph should cover one main point.
  • Attribution : Always attribute information to its source, whether it's a person, study, or organization.
  • Balance : Present multiple perspectives on controversial topics to maintain objectivity and fairness.
  • Subheadings : Use subheadings to break up the article into sections, making it easier for readers to skim and understand the main points.
  • Language : Use clear, concise, and jargon-free language to ensure clarity for a diverse audience .
  • Conclusion : Summarize key points, provide potential implications or future developments, and end on a strong note.
  • Citations : Include a list of references and sources used to support the information presented.
  • Formatting : Use paragraphs that are 2-3 sentences long, incorporate bullet or numbered points when appropriate, and include relevant visual elements such as images or graphs to enhance the article's presentation.
  • Length : Aim for around 500-800 words, though it can vary depending on the depth and complexity of the topic.

Remember, following a clear news article format helps readers easily navigate the information while maintaining credibility and professionalism.

Structure and Components

The structure and components of an article play a crucial role in delivering information effectively. A typical article consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction hooks the reader and provides a brief overview of the topic. The body paragraphs delve deeper into the subject, presenting evidence, examples, and arguments. Transition words help maintain a smooth flow between paragraphs.

Finally, the conclusion wraps up the main points, leaving the reader with a lasting impression.

Additionally, headers and subheadings help organize the content and make it easier to navigate. Including visuals and bullet points can further enhance the readability of an article.

Examples of News Article Writing Formats

News articles come in different formats, depending on the context and purpose. The Inverted Pyramid is a common style used in news writing, where the most important information is presented at the beginning, followed by supporting details. Another popular format is the Feature Story, which dives into a topic in more depth, often incorporating personal stories or perspectives.

On the other hand, the Listicle format presents information in a list format, breaking down the subject into easily digestible chunks. Lastly, the Q&A format allows for direct question-and-answer format, allowing readers to quickly find relevant information. Each format serves its own purpose and caters to different reader preferences.

Best Practices for News Articles

When writing news articles, it's crucial to adhere to best practices to ensure accuracy and engage readers.

First, start with a strong headline that grabs attention. Keep paragraphs short and concise, with the most important information upfront. Use simple language and avoid jargon. Include quotes from reliable sources to add credibility. Fact-check all information thoroughly and attribute sources when necessary. Use clear subheadings and bullet points to enhance readability.

Finally, end with a strong conclusion that summarizes the main points.

Feature Article Format

Feature articles typically follow a specific format to engage readers and convey information effectively. They usually begin with a captivating introduction that hooks the reader and presents the main topic. The article then dives into the body, where the writer delves deeper into the subject matter, providing evidence, examples, and expert opinions. Each paragraph should focus on one key idea and flow logically into the next.

To maintain reader interest, the writer may employ storytelling techniques, including anecdotes or personal experiences, to make the article relatable.

Finally, a compelling conclusion wraps up the piece by summarizing the main points and leaving the reader with a lasting impression.

The structure and components of an article are critical for effective communication. Here's what you need to know:

  • Introduction : Capture the reader's attention and provide a clear thesis statement or objective.
  • Body : Present main ideas in a logical order, providing supporting evidence, examples, and analysis.
  • Conclusion : Summarize key points, reinforce the main argument, and leave a lasting impression.
  • Headings and subheadings : Use these to organize different sections and make the article more readable.
  • Imagery : Include relevant visuals like images, charts, or graphs to enhance understanding.
  • Format : Use an appropriate font, size, and line spacing, and follow any specific guidelines from the publisher.

Remember, a well-structured article with engaging components is more likely to captivate readers and effectively convey your message.

Examples of Feature Article Writing Formats

There are several formats that can be used for feature article writing. One popular format is the narrative style, where the article tells a story and engages the reader emotionally. Another format is the descriptive style, which provides vivid details and paints a picture in the reader's mind. The informative style focuses on providing facts, statistics, and expert opinions. The persuasive style aims to convince the reader of a certain viewpoint or opinion.

Lastly, the interview style involvesconducting interviews with relevant individuals and incorporating their quotes into the article. These different formats can be used depending on the topic and target audience of the feature article.

Best Practices for Feature Articles

When writing feature articles, it's important to grab the reader's attention right from the start. Begin with a compelling and catchy headline that piques their curiosity. Use clear and concise language throughout the article to keep readers engaged. Break up the content into short paragraphs to make it easier to read. Incorporate vivid descriptions and anecdotes to make the article more vivid and relatable. Use quotes and expert opinions to add credibility.

Finally, end the article with a strong conclusion that leaves readers with a lasting impression.

Opinion Article Format

Opinion articles require a specific format to effectively convey your viewpoint. Start with a strong introduction that grabs the reader's attention. Present your opinion in a clear and concise manner, supporting it with relevant evidence. Use short and focused paragraphs to enhance readability. Support your arguments with examples, statistics, or expert opinions. Acknowledge and counter opposing viewpoints to strengthen your argument further.

Conclude your article by summarizing your main points and leaving the reader with a thought-provoking statement. By following this format, your opinion article becomes more persuasive and engaging to readers.

The structure of an article typically consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction grabs readers' attention and provides a brief overview. The body contains the main information, presented in paragraphs with subheadings. Each paragraph focuses on a specific point or idea, supported by evidence or examples. Transition words help maintain coherence and flow between paragraphs. The conclusion summarizes the main points and may offer a call to action or final thoughts.

Additionally, articles can include components like a headline, subheadings, images, and citations to enhance readability and credibility.

Examples of Opinion Article Writing Formats

Opinion articles come in different formats depending on the writer's style and the intended audience. One popular format is the argumentative essay, which presents a clear thesis supported by evidence and logical reasoning. Another format is the personal reflection, where the writer shares their own experiences and thoughts on a particular issue. Satire and humor can also be used to convey opinions, adding an entertaining twist to the article.

Regardless of the format chosen, an opinion articleshould always engage readers and provoke thought, aiming to influence or challenge existing perspectives.

Best Practices for Opinion Articles

  • Clear and compelling introduction : Start with a concise yet attention-grabbing opening sentence that sets the tone and captures the reader's interest. In case you are unable to write compelling words for the opening sentence, then use a  paraphrase tool   to automatically make it appealing to read.
  • Strong thesis statement : Clearly state your opinion in a concise manner and highlight the main argument that you will be presenting throughout the article.
  • Support arguments with evidence : Back up your opinion with relevant facts, examples, and research to strengthen your argument and persuade readers.
  • Engage with counterarguments : Anticipate and address opposing viewpoints with counterarguments that demonstrate a understanding of the topic and add credibility to your opinion.
  • Organize your thoughts : Break your article into sections or paragraphs to ensure logical flow and coherence, making it easier for readers to follow your reasoning.
  • Use persuasive language : Employ rhetorical techniques like emotional appeal, logic, and storytelling to captivate readers and make your opinion resonate with them.
  • Create a compelling conclusion : Summarize your main points, restate your thesis, and leave readers with a thought-provoking or memorable concluding statement.
  • Edit and proofread : Review your article for grammatical errors, clarity, and coherence.

Ensure your writing is concise, coherent, and free from spelling or punctuation mistakes.

Remember, these best practices are guidelines for writing opinion articles; feel free to adapt and adjust them to suit your unique writing style and the topic at hand.

Article Writing Format Examples for Various Industries

Technology industry.

The technology industry is a fast-paced and ever-evolving sector that is continuously driving innovation. With new advancements in fields such as artificial intelligence , cloud computing, and the internet of things, technology companies are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible. This industry plays a crucial role in shaping how we live, work, and communicate in today's digital world.

From smartphones to smart homes, technology has become an integral part of our daily lives, transforming industries and revolutionizing the way we do things. With trends like remote work and virtual reality on the rise, the technology industry shows no signs of slowing down.

Health and Wellness Industry

The Health and Wellness industry is booming. People are becoming increasingly conscious about their well-being and are investing in products and services that promote a healthy lifestyle. From gym memberships and fitness classes to organic food and supplements, there is a wide range of offerings in the market. With the rise of social media and influencers, wellness trends have gained significant traction and have become mainstream.

This industry caters to those looking to improve their physicaland mental health, offering solutions for stress relief, weight loss, and mindfulness practices. With the increasing demand for healthier options, the Health and Wellness industry shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Fashion and Beauty Industry

The fashion and beauty industry is a thriving global market. It encompasses clothing, cosmetics, and accessories, driving trends and influencing consumers worldwide. Its rapid growth is fueled by constant change, innovation, and the insatiable desire for self-expression. The industry plays a significant role in shaping cultural norms and personal identities. Its impact extends beyond aesthetics, as it creates job opportunities and generates substantial revenue.

However, the industry also faces criticism for promoting unrealistic beauty standards and unsustainable production practices. Despite its flaws, the fashion and beauty industry remains a powerful force in shaping society's perception of style and appearance.

Best Practices for Writing an Article in Any Format

Research and outline.

  • To write a well-structured and informative article, it is crucial to conduct thorough research on the chosen topic. This helps you gather relevant information and develop a comprehensive understanding of the subject.
  • Start by exploring reputable sources such as books, academic journals, reliable websites, or expert interviews. Ensure that the information obtained is up-to-date and accurate.
  • After gathering the necessary data, creating an outline provides a clear structure for your article. Divide your information into logical sections or headings to ensure a coherent flow of ideas.
  • The outline serves as a roadmap, guiding you throughout the writing process and helping you maintain focus on your main points. It also enables you to prioritize information and maintain a logical progression.
  • With thorough research and a well-organized outline, you can write an engaging and well-structured article that conveys your message effectively.

Clear and Organized Structure

Clear and organized structure is crucial when it comes to writing articles. Readers appreciate a well-organized piece that flows smoothly. To achieve this, start with an introduction that grabs attention and clearly states the main idea. Break up the article into paragraphs with clear subheadings for each section, ensuring a logical flow between them. Use bullet points or numbered lists to present information concisely.

Remember to maintain coherence by linking ideas and providing smooth transitions.

Additionally, a strong conclusion that summarizes the key points is essential. By presenting your content in a clear and organized manner, you ensure that readers can easily understand and navigate through your article.

Use Relevant Examples

When writing an article, using relevant examples is key. This helps to illustrate and support your points, making them more relatable and understandable for readers. For instance, if you're writing an article about the benefits of exercise, you can provide examples of successful athletes or include personal anecdotes of individuals who have experienced positive changes in their health through regular exercise.

By incorporating these real-life examples, you offer concrete evidence and make your article more engaging. Remember, relevant examples not only help to clarify your ideas but also make your writing more persuasive and captivating.

Use Proper Formatting and Style

Proper formatting and style are crucial in article writing. Use short, concise paragraphs to enhance readability. Break up the text with subheadings to give your article structure. Utilize bullet points or numbered lists for easy digestion of information. Make sure to use appropriate font sizes and styles to create an appealing visual experience for readers.

Additionally, pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation to maintain a professional tone. Consistency in formatting and style will make your article more engaging and accessible to a broader audience.

Edit and Proofread

Edit and Proofread: Once you've finished writing your article, take some time to edit and proofread it. Read through your work and make sure your ideas flow logically. Check for any grammatical or spelling errors. Consider the overall structure and organization of the article. Are the paragraphs concise and focused? Is the tone appropriate for your target audience? Trim any unnecessary words or sentences to make your writing more impactful. Using tools like FineVoice TTS to read your work could help you spot the flaws more easily.

Finally, ask someone else to read your article and provide feedback. A fresh set of eyes can catch mistakes or suggest improvements that you might have missed.

Over to you

In this informative article, we delve into the world of article writing formats and share some practical examples and best practices. We explore various formats, such as listicles, how-to guides, news articles, and opinion pieces, highlighting their unique features and purposes. By breaking down lengthy paragraphs, we ensure easy-to-read content. This article is written in a conversational style, making it relatable for readers.

The aim is to provide valuable insights and guidelines that can help writers craft engaging and effective articles.

10 News Writing Exercises for Journalism Students

Test your ability to produce well written news stories on deadline

  • Writing Essays
  • Writing Research Papers
  • English Grammar
  • M.S., Journalism, Columbia University
  • B.A., Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Looking for a way to hone your news writing skills ? Try these news writing exercises. Each provides a set of facts or a scenario, and it's up to you to produce a story from it. You'll have to fill in the blanks with imaginary but logical information that you compile. To get the maximum benefit, force yourself to do these on a tight deadline:

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

It's 10:30 p.m. You're on the night shift at the Centerville Gazette and hear some chatter on the police scanner about a car crash out on Highway 32, a road that runs through a rural area of town. It sounds like a big crash, so you head to the scene.

Peopleimages/Getty Images

You're on the night shift again at the Centerville Gazette. You phone the cops to see if anything's going on. Lt. Jane Ortlieb of the Centerville Police Department tells you there was a shooting tonight at the Fandango Bar & Grill on Wilson Street in the Grungeville section of the city.

Shooting Follow-Up No. 1

Hill Street Studios/Getty Images

You're back at the Centerville Gazette on the day after the shooting outside the Fandango Bar & Grill on Wilson Street in the Grungeville section of town. You phone the cops to see if they have anything new on the case. Lt. Jane Ortlieb tells you that early this morning they arrested an ex-con named Frederick Johnson, 32, in connection with the shooting.

Shooting Follow-Up No. 2

VisitBritain/Getty Images

It's the day after police arrested Frederick Johnson in connection with the shooting death of Peter Wickham outside the Fandango Bar & Grill. You call Lt. Jane Ortlieb of the Centerville Police Department. She tells you that cops are having a perp walk today to take Johnson to the Centerville District Courthouse for his arraignment. She says to be outside the courthouse at 10 a.m. sharp.

It's Tuesday morning at the Centerville Gazette. Making your usual phone checks, you get word from the fire department about a house fire early this morning. Deputy Fire Marshal Larry Johnson tells you the blaze was in a row house in the Cedar Glen section of the city.

School Board Meeting

You’re covering a 7 p.m. meeting of the Centerville School Board. The meeting is being held in the auditorium of Centerville High School. The board begins with a discussion of ongoing cleanup at McKinley Elementary School, which experienced water damage during heavy rains and flooding  two weeks ago in the city’s Parksburg section, near the Root River.

Plane Crash

Paul A. Souders/Getty Images

It’s 9:30 p.m. You're on the night shift at the Centerville Gazette. You hear some chatter on the police scanner and call the cops. Lt. Jack Feldman says he’s not sure what’s happening but he thinks a plane crashed near Centerville Airport, a small facility used mostly by private pilots flying single-engine craft. Your editor tells you to get over there as fast as you can.

RubberBall Productions/Getty Images

You're on the day shift at the Centerville Gazette. The city editor gives you some information on a teacher who has died and tells you to bang out an obit. Here's the information: Evelyn Jackson, a retired teacher, died yesterday at the Good Samaritan Nursing Home, where she had lived for the past five years. She was 79 and died of natural causes. Jackson had worked for 43 years as an English teacher at Centerville High School before retiring in her late 60s. She taught classes in composition, ​ American literature , and poetry.

Yuri_Arcurs/Getty Images

The Centerville Chamber of Commerce is holding its monthly luncheon at the Hotel Luxe. An audience of about 100, mostly local ​businessmen and women, is in attendance. The guest speaker today is Alex Weddell, CEO of Weddell Widgets, a local, family-owned manufacturing firm and one of the city’s largest employers.

Soccer Game

Photo and Co/Getty Images

You're a sportswriter for the Centerville Gazette. You’re covering a soccer game between the Centerville Community College Eagles and the Ipswich Community College Spartans. The game is for the state conference title.

  • 7 Copy-Editing Exercises for Journalism Students
  • Here's How to Cover a Journalism Beat Effectively
  • How to Avoid Burying the Lede of Your News Story
  • Learn to Write News Stories
  • 10 Important Steps for Producing a Quality News Story
  • The Assassination of President William McKinley
  • 15 News Writing Rules for Beginning Journalism Students
  • Proofreading for Errors in Verb Tense
  • How to Write Feature Stories
  • Six Tips for Writing News Stories That Will Grab a Reader
  • 5 Common Misconceptions About Black Lives Matter
  • Objectivity and Fairness in Journalism
  • Writing a Compelling, Informative News Lede
  • Avoid the Common Mistakes That Beginning Reporters Make
  • Theodore Roosevelt and the New York Police Department
  • Lucy Parsons: Labor Radical and Anarchist, IWW Founder

Writing an article

Topic outline.

The purpose of an article is often to inform and persuade the reader. 

Articles give the reader information about a certain topic, bringing together and discussing different perspectives to provide a balanced argument which lets the reader make up their own mind about the topic. 

Articles can also be used to persuade the reader that a certain viewpoint is correct. For example, articles in newspapers or magazines might express a particular viewpoint or perspective; this may be positive or negative depending on the topic. 

The ways you use language and organise your ideas when writing an article will depend on the audience and the purpose you are writing for.

  • think about the audience that the article is for – w hen writing an article, you do not usually know your readers personally and so you will need to think about their likely interests and experience before you write
  • how you expect, or want, your audience to react – re member that the tone of most articles should be semi-formal, so before deciding on your tone imagine your article being read out loud and how that might sound to your reader. For example, an article reviewing a film may be humorous, even sarcastic, but that would not work well for more serious readers or topics
  • the purpose for the article – is th e purpose, or reason, for writing your article to persuade your readers to agree with you or to invite your readers to think about different points of view and decide for themselves? For example, do you need to sound reliable and well informed, or choose words that strongly convey a particular emotion?
  • how to keep your readers interest – ima gine how boring it would be for your reader if you used the same kind of sentences and simple repetitive vocabulary all the way through your article. Try to include a range of grammatical structures and relevant vocabulary to make sure that your reader wants to keep reading.
  • Plan a route through your article before you start writing it – th e structure of an article is usually in three parts. For example:
  • An introduction – engage your reader’s interest and introduce your argument or the main points of the topic to be discussed.
  • A middle – develop relevant and interesting points about the topic to interest and/or convince your readers to think about a particular perspective.
  • An end – d raw your points together and leave your reader with a clear impression of the argument you want them to believe or the viewpoints you would like them to consider.
  • Organise your ideas into paragraphs as appropriate – this will help you to develop and support your points convincingly, to build your argument and/or offer a full explanation of a particular point of view.
  • Show your reader at a glance what your article is about – articles usually have a suitable headline to attract their readers’ attention and you can choose to use subheadings (a bit like mini headlines) to help break your article up and move your reader on. Do not overdo these, but well-chosen subheadings can help to catch and keep your reader’s attention, as well as sum up the main points you are making.
  • Show the connections between ideas in sentences and paragraphs – for example, where a new point or idea follows on from what you have already said you might use linking words or phrases such as, 'in addition’, ‘likewise’ or ‘similarly’.
  • Example of an article

example of news article writing

Examples logo

Newspaper Report Writing Examples in PDF

Newspaper Report Writing Examples

One of the essentials of becoming a journalist is writing a newspaper report. When writing the said report in the newspaper, it is essential that your report must be able to answer these following questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. But aside from these questions, the most important one remains to be: so what? The question “so what” refers to the impact of the said news report and how it affects the general public in any way. For instance, Cable News Network (CNN) reports that North Korea and US representatives will meet in Finland.

So what will this meeting mean to the American citizens? What about to the North Koreans or even the South Koreans? Who are the participants going to be? Will the concept of peace talks between the two countries push through? Is it going to be successful? And if ever it does, does that mean that North Korea is planning to go for denuclearization? These are the kinds of questions that the journalist needs to ask for the curious public to know and find out as they read about it.

According to the book The Elements of Journalism written by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their book, they stated that the first two principles of journalism would be to the truth and to its citizens. You may or may not be taking up journalism or any of its related courses, but it is important for you to know how actual journalists gather the news. You may also see news article outline example .

Skillswise Football Newspaper Article Example

en29punc l1 w football newspaper article 752x1065

Size: 80 KB

How to Write a Newspaper Report

Figure out what to write about.

Normally, it would be the assignments editor or the desk editor that would give you the occasion or incident that you would need to write about. Other styles of journalism are better for things like profiles, advice articles, and opinion pieces. But there are times that they would not be around to hand you your assignment for the day. So what would you then? You may also see Interview Report Examples .

a. The first thing you can do is to ask around for story ideas, especially government officials and public relations representatives.

b. Take a copy of today’s newspaper and check for an interesting news article that piques your interest, or maybe you can scan the news to see what is already happening. This could lead to you finding other story ideas that are related.

c. Check for any updates in social media to find out about the local events that might be occurring soon.

d. Attend city council meetings to find out if there are any local issues happening in your area. For instance, you can sit in with the regional health department and listen to the seminars or any health advisories given by the doctors on a certain disease.

e. If you are assigned to cover as a court reporter, sit in on trials at the courthouse and see if anything interesting happens that you could report on.

newspaper report

Go to the scene

Journalists are not office people. Let’s get that straight. They do not get their news by sitting in the office, browsing through social media just waiting for it to happen. The journalist has to go out and get his or her hands dirty (figuratively, and not literally nor morally). Once you find out what you want to write about, conduct some field work. It might take minutes, or it might even take hours, but regardless, you still need to go out there. It will be difficult to write about something that you are not present at. You may also see How to Write a Report .

a. Write down everything you see and everything that takes place.

b. Record and take notes of any speeches that occur at events. Make sure to get the names, position and contact details of the speaker in case you might have further questions or clarifications that need answering.

pexels photo 750241 e1521426715396

Conduct interviews

Who your interview will depend on what you are reporting on. But take note that you cannot interview just anyone. For instance, if your report will be about the effects of marijuana in the body, interviewing just any doctor would not suffice. You would need to interview a specialist whose field and research lies on these illegal drugs. You would want to get a broad range of quotes for your report, so try to interview an array of people.

Good people to interview are event coordinators, lawyers, police, business owners, volunteers, participants, and witnesses. If you need to find people to schedule interviews with them, use the internet to find contact information or gather contact information about them in the field. You can also interview people directly at the scene, depending on your news report topic.

a. If the story is controversial or political, make sure to get multiple points of view from different sides of the issue. In journalism, only getting two sides is considered “armageddon”, meaning it only represents a good and evil side.

b. Prepare a sample list of questions. But do not always stick with them. Ask more questions should the need arise to make your report as comprehensive as possible, making your story newsworthy.

c. Think of an interview as a conversation. Do not be too casual, and do not be too demanding as well. It is important to speak to someone with authority. You may also see Report Outline Examples .

d. Record the interview. But as you record the interview, make sure that you take down notes as well in the interview and jot the specific time frame as to when the answer was given so that you would not have to listen to the whole interview for that specific comment.

e. Make sure to get the full names (spelled correctly) of anyone you interviewed. Try to get their contact details as well so that you can ask them for further questions or clarifications.

watch tv 301528

Transcribe the interviews and speeches

This would probably be the most tiring of step of them all, but you gotta do it anyway. Every word, every pause, every sentence. Take note of them all. So that it would be easier on your part to find all the necessary quotes required for the story. In case if a certain quote needs clarification, best contact the source so that he or she can verify that.

Do research on the subject

Research, research, research. If you do not know something and would like to find out about it, Google it. Almost everything can be found on the Internet now. One important thing about conducting research is that you can add additional information about that certain topic which can make your story more substantial and newsworthy. You may also see Recommendation Report Examples .

The Daily News Report Example

purehell

Size: 379 KB

The Elements of News

There are elements that need to be considered when one writes a news report. In the book “The Daily Miracle: An Introduction to Journalism”, Conley and Lamble (2006) present these eight updated elements of news as the basis in determining newsworthiness for news stories that are being published namely: impact, conflict, timeliness, proximity, prominence, currency, human interest and unusual.

pexels photo 243747 e1521422798476

1. Impact. According to the proponents, an impact is equivalent to newsworthiness. This value not only represents a story’s importance to society but also mirrors a greater significance of the decisions one makes in his or her life.

2 . Conflict. When one thinks about conflict stories, the first thing that would pop in mind would be issues surrounding murder, crimes of any scale, terrorist attacks, even political clashes and war between nations. Conflict-based stories usually entice interest to the general public. You may also see Progress Report writing .

3 . Timeliness. This is the quality that pertains to “being news”. Currency and timeliness are both similar news values since they relate to the significance of the ‘when’ element.

4 . Proximity. This value is particularly associated with the ‘where’ element of the story. Sometimes, proximity-based stories involving ethnic and cultural differences would result in gaps among the minorities and community at large. A national story can also be considered a local news story if the story is framed in a local context. You may also see Short Report 

5 . Prominence. This value most often associated with people who are highly recognizable locally, nationally and even internationally that the common public takes an interest in their solo lives as well. However, prominence is more associated with credibility than with position.

6 . Currency. Also known as the concept of “now”, currency not only relates to controversy, trends but also towards lifestyle and technology. But in determining news value through currency leaning on a more serious light, the media must be able to assess on whether the strength and relevance of the new conditions being added to the ongoing story incite intellectual discussion. You may also see Business Report .

7 . Human interest. One thing that comes to mind when human interest is mentioned is a feature or ‘soft’ stories in newspapers; though it can be said that all news stories possess a human interest to a certain degree. Human interest stories can range from humorous to tragic incidents to the basic necessities that are sometimes taken for granted like food clothes, and shelter, to rising social issues. It is these types of news that can sometimes ‘give a human face’ to the issue that can sometimes bring out the best of a person’s good heart and nature. You may also see Formal Report .

8 . Unusual. And finally, there is the news value of the unusual which from the word itself, dictates that the story is simply out of the ordinary; not to mention it conflicts with existing practices and contradicts current trends as well.

School Newspaper Report Writing Example

school newspaper report writing example

Size: 450 KB

The Basic News Structure

Writing the news takes practice and skill that requires you to gather the necessary information that the public needs to be aware of. Most, if not all journalists follow a specific format called the inverted pyramid wherein the most important information is written first all the way down to the least important information. Remember that in news writing, a sentence is equivalent to a paragraph, so it is important to only place one thought per sentence in order for the article not to become too wordy in one paragraph. The inverted pyramid consists of four parts:

1. Lead.  This opening paragraph is considered most essential part of a news report that can be written in one to two sentences or 27 words to be exact. A good lead manages to grab the audience’s interests and must answer the question: “So what?” The lead gives readers the most important information in a clear, concise and interesting manner. It also establishes the voice and direction of an article. You may also see  Performance Report Examples

2. Context or Contrast or Controversy or Conflict.  Context is defined as the parts of a discourse that surround a word (or in this case, an event). What parts do you think the audience already knows and what do you think is new they would need to know? Contrast presents the readers with opposites of the said issue.

3. Quote.  Quotes add substantial basis to the said issue at hand, and it is one way to prove that the reporter is not lying and that the source has really said it. Quotes are also written to give the people a voice that allows them to be heard by society.

4. Core.  The core is the final part of your news outline wherein all other supporting details that the journalist would want to include is going to be written there.

You may also see writing entertainment news outline to give you another idea on how the ‘soft’ news can be written. Writing the news is never easy. It is challenging and tough. There are days that the source will not answer your questions, or the story itself is bigger than it seems that you are not able to submit the story on time. It’s OK. Just remember to do what you can in your situation and be persistent!

example of news article writing

AI Generator

Text prompt

  • Instructive
  • Professional

10 Examples of Public speaking

20 Examples of Gas lighting

Oxford House

  • How to Write a Great Article in the Cambridge B2 First Exam

example of news article writing

  • Posted on 11/12/2019
  • Categories: Blog
  • Tags: B2 First , Cambridge Exams , Writing

Writing in your only language can be a challenge, but writing in another language can be a complete nightmare ! Where do you even begin?

If you are taking your Cambridge B2 First exam you’ll have to write two texts in an 80-minute period. In part 1 you must write an essay but in part 2 you will be able to choose between a number of options. This could be could be an email, a letter, a report, a review or an article.

Read more about the format of the Cambridge B2 First exam .

In this writing guide, we’ll focus on how to write an article for the Cambridge B2 First Writing paper – part 2. We’ll also share with you some tricks and tips for passing this part of the exam. You’ll learn how to plan your article, structure it, use rhetorical questions , exclamation marks – and lots more. By the end, you’ll have the confidence to write an amazing article in English!

What is an article and how do you write one for the B2 First?

You’ll find lots of examples of articles in magazines, newspapers and internet blogs. In these texts, writers share information, guides and opinions on specific topics. The idea is to write in a way that grabs the reader’s attention and keeps them interested until the very end.

In the Cambridge B2 First Writing Paper – part 2, you could be asked to write about a variety of topics. However, it’s often something you’ve recently learned to do or know a lot about. For example, the question might be about a concert you’ve been to recently, you favourite hobby or your hometown.

Here’s an example of a B2 First article question.

How to write an article - Cambridge B2 First | Oxford House Barcelona

Now let’s look at how to get started!

How to write an article in three simple steps

You’ve got the question in front of you, so now it’s time to start writing your article, right?

Wrong! If you do that, you’ve missed an essential stage: planning.

You can compare writing an article to preparing your favourite meal. No good tortilla de patatas was ever made without carefully preparing the ingredients first. It’s exactly the same with your writing – only, you’ll need fewer onions. Time management is also important. You only have about 40 minutes total so you need to plan your time carefully.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Make a plan (10 minutes)

Think about the question.

Really focus on the question. Decide who your role model is. Is he or she a sporting hero you really admire? Or someone closer to home? It could be a family member that you look up to or a person in the community who’s done something amazing. Think about why they inspire you and make some notes on your ideas.

Think about the tone

Consider the best blogs you read on the internet. Are they relaxed and friendly? Or do they sound like boring school essays? The truth is most articles are quite conversational. They are somewhere between semi-formal and informal. They are often informative, whilst entertaining and engaging the reader. You can also try to add some humour in too!

Think about the structure

Structuring your article is key and there’s normally more than one way to do it. Decide which structure makes sense for the question. Try to keep it logical and include different ideas in different paragraphs.

Here’s an example structure:

  • Paragraph 1 Introduction Start with a catchy opening line to hook the readers. Then introduce your role model.
  • Paragraph 2 – Describe what makes them special Giving examples and developing your answer.
  • Paragraph 3 – Why you chose them as your role model This should be like a conclusion and give the reader a lasting comment or a question to think about.

Note: For many articles four paragraphs will be more appropriate – it depends on the question you are given.

Linkers are a fantastic way to organise your ideas. Experiment with some of these in your next article:

For a start…

Not to mention…

On top of that…

*Remember, you don’t need headings or titles in the article it should read as one continuous piece of work.

Think about vocabulary

Brainstorming vocabulary is a great way to get your ideas flowing . What are some great words related to the topic? List some adjectives for being a good role model. Pick out some verbs related to motivation or any good nouns or collocations you think would work. Throw some phrasal verbs and idioms in there too!

Here’s an example for the question above:

Write an amazing Article - B2 First | Oxford House Barcelona

Think about ways to personalise your writing

Articles tend to have a personal touch. You can be a lot more familiar with the reader addressing them personally with pronouns like ‘you’ and ‘I’. Give your own opinion and also use contractions. Here are some more ways to sound personal:

Have you ever wondered…?

I’m sure you can imagine…

Can you believe…?

I will never forget…

There’s nothing more amazing than…

If you ask me…

Step Two: Write it (25 minutes)

An interesting introduction is the key to a first-rate article. You want to capture your audience’s attention whilst making it clear what it’s going to be about. Start with an opening line that sets the tone of the topic. Try to catch the attention from the first word. Here’s an example:

Firefighters and superheroes are obvious role models. But sometimes the person that inspires us the most is so much closer to home. I have never had a favourite singer or sports star but my father has always been an important inspiration for me.

Next, think about the original question. What makes your role model special? Remember to keep it interesting and include some personal feelings. Use exclamation marks like this:

One of the things that makes my father so special is that he always does everything for his family, and he’s an excellent listener too. Whenever we have a problem he’s always there for us. Not to mention the fact that he’s also really fun-loving! If there’s a party, my dad is the first person on the dancefloor.

But only include one or two exclamation marks in the article or they’ll lose their impact.

Finally you want to tackle the last question. Why did you choose him as your role model? A great technique here would be to address your reader personally and even include a rhetorical question at the end. This gives them something to think about. A little bit like this:

I think my father is the best role model because he is the most hardworking person I know. He has a really difficult job as a doctor and is always saving lives. That’s so inspiring for me!

I really look up to him and he really pushes me to be the best I can be. Wouldn’t you want a role model like my dad?

Step Three: Check it (5 minutes)

Everything has come together and you’ve got your final article. Now you can sit back, relax and put your feet up until the examiner says stop. Wait, not quite!

You’re missing the last important step. Always check your writing. You’d hate for all your hard work to be wasted at the last moment. Here are some things to check for.

  • You included everything in the question
  • You’ve used a variety of sentence lengths
  • The spelling is correct
  • It’s personal and engaging
  • You haven’t repeated the same vocabulary too often
  • It’s not too formal

What are the examiners looking out for?

To get the very best results, you need to know what the examiners are looking out for when they are marking your writing.

These are the four most important things to consider:

How to write an article - B2 First - What are the examiners looking for | Oxford House Barcelona

Ask yourself these questions when checking your work and make any necessary changes before the time is up!

Any other advice for writing an article?

Read, read, read. Go online and search for blogs in English that interest you. If you love sports, look at the sports news. If you prefer fashion, find fashion articles. Whatever it is read real examples for real inspiration!

If you’re still not confident about writing in English, or you want some help preparing for the B2 First exam, take a look at our exam courses .

You can also check out our articles on how to write an Essay or a Review in the Cambridge B2 First.

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Nightmare (n): : a bad dream.

Rhetorical question (n): a question that doesn’t need to be answered, for dramatic effect.

Time management (n): the way to use your time effectively.

Look up to somebody (pv) : to admire someone.

Humour (n): something amusing or funny.

To hook (v): to attract and captivate your attention.

To flow (v): to move steadily and constantly.

First-rate (adj): excellent, top quality, well made or done.

An exclamation mark (n): this punctuation symbol: !.

To tackle (v): dealing with a challenge or something difficult.

To put your feet up (exp): to rest and relax.

pv = phrasal verb

adj = adjective

exp = expression

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Email (required)

A Black Friday Guide to Shopping in English

  • By: oxfordadmin
  • Posted on 26/11/2019

Telephone Interviews In English, Advice And Tips For Success

  • Posted on 19/12/2019

Related Post

example of news article writing

The Importance of English For

No matter where you live, you’ve probably experienced record-breaking temperatures and severe weather. You may have se... Read More

example of news article writing

Discovering Barcelona Through

We all know that Barcelona is a fantastic city to live in. You only need to spend the afternoon wandering around one of ... Read More

example of news article writing

8 New Words To Improve Your Vo

The arrival of a new year presents an ideal opportunity to work on your language goals. Whether you’re preparing for a... Read More

example of news article writing

Learning English through Chris

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! If you resisted the urge to sing that line instead of saying it, then, we... Read More

example of news article writing

24 Christmas Phrases for Joyfu

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and what better way to get ready for the festive period than by learning some typical Chr... Read More

example of news article writing

3 Easy Ways To Use Music To Im

Are you ready to embark on your latest journey towards mastering the English language? We all know that music is there f... Read More

example of news article writing

Grammar Guide – Understandin

Do you sometimes feel a bit lost when deciding which tense to use? Are you a little unsure of the differences between th... Read More

example of news article writing

Halloween Humour: Jokes, Puns

We all need a break from time to time. Sometimes we’re up to our eyeballs in projects at work, and we just need a mome... Read More

example of news article writing

English for Business: 7 Ways L

If you’re interested in getting a promotion at work, earning a higher salary or landing your dream job, then working o... Read More

example of news article writing

A Beginner’s Guide to Ch

Understanding the need for exams   An official exam is a fantastic way to demonstrate your English. Why? Firstly,... Read More

example of news article writing

English Tongue Twisters to Imp

One of the most fun ways to practise and improve your pronunciation is with tongue twisters. That’s because they’re ... Read More

example of news article writing

25 years of Oxford House – O

We all know that fantastic feeling we have after completing an academic year: nine months of English classes, often twic... Read More

example of news article writing

Guide to the Cambridge C2 Prof

Are you working towards the Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) exam? Have you been having sleepless nights thinking about wh... Read More

example of news article writing

9 Tips For Communicating With

When travelling to or living in an English-speaking country, getting to know the local people can greatly enhance your e... Read More

example of news article writing

Are you preparing for the Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) writing exam? If those pre-exam jitters have started to appear,... Read More

example of news article writing

English Vocabulary For Getting

Are you feeling bored of the way your hair looks? Perhaps it’s time for a new you. All you need to do is make an appoi... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Spelling Rules For Comparati

Messi or Ronaldo? Pizza or sushi? Going to the cinema or bingeing on a series at home? A beach holiday or a walking trip... Read More

example of news article writing

Are you preparing for the Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) writing exam? If so, you may be feeling a little nervous and co... Read More

example of news article writing

Improve your English pronuncia

What are some of the trickiest words to pronounce in English? Well, we’ve compiled a useful list of ten of the most di... Read More

example of news article writing

Using Language Reactor To Lear

If you love watching Netflix series and videos on YouTube to learn English, then you need to download the Language React... Read More

example of news article writing

Are you preparing for the Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) exam? Would you like to know some tips to help you feel more at... Read More

example of news article writing

How to use ChatGPT to practise

Are you on the lookout for an extra way to practise your English? Do you wish you had an expert available at 2 a.m. that... Read More

example of news article writing

Well done. You’ve been moving along your English language journey for some time now. You remember the days of telling ... Read More

example of news article writing

Tips for the IELTS listening s

Are you preparing for the IELTS exam and need some help with the listening section? If so, then you’ll know that the l... Read More

example of news article writing

7 new English words to improve

A new year is a perfect opportunity to focus on your language goals. Maybe you are working towards an official exam. Per... Read More

example of news article writing

How to Write a C1 Advanced Ema

Did you know that there are two parts to the C1 Advanced Writing exam? Part 1 is always a mandatory . Part 2 has ... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Interesting Christmas tradit

When you think of the word Christmas, what springs to mind? For most people, it will be words like home, family and trad... Read More

example of news article writing

How to write a C1 Advanced Rep

Are you preparing for the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam and need a hand with writing your report/proposal for Part 2 of the... Read More

example of news article writing

5 of the best apps to improve

Would you like to improve your English listening skills? With all the technology that we have at our fingertips nowadays... Read More

example of news article writing

Tips for the IELTS Reading sec

Looking for some tips to get a high band score in the IELTS Academic Reading exam? If so, then you’re in the right pla... Read More

example of news article writing

The 5 best Halloween movies to

Boo! Are you a fan of Halloween? It’s that scary time of year again when the creepy creatures come out to play, and th... Read More

example of news article writing

How to Write a Review for Camb

Are you planning to take the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) exam? If so, you will need to complete two pieces of writin... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Use Relative Pronouns i

Today we’re taking a look at some English grammar that sometimes trips up language learners. In fact, we’ve just use... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Get Top Marks: Cambridg

So you’re taking the ? If so, you’ll know that you have four sections to prepare for: speaking, reading and use of E... Read More

example of news article writing

Travel Vocabulary To Get Your

Summer is here and we can’t wait to go on our summer holidays! If you’re thinking about travelling overseas this yea... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Get A High Score In The

So you’re preparing for the ! From wanting to live and work abroad to going to university in an English-speaking count... Read More

example of news article writing

10 English Idioms To Take To T

Is there anything better than cooling off in the sea on a hot summer’s day? Well, if you live in Barcelona you hav... Read More

example of news article writing

Tips for IELTS speaking sectio

Are you preparing for the IELTS test? If so, you’ll need to do the speaking section. While many people find speaking t... Read More

example of news article writing

How to use 6 different English

Just when you think English couldn’t get any more confusing, we introduce you to English pronouns! The reason why peop... Read More

example of news article writing

How to get top marks: B2 First

Congratulations – you’ve made it to the B2 First Reading and Use of English Part 7! Yet, before we get too excited, ... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Of The Best Apps For Improvi

Speaking is often thought to be the hardest skill to master when learning English. What’s more, there are hundreds of ... Read More

example of news article writing

Do you like putting together puzzles? If so, your problem solving skills can actually help you with B2 First Reading and... Read More

example of news article writing

8 Vocabulary Mistakes Spanish

If you ask a Spanish speaker what they find difficult about English language learning, they may mention false friends an... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Get Top Marks: B2 First

Picture this: You’re in your B2 First exam and you’ve finished the Use of English part. You can put it behind you fo... Read More

example of news article writing

12 Business Phrasal Verbs to K

Want to improve your English for professional reasons? You’re in the right place. When working in English, it’s comm... Read More

example of news article writing

How to use articles (a, an, th

Knowing what articles are and when to use them in English can be difficult for language learners to pick up. Especially ... Read More

example of news article writing

Are you preparing for ? Reading and Use of English Part 4 may not be your cup of tea – in fact most students feel quit... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing B2 First Part 3: Readi

Are you studying for the B2 First exam? You’re in the right place! In this series of blogs we want to show you al... Read More

example of news article writing

8 new English words you need f

New words spring up each year! They often come from popular culture, social and political issues, and innovations in tec... Read More

example of news article writing

7 of the Best Apps for Learnin

If you find yourself commuting often and spending a lot of time on the bus, you’ll most likely turn towards playing ga... Read More

example of news article writing

The B2 First is one of the most popular English exams for students of English. It is a recognised qualification that can... Read More

example of news article writing

4 Different Types Of Modal Ver

What are modal verbs? They are not quite the same as regular verbs such as play, walk and swim. Modal verbs are a type o... Read More

example of news article writing

So you’ve decided to take the ! Formerly known as FCE or the First Certificate, this is by far most popular exam. Whe... Read More

example of news article writing

Useful Expressions For Negotia

A lot of our global business is conducted in English. So, there’s a strong chance you may have to learn how to negotia... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing C1 Advanced Part 8: Re

If you’re wondering how to do Part 8 of the Reading and Use of English paper, you’re in the right place! After s... Read More

example of news article writing

The Difference Between IELTS G

You’ve probably heard of . It’s the world’s leading test for study, work and migration after all. And as the world... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing C1 Advanced Part 7: Re

Welcome to Part 7 of the Reading and Use of English paper. This task is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. One where you have ... Read More

example of news article writing

The Benefits Of Learning Engli

Who said learning English was just for the young? You're never too old to learn something new. There are plenty of benef... Read More

example of news article writing

So, you’re preparing to take the . You’ve been studying for each of the four sections; reading, writing, speaking an... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Reels Accounts to Learn Engl

Are you looking for ways to learn English during the summer holidays? We’ve got you covered – Instagram Reels is a n... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing Cambridge C1 Advanced

Well done you! You’ve made it to Part 6 of the Reading and Use of English exam. Not long to go now – just three mor... Read More

example of news article writing

8 Resources To Help Beginner E

Learning a new language is hard, but fun. If you are learning English but need some help, our monthly course is what y... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Famous Speeches To Help you

Everyone likes listening to inspiring speeches. Gifted speakers have a way of making people want to listen and take acti... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Write A B2 First Formal

Dear reader… We sincerely hope you enjoyed our previous blog posts about the Writing section of the B2 First. As promi... Read More

example of news article writing

4 Conditionals In English And

Conditionals? Is that something you use after shampooing your hair? Not quite. You may have heard your English teacher t... Read More

example of news article writing

After racing through the first four parts of the Cambridge English Reading and Use of English paper, you’ve managed t... Read More

example of news article writing

7 Of The Best Apps For Learnin

There are roughly 170,000 words in use in the English language. Thankfully, most native English speakers only have a voc... Read More

example of news article writing

How to write a B2 First inform

You're probably very familiar with sending emails (and sometimes letters) in your first language. But how about in Engli... Read More

example of news article writing

How can I teach my kids Englis

Keep kids’ minds sharp over the Easter holidays with some entertaining, educational activities in English. There are l... Read More

example of news article writing

How Roxana went from Beginner

Roxana Milanes is twenty five and from Cuba. She began English classes back in May 2019 at Oxford House, and since then ... Read More

example of news article writing

4 Future Tenses In English And

“Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.” - Doc Brown, Back to the future. Just like the and... Read More

example of news article writing

10 Business Idioms For The Wor

Business idioms are used throughout the workplace. In meetings, conversations and even whilst making at the coffee mac... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Tips For Reading The News In

We spend hours consuming the news. With one click of a button we have access to thousands of news stories all on our pho... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Write a Report: Cambrid

Imagine the scene. It’s exam day. You’re nearly at the end of your . You’ve just finished writing Part 1 - , and n... Read More

example of news article writing

8 English Words You Need For 2

Back in December 2019, we sat down and attempted to make a list of . No one could have predicted the year that was about... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Christmas Movies On Netflix

Christmas movies are one of the best things about the holiday season. They’re fun, they get you in the mood for the ho... Read More

example of news article writing

MigraCode: An Inspiring New Pa

Oxford House are extremely proud to announce our partnership with MigraCode - a Barcelona-based charity which trains ref... Read More

example of news article writing

The Ultimate Guide To Video Co

The age of telecommunication is well and truly here. Most of our business meetings now take place via video conferencing... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Pronunciation Mistakes Spani

One of the biggest challenges for Spanish speakers when learning English is pronunciation. Often it’s a struggle to pr... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Ways You Can Learn English w

“Alexa, what exactly are you?” Alexa is a virtual AI assistant owned by Amazon. She is voice-activated - like Sir... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing Cambridge C1 Advanced:

Okay, take a deep breath. We’re about to enter the danger zone of the Cambridge exam - Reading and Use of English Par... Read More

example of news article writing

What’s new at Oxford House f

Welcome to the new school year! It’s great to have you back. We’d like to remind you that , and classes are all st... Read More

example of news article writing

European Languages Day: Where

The 26th of September is . It’s a day to celebrate Europe’s rich linguistic diversity and show the importance of lan... Read More

example of news article writing

Back To School: 9 Tips For Lan

It’s the start of a new academic term and new courses are about to begin. This is the perfect opportunity to set your ... Read More

example of news article writing

How to Maximise Your Online Co

If there’s one good thing to come out of this year, it’s that learning a language has never been so easy or accessib... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Learn English With TikT

Are you bored of Facebook? Tired of Instagram? Don’t feel part of the Twitter generation? Perhaps what you’re lookin... Read More

example of news article writing

A Brief Guide To Different Bri

It’s a fact! The UK is obsessed with the way people talk. And with , it’s no surprise why. That’s right, accents a... Read More

example of news article writing

Study English This Summer At O

Summer is here! And more than ever, we’re in need of a bit of sunshine. But with travel restrictions still in place, m... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Reasons To Learn English Out

As Barcelona and the rest of Spain enters the ‘new normality’, it’s time to plan ahead for the summer. Kids and te... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Free Online Resources For Ca

Are you preparing for a Cambridge English qualification? Have you devoured all of your past papers and need some extra e... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Different Uses Of The Word �

The word ‘get’ is one of the most common and versatile verbs in English. It can be used in lots of different ways, a... Read More

example of news article writing

What Are The 4 Present Tenses

There are three main verb tenses in English - , the present and the future - which each have various forms and uses. Tod... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Of The Best Netflix Series T

On average, Netflix subscribers spend streaming their favourite content. With so many binge-worthy series out there, it... Read More

example of news article writing

Continue Studying Online At Ox

Due to the ongoing emergency lockdown measures imposed by the Spanish Government . We don’t know when we will be a... Read More

example of news article writing

Five Ways To celebrate Sant Jo

The feast of Sant Jordi is one of Barcelona’s most popular and enduring celebrations. Sant Jordi is the patron saint o... Read More

example of news article writing

What’s It Like To Study Onli

Educational institutions all over the world have shut their doors. From nurseries to universities, business schools to l... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Benefits of Learning English

Whatever your new year’s resolution was this year, it probably didn’t involve staying at home all day. For many of u... Read More

example of news article writing

9 Tips For Studying A Language

With the recent outbreak of Covid-19, many of us may have to gather our books and study from home. Schools are clos... Read More

example of news article writing

10 Ways To Learn English At Ho

Being stuck inside can make you feel like you’re going crazy. But why not use this time to your advantage, and work on... Read More

example of news article writing

Important Information –

Dear students, Due to the recent emergency measures from the Government concerning COVID-19, Oxford House premises wi... Read More

example of news article writing

7 Books You Should Read To Imp

Reading is one of the best ways to practice English. It’s fun, relaxing and helps you improve your comprehension skill... Read More

example of news article writing

Your Guide To Moving To The US

So that’s it! It’s decided, you’re moving to the USA. It’s time to hike the soaring mountains, listen to country... Read More

example of news article writing

How to write a C1 Advanced Ess

The is an excellent qualification to aim for if you’re thinking of studying or working abroad. It’s recognised by u... Read More

example of news article writing

Small Talk For Business Englis

Like it or not, small talk is an important part of business. Whether it’s in a lift, at a conference, in a meeting roo... Read More

example of news article writing

English Vocabulary For Going O

It’s time for that famous celebration of love and romance - Valentine’s Day! It is inspired by the sad story of Sain... Read More

example of news article writing

IELTS: Writing Part 2 –

When it comes to exams, preparation is the key to success - and the IELTS Writing Paper Part 2 is no exception! It is wo... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Unmissable Events at Oxford

At Oxford House, we know learning a language extends beyond the classroom. It’s important to practise your skills in m... Read More

example of news article writing

Am I ready for the C1 Advanced

Congratulations! You’ve passed your Cambridge B2 First exam. It was a hard road but you did it. Now what’s next? Som... Read More

example of news article writing

Everything You Need To Know Ab

Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle. When you see its lush green landscape and breathtaking views, it’s easy to see w... Read More

example of news article writing

How SMART Goals Can Help You I

New year, new you. As one year ends and another begins, many of us like to set ourselves goals in order to make our live... Read More

example of news article writing

15 New English Words You Need

Each year new words enter the English language. Some are added to dictionaries like . Others are old words that are give... Read More

example of news article writing

Our Year In Review: Top 10 Blo

2019 went by in a flash - and what a year it’s been! We’re just as excited to be looking back on the past 12 months ... Read More

example of news article writing

Telephone Interviews In Englis

Telephone interviews in English can seem scary. Employers often use them to filter-out candidates before the face-to-fa... Read More

example of news article writing

A Black Friday Guide to Shoppi

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. Traditionally, it signals the start of the Christmas shopping period. Expect... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing C1 Advanced: Part 3 Re

The (CAE) is a high-level qualification, designed to show that candidates are confident and flexible language users who... Read More

example of news article writing

AI Translators: The Future Of

Many people believe that artificial intelligence (AI) translators are surpassing human translators in their ability to a... Read More

example of news article writing

8 Of The Best Apps For Learnin

Apps are a great tool for learning English. They are quick, easy to access and fun. It’s almost like having a mini cla... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Ways To Improve Your Speakin

There are four linguistic skills that you utilise when learning a new language: reading, writing speaking and listening.... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing Cambridge C2 Proficien

So, you’ve moved onto Part 3, and after completing Part 2 it’s probably a welcome relief to be given some help with ... Read More

example of news article writing

8 Resources To Build Your Busi

Whether it’s in meetings, telephone conversations or networking events, you’ll find specific vocabulary and buzzword... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Ways to Become a Better Lear

It’s time for some back-to-school motivation. The new school year is about to start and everyone is feeling refreshed ... Read More

example of news article writing

Our 10 Favourite YouTubers To

Haven’t you heard? Nobody is watching the TV anymore - 2019 is the year of the YouTuber! If you’re an English langu... Read More

example of news article writing

So, you’ve completed the of your Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE). Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the rest of the e... Read More

example of news article writing

The Secret French Words Hidden

“The problem with the French is that they have no word for entrepreneur.” This phrase was attributed to George W. B... Read More

example of news article writing

The Ultimate Guide To Gràcia

The Gràcia Festival, or , is an annual celebration taking place in the lovely, bohemian neighbourhood of Gràcia in upt... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Things To Do In Barcelona In

Barcelona residents will often tell you than nothing happens in August. It’s too hot and everyone escapes to little vi... Read More

example of news article writing

4 Past Tenses and When to Use

Do you have difficulty with the past tenses in English? Do you know the difference between the past simple and past perf... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Write A Review: Cambrid

Students who are taking their B2 First Certificate exam (FCE) will be asked to do two pieces of writing within an 80 min... Read More

example of news article writing

8 Hidden Benefits of Being Bil

Unless you were raised to be bilingual, speaking two languages can require years of study and hard work. Even once you�... Read More

example of news article writing

7 Films to Practise Your Engli

What’s better than watching a fantastic, original-language movie in a theatre? Watching a fantastic, original-language... Read More

example of news article writing

The 10 Best Instagram Accounts

Ever wonder how much time you spend on your phone a day? According to the latest studies, the average person spends on ... Read More

example of news article writing

Challenge Yourself This Summer

Here comes the sun! That’s right, summer is on its way and, for many, that means a chance to take a well-deserved brea... Read More

example of news article writing

You’ve done the hard part and finally registered for your , congratulations! Now all you need to do is pass it! H... Read More

example of news article writing

These 5 Soft Skills Will Boost

Everyone is talking about soft skills. They are the personal traits that allow you to be mentally elastic, to adapt to n... Read More

example of news article writing

Which English Exam Is Right Fo

Are you struggling to decide which English language exam to take? You’re not alone: with so many different options on ... Read More

example of news article writing

Passing C2 Proficiency: A Guid

We’re sure you’ve done a great job answering the questions for of your . But now you’re faced with a completely d... Read More

example of news article writing

Sant Jordi – Dragons, Bo

Imagine you have woken up in Barcelona for the first time in your life. You walk outside and you notice something unusua... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Ways To Improve Your Listeni

Have you ever put on an English radio station or podcast and gone to sleep, hoping that when you wake up in the morning ... Read More

example of news article writing

The Simple Guide To Communicat

What’s the most challenging thing about going on holiday in an English speaking country? Twenty years ago you might ha... Read More

example of news article writing

Stop Making These 7 Grammar Mi

No matter how long you've been learning a language, you're likely to make a mistake every once in a while. The big ones ... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Pass Your First Job Int

Passing a job interview in a language that’s not your mother tongue is always a challenge – but however daunting i... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Ways To Practise Your Speaki

“How many languages do you speak?” This is what we ask when we want to know about someone’s language skills... Read More

example of news article writing

You have survived the Use of English section of your , but now you are faced with a long text full of strange language, ... Read More

example of news article writing

Improve Your English Accent Wi

Turn on a radio anywhere in the world and it won’t take long before you’re listening to an English song. And, if you... Read More

example of news article writing

10 English Expressions To Fall

It’s nearly Valentine’s day and love is in the air at Oxford House. We’ll soon be surrounded by heart-shaped ballo... Read More

example of news article writing

7 Graded Readers To Help You P

Graded readers are adaptations of famous stories, or original books aimed at language learners. They are written to help... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Tools To Take Your Writing T

Written language is as important today as it has ever been. Whether you want to prepare for an , to respond to or it’... Read More

example of news article writing

EF Report: Do Spanish Schools

The new year is here and many of us will be making promises about improving our language skills in 2019. However, how ma... Read More

example of news article writing

Our 10 Most Popular Blog Posts

It’s been a whirlwind 2018. We’ve made so many amazing memories - from our twentieth-anniversary party to some enter... Read More

example of news article writing

Time For A Career Change? Here

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get a job in an international company? Perhaps you’ve thought about tr... Read More

example of news article writing

Eaquals Accreditation: A Big S

We are delighted to be going through the final stages of our accreditation, which will help us provide the best languag... Read More

example of news article writing

A Guide To The Cambridge Engli

Making the decision to do a Cambridge English language qualification can be intimidating. Whether you’re taking it bec... Read More

example of news article writing

8 Top Tips To Get The Most Out

A language exchange (or Intercambio in Spanish) is an excellent way to practise English outside of the classroom. The a... Read More

example of news article writing

The Haunted History And Terrib

The nights are drawing in and the leaves are falling from the trees. As our minds turn to the cold and frosty winter nig... Read More

example of news article writing

Why Oxford House Is More Than

If you’re a student at , you’ll know it is far more than just a language academy. It’s a place to socialise, make ... Read More

example of news article writing

10 Crazy Things You Probably D

From funny bananas, super long words and excitable foxes, our latest infographic explores 10 intriguing facts about the ... Read More

example of news article writing

Meet our Director of Studies &

If you’ve been studying at Oxford House for a while there’s a good chance that you’ll recognise Judy - with her bi... Read More

example of news article writing

Which English Course Is Right

The new school year is about to begin and many of you are probably thinking that it’s about time to take the plunge an... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Ways To Get Over The Holiday

We head off on vacation full of excitement and joy. It’s a time to explore somewhere new, relax and spend time with ou... Read More

example of news article writing

10 Essential Aussie Expression

Learning English is difficult! With its irregular verbs, tricky pronunciation and even harder spelling, lots of students... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Great Apps To Give Your Engl

The next time you’re walking down the street, in a waiting room, or on public transport in Barcelona take a look aroun... Read More

example of news article writing

Here’s Why You Should Move T

Many students have aspirations to move abroad. This might be for a number of reasons such as to find a new job, to impro... Read More

example of news article writing

Improving Your Pronunciation W

What do English, Maori, Vietnamese and Zulu have in common? Along with another , they all use the . If your first la... Read More

example of news article writing

How To Improve Your English Us

Netflix has changed the way we spend our free time. We don’t have to wait a week for a new episode of our favourite TV... Read More

example of news article writing

Oxford House Community: Meet O

The year has flown by and we are already into the second week of our summer intensive courses. Today we look back at th... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Amazing Events to Make It an

Things are hotting up in Barcelona. There’s so much to see and do during the summer months that it’s hard to know wh... Read More

example of news article writing

How to Improve Your English Ov

The long summer holiday is almost here and we’ve got some top tips on how you can keep up your English over the summer... Read More

example of news article writing

World Cup Vocabulary: Let’s

Football, football, football: the whole world is going crazy for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar! The beautiful game i... Read More

example of news article writing

The 10 Characteristics Of A �

Learning a second language has a lot in common with learning to play an instrument or sport. They all require frequent p... Read More

example of news article writing

Catch Your Child’s Imaginati

Imagine, for a moment, taking a cooking class in a language you didn’t know - it could be Japanese, Greek, Russian. It... Read More

example of news article writing

Exam Day Tips: The Written Pap

Exams are nerve-wracking. Between going to class, studying at home and worrying about the results, it’s easy to forget... Read More

example of news article writing

10 Reasons to Study English at

Learning a second language, for many people, is one of the best decisions they ever make. Travel, work, culture, educati... Read More

example of news article writing

Shadowing: A New Way to Improv

Speech shadowing is an advanced language learning technique. The idea is simple: you listen to someone speaking and you ... Read More

example of news article writing

The Best Websites to Help Your

Our children learn English at school from a young age - with some even starting basic language classes from as early as ... Read More

example of news article writing

15 Useful English Expressions

When was the last time you painted the town red or saw a flying pig? We wouldn’t be surprised if you are scratchin... Read More

example of news article writing

Help Your Teens Practise Engli

Teenagers today are definitely part of the smartphone generation and many parents are concerned about the amount of time... Read More

example of news article writing

IELTS: Writing Part 1 –

Are you taking an IELTS exam soon? Feeling nervous about the writing paper? Read this article for some top tips and usef... Read More

example of news article writing

Business skills: How to delive

Love them or hate them, at some point we all have to give a business presentation. Occasionally we have to deliver them ... Read More

example of news article writing

10 phrasal verbs to help you b

A lot of students think English is easy to learn - that is until they encounter phrasal verbs! We are sure you have hear... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Unbelievably British Easter

Have you heard of these fascinating British Easter traditions? Great Britain is an ancient island, full of superstition... Read More

example of news article writing

Guide to getting top marks in

Your is coming to an end and exam day is fast approaching. It’s about time to make sure you are prepared for what man... Read More

example of news article writing

4 Ways English Words are Born

Have you ever wondered where English words come from? There are a whopping 171,476 words in the . From aardvark to zyzz... Read More

example of news article writing

Writing an effective essay: Ca

Students take language certifications like the Cambridge B2 First qualification for lots of different reasons. You might... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Powerful Tools to Perfect Yo

Foreign accent and understanding When you meet someone new, what’s the first thing you notice? Is it how they look?... Read More

example of news article writing

Essential Ski Vocabulary [Info

Are you a ski-fanatic that spends all week dreaming about white-capped peaks, fluffy snow and hearty mountain food? ... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Tips to Get the Best Out of

Quizlet, Duolingo, Busuu...there are lots of apps on the market nowadays to help you learn and improve your English. But... Read More

example of news article writing

10 False Friends in English an

Is English really that difficult? English is a Germanic language, which means it has lots of similarities with Germa... Read More

example of news article writing

How to Improve your English wi

If you’ve been studying English for a long time, you’ve probably tried lots of different ways of learning the langua... Read More

example of news article writing

Myths and Mysteries of the Eng

Learning another language as an adult can be frustrating. We’re problem-solvers. We look for patterns in language and ... Read More

example of news article writing

10 Ways to Improve your Englis

Every year is the same. We promise ourselves to eat more healthily, exercise more and save money. It all seems very easy... Read More

example of news article writing

10 English words you need for

Languages are constantly on the move and English is no exception! As technology, culture and politics evolve, we’re fa... Read More

example of news article writing

Catalan Christmas Vs British C

All countries are proud of their quirky traditions and this is no more evident than . In South Africa they eat deep-fri... Read More

example of news article writing

9 Ideas To Kickstart Your Read

You’ve heard about the four skills: reading, writing, and . Some might be more important to you than others. Although... Read More

example of news article writing

How to Write the Perfect Busin

Business is all about communication. Whether it’s colleagues, clients or suppliers, we spend a big chunk of our workin... Read More

example of news article writing

10 Phrasal Verbs You Should Le

Why are phrasal verbs so frustrating? It’s like they’ve been sent from the devil to destroy the morale of English la... Read More

example of news article writing

How to Ace the Cambridge Speak

Exams are terrifying! The big day is here and after all that studying and hard work, it’s finally time to show what y... Read More

example of news article writing

7 Podcasts To Improve Your Lis

Speaking in a foreign language is hard work. Language learners have to think about pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary... Read More

example of news article writing

IELTS: Your Ticket to the Worl

Have you ever thought about dropping everything to go travelling around the world? Today, more and more people are quit... Read More

example of news article writing

6 Language Hacks to Learn Engl

It’s October and you’ve just signed up for an English course. Maybe you want to pass an official exam. Maybe you nee... Read More

example of news article writing

5 Reasons to Learn English in

Learning English is more fun when you do it in a fantastic location like Barcelona. Find out why we think this is the pe... Read More

example of news article writing

FAQ Cambridge courses and Exam

  Is it better to do the paper-based or the computer-based exam? We recommend the computer-based exam to our stud... Read More

example of news article writing

Cambridge English Exams or IEL

What exactly is the difference between an IELTS exam and a Cambridge English exam such as the First (FCE) or Advanced (C... Read More

Oxford House Language School C/Diputació 279, Bajos (entre Pau Claris y Passeig de Gràcia). 08007 - Barcelona (Eixample) Tel: 93 174 00 62 | Fax: 93 488 14 05 [email protected]

Oxford TEFL SL C.I.F.: B61740551

Inscrita en el R.M. de Barcelona: Tomo 30959, Folio 0037, Hoja B182188, Inscripción 2ª Oxford TEFL Barcelona Oxford House Prague

example of news article writing

  • Remember Me

Privacy Overview

example of news article writing

Judge fines Donald Trump more than $350 million, bars him from running businesses in N.Y. for three years

The judge who presided over a civil business fraud trial against Donald Trump on Friday ordered the former president, his sons, business associates and company to pay more than $350 million in damages and temporarily limited their ability to do business in New York.

Judge Arthur Engoron ordered the former president and the Trump Organization to pay over $354 million in damages , and barred Trump “from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years,” including his namesake company.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office brought the case, said that with pre-judgment interest, the judgment totals over $450 million, an amount “which will continue to increase every single day” until the judgment is paid.

“Donald Trump is finally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud. Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law,” James said in a statement, calling the ruling “a tremendous victory for this state, this nation, and for everyone who believes that we all must play by the same rules — even former presidents.”

The ruling also bars Trump and his company from applying for any bank loans for three years.

In his first public remarks after the ruling, Trump said, “We’ll appeal and we’ll be successful.”

Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night, Trump bashed the ruling as “a fine of 350 million for a doing a perfect job.” He also repeated previous attacks by calling the judge “crooked” and the attorney general “corrupt.”

Trump did not take any questions from reporters after speaking for about six minutes.

The judge’s decision is a potential blow to both Trump’s finances and persona — having built his brand on being a successful businessman that he leveraged in his first run for president. Trump is currently running for the White House for a third time. This case is just one of many he is currently facing, including four separate pending criminal trials, the first of which is scheduled to begin on March 25.

Engoron also ordered the continued “appointment of an Independent Monitor” and the “the installation of an Independent Director of Compliance” for the company.

In posts on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called the ruling “an illegal, unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business.”

“This ‘decision’ is a complete and total sham,” he wrote.

During the trial, Trump and executives at his company, including his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, attempted to blame exaggerated financial statements that were the heart of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ fraud case on the accountants who compiled them. Engoron disagreed.

“There is overwhelming evidence from both interested and non-interested witnesses, corroborated by documentary evidence, that the buck for being truthful in the supporting data valuations stopped with the Trump Organization, not the accountants,” he wrote.

In explaining the need for a monitor, the judge cited the lack of remorse by Trump and his executives after the fraud was discovered.

“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways,” Engoron wrote.

“Defendants’ refusal to admit error — indeed, to continue it, according to the Independent Monitor — constrains this Court to conclude that they will engage in it going forward unless judicially restrained,” he added.

The ruling also bars the Trump sons — who’ve been running the company since their father went to the White House — “from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of two years.” Both were fined over $4 million, plus interest, for their roles in the scheme.

Donald Trump Jr. posted on the social media site X that “We’ve reached the point where your political beliefs combined with what venue your case is heard are the primary determinants of the outcome; not the facts of the case! It’s truly sad what’s happened to our country.”

In a statement, Eric Trump called the judge “a cruel man.”

“He knows that every single witness testified to that fact that I had absolutely NOTHING to do with this case (as INSANE as the case truly is),” Eric Trump said.

He also attacked the ruling as “political vengeance by a judge out to get my father.”

 Trump attorney Alina Habba called the verdict “a manifest injustice — plain and simple.”

“Given the grave stakes, we trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious verdict and end this relentless persecution against my clients,” she said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Trump Organization called the ruling “a gross miscarriage of justice. The Trump Organization has never missed any loan payment or been in default on any loan.”

High legal costs

An appeal in the case would likely take years, but Trump could have to post a bond for the full amount if he does so.

Read more: Trump faces about $400 million in legal penalties. Can he afford it?

The judgment is the second this year against Trump after he was hit last month with an $83.3 million verdict in writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against him. Trump has said he plans to appeal that verdict as well, but would have to post a bond for that amount as well.

James had been seeking $370 million from Trump, his company and its top executives, alleging “repeated and persistent fraud ” that included falsifying business records and financial statements. James had argued those financial statements were at times exaggerated by as much as $2.2 billion.

James contended the defendants used the inflated financial statements to obtain bank loans and insurance policies at rates he otherwise wouldn’t have been entitled to and “reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains.”

Trump had maintained his financial statements were conservative, and has called the AG’s allegations politically motivated and a “fraud on me.”

“This is a case that should have never been brought, and I think we should be entitled to damages,” Trump told reporters when he attended closing arguments in the case on Jan. 11.

Trump testimony knocked

The monthslong civil trial included testimony from Trump and his oldest children . The former president was combative in his day on the stand, blasting James as a “hack” and calling the judge “extremely hostile.”

Trump repeatedly complained about Engoron before and throughout the trial, and the judge slapped him with a partial gag order after he started blasting the judge’s law clerk as well. Trump’s complaints led to a flood of death threats against the clerk, as well as Engoron, court officials said, and Trump was fined $15,000 for twice violating the order.

Among the examples cited as fraud by the attorney general’s office during the trial was Trump valuing his triplex home in Trump Tower in New York City at three times its actual size and value, as well as including a brand value to increase the valuation of his golf courses on the financial statements, which explicitly said brand values were not included.

Another example pointed to by the attorney general clearly got under his skin — a dispute over the value of Mar-a-Lago, his social club and residence in Florida. Trump’s financial statements from 2011 to 2021 valued Mar-a-Lago at $426 million to $612 million, while the Palm Beach County assessor appraised the property’s market value to be $18 million to $27 million during the same time frame. Trump had also fraudulently puffed up the value of the property by saying it was a private residence, despite having signed an agreement that it could only be used as a social club to lower his tax burden.

Trump maintained during the trial the property was worth much, much more .

“The judge had it at $18 million, and it is worth, say, I say from 50 to 100 times more than that. So I don’t know how you got those numbers,” Trump testified, adding later that he thinks it’s actually worth “between a billion and a billion five.”

In his ruling Friday, Engoron said he didn’t find Trump to be a credible witness.

“Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial. His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility,” the judge wrote.

Michael Cohen testimony ‘credible’

James’ investigation into the former president’s business began in 2019 as a result of congressional testimony from his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen , who told the House Oversight Committee that Trump would improperly expand and shrink values to fit whatever his business needs were.

Cohen testified during the trial about his role in the scheme, and said while Trump didn’t explicitly tell him and then-Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to inflate the numbers in the financial statement, he was like a “mob boss” who tells you what he wants without directly telling you.

Trump claimed Cohen’s testimony exonerated him while also painting him as an untrustworthy liar because he admitted having previously lied under oath.

In his ruling, Engoron called Cohen an “important witness” and said he found his testimony “credible.” “This factfinder does not believe that pleading guilty to perjury means that you can never tell the truth. Michael Cohen told the truth,” the judge wrote.

Former CFO ‘evasive’

Engoron was less forgiving about former Trump CFO Weisselberg, who previously pleaded guilty to carrying out tax fraud at the company.

Weisselberg’s “testimony in this trial was intentionally evasive, with large gaps of ‘I don’t remember.’”

“There is overwhelming evidence that Allen Weisselberg intentionally falsified hundreds of business records during his tenure” at the company, the judge wrote. “Weisselberg understood that his assignment from Donald Trump was to have his reported assets increase every year irrespective of their actual values. The examples of Weisselberg’s intent to falsify business records are too numerous to itemize,” he added.

The judge permanently barred Weisselberg “from serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity operating in New York State,” and ordered him to pay the $1 million he’s already received from his $2 million separation agreement from the company as “ill-gotten gains.”

AG initially sought less

James filed her suit seeking $250 million in damages from Trump in 2022, and the judge appointed a monitor to oversee the company’s finances that November.

In a summary judgment  ruling the week before the trial started, Engoron found Trump and his executives had repeatedly engaged in fraud. The “documents here clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business, satisfying [the attorney general’s] burden to establish liability as a matter of law against defendants,” the judge wrote, while denying Trump’s bid to dismiss the case.

Engoron summarized the Trump defense as “the documents do not say what they say; that there is no such thing as ‘objective’ value; and that, essentially, the Court should not believe its own eyes.”

The order, which Trump appealed, held that Trump’s business certificates in New York should be canceled, which could have wreaked havoc on Trump’s company and forced the sell-off of some assets.

Engoron backed off of that decision in his ruling Friday, saying the addition of the “two-tiered oversight” of the monitor and the compliance director makes that move “no longer necessary.”

Trump had complained about the summary judgment ruling while he was on the witness stand. “He said I was a fraud before he knew anything about me, nothing about me,” Trump said. “It’s a terrible thing you did.”

example of news article writing

Adam Reiss is a reporter and producer for NBC and MSNBC.

example of news article writing

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

  • Newsletters

Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.

Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.

  • Will Douglas Heaven archive page

In the biggest mass-market AI launch yet, Google is rolling out Gemini , its family of large language models, across almost all its products, from Android to the iOS Google app to Gmail to Docs and more. You can also now get your hands on Gemini Ultra, the most powerful version of the model, for the first time.  

With this launch, Google is sunsetting Bard , the company's answer to ChatGPT. Bard, which has been powered by a version of Gemini since December, will now be known as Gemini too.  

ChatGPT , released by Microsoft-backed OpenAI just 14 months ago, changed people’s expectations of what computers could do. Google, which has been racing to catch up ever since, unveiled its Gemini family of models in December. They are multimodal large language models that can interact with you via voice, image, and text. Google claimed that its own benchmarking showed that Gemini could outperform OpenAI's multimodal model, GPT-4, on a range of standard tests. But the margins were slim. 

By baking Gemini into its ubiquitous products, Google is hoping to make up lost ground. “Every launch is big, but this one is the biggest yet,” Sissie Hsiao, Google vice president and general manager of Google Assistant and Bard (now Gemini), said in a press conference yesterday. “We think this is one of the most profound ways that we’re going to advance our company’s mission.”

But some will have to wait longer than others to play with Google’s new toys. The company has announced rollouts in the US and East Asia but said nothing about when the Android and iOS apps will come to the UK or the rest of Europe. This may be because the company is waiting for the EU’s new AI Act to be set in stone, says Dragoș Tudorache, a Romanian politician and member of the European Parliament, who was a key negotiator on the law.

“We’re working with local regulators to make sure that we’re abiding by local regime requirements before we can expand,” Hsiao said. “Rest assured, we are absolutely working on it and I hope we’ll be able to announce expansion very, very soon.”

How can you get it? Gemini Pro, Google’s middle-tier model that has been available via Bard since December, will continue to be available for free on the web at gemini.google.com (rather than bard.google.com). But now there is a mobile app as well.

If you have an Android device, you can either download the Gemini app or opt in to an upgrade in Google Assistant. This will let you call up Gemini in the same way that you use Google Assistant: by pressing the power button, swiping from the corner of the screen, or saying “Hey, Google!” iOS users can download the Google app, which will now include Gemini.

Gemini will pop up as an overlay on your screen, where you can ask it questions or give it instructions about whatever’s on your phone at the time, such as summarizing an article or generating a caption for a photo.  

Finally, Google is launching a paid-for service called Gemini Advanced. This comes bundled in a subscription costing $19.99 a month that the company is calling the Google One Premium AI Plan. It combines the perks of the existing Google One Premium Plan, such as 2TB of extra storage, with access to Google's most powerful model, Gemini Ultra, for the first time. This will compete with OpenAI’s paid-for service, ChatGPT Plus, which buys you access to the more powerful GPT-4 (rather than the default GPT-3.5) for $20 a month.

At some point soon (Google didn't say exactly when) this subscription will also unlock Gemini across Google’s Workspace apps like Docs, Sheets, and Slides, where it works as a smart assistant similar to the GPT-4-powered Copilot that Microsoft is trialing in Office 365.

When can you get it? The free Gemini app (powered by Gemini Pro) is available from today in English in the US. Starting next week, you’ll be able to access it across the Asia Pacific region in English and in Japanese and Korean. But there is no word on when the app will come to the UK, countries in the EU, or Switzerland.

Gemini Advanced (the paid-for service that gives access to Gemini Ultra) is available in English in more than 150 countries, including the UK and EU (but not France). Google says it is analyzing local requirements and fine-tuning Gemini for cultural nuance in different countries. But the company promises that more languages and regions are coming.

What can you do with it? Google says it has developed its Gemini products with the help of more than 100 testers and power users. At the press conference yesterday, Google execs outlined a handful of use cases, such as getting Gemini to help write a cover letter for a job application. “This can help you come across as more professional and increase your relevance to recruiters,” said Google’s vice president for product management, Kristina Behr.

Or you could take a picture of your flat tire and ask Gemini how to fix it. A more elaborate example involved Gemini managing a snack rota for the parents of kids on a soccer team. Gemini would come up with a schedule for who should bring snacks and when, help you email other parents, and then field their replies. In future versions, Gemini will be able to draw on data in your Google Drive that could help manage carpooling around game schedules, Behr said.   

But we should expect people to come up with a lot more uses themselves. “I’m really excited to see how people around the world are going to push the envelope on this AI,” Hsaio said.

Is it safe? Google has been working hard to make sure its products are safe to use. But no amount of testing can anticipate all the ways that tech will get used and misused once it is released. In the last few months, Meta saw people use its image-making app to produce pictures of Mickey Mouse with guns and SpongeBob SquarePants flying a jet into two towers. Others used Microsoft’s image-making software to create fake pornographic images of Taylor Swift .

The AI Act aims to mitigate some—but not all—of these problems. For example, it requires the makers of powerful AI like Gemini to build in safeguards, such as watermarking for generated images and steps to avoid reproducing copyrighted material. Google says that all images generated by its products will include its SynthID watermarks. 

Like most companies, Google was knocked onto the back foot when ChatGPT arrived. Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI has given it a boost over its old rival. But with Gemini, Google has come back strong: this is the slickest packaging of this generation’s tech yet. 

Artificial intelligence

Ai for everything: 10 breakthrough technologies 2024.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT reached mass adoption in record time, and reset the course of an entire industry.

What’s next for AI in 2024

Our writers look at the four hot trends to watch out for this year

  • Melissa Heikkilä archive page

OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora

The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.

Deploying high-performance, energy-efficient AI

Investments into downsized infrastructure can help enterprises reap the benefits of AI while mitigating energy consumption, says corporate VP and GM of data center platform engineering and architecture at Intel, Zane Ball.

  • MIT Technology Review Insights archive page

Stay connected

Get the latest updates from mit technology review.

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at [email protected] with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.

A CGI-style illustration of a furry little monster holding up a hand to a red candle.

What is Sora? A new generative AI tool could transform video production and amplify disinformation risks

example of news article writing

PhD candidate in Human Computer Interaction, Monash University

example of news article writing

Assistant Professor in Data Visualization, Linköping University

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

View all partners

Late last week, OpenAI announced a new generative AI system named Sora , which produces short videos from text prompts. While Sora is not yet available to the public, the high quality of the sample outputs published so far has provoked both excited and concerned reactions.

The sample videos published by OpenAI, which the company says were created directly by Sora without modification, show outputs from prompts like “photorealistic closeup video of two pirate ships battling each other as they sail inside a cup of coffee” and “historical footage of California during the gold rush”.

At first glance, it is often hard to tell they are generated by AI, due to the high quality of the videos, textures, dynamics of scenes, camera movements, and a good level of consistency.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman also posted some videos to X (formerly Twitter) generated in response to user-suggested prompts, to demonstrate Sora’s capabilities.

How does Sora work?

Sora combines features of text and image generating tools in what is called a “ diffusion transformer model ”.

Transformers are a type of neural network first introduced by Google in 2017 . They are best known for their use in large language models such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

Diffusion models, on the other hand, are the foundation of many AI image generators. They work by starting with random noise and iterating towards a “clean” image that fits an input prompt.

A series of images showing a picture of a castle emerging from static.

A video can be made from a sequence of such images. However, in a video, coherence and consistency between frames are essential.

Sora uses the transformer architecture to handle how frames relate to one another. While transformers were initially designed to find patterns in tokens representing text, Sora instead uses tokens representing small patches of space and time .

Leading the pack

Sora is not the first text-to-video model. Earlier models include Emu by Meta, Gen-2 by Runway, Stable Video Diffusion by Stability AI, and recently Lumiere by Google.

Lumiere, released just a few weeks ago, claimed to produce better video than its predecessors. But Sora appears to be more powerful than Lumiere in at least some respects.

Sora can generate videos with a resolution of up to 1920 × 1080 pixels, and in a variety of aspect ratios, while Lumiere is limited to 512 × 512 pixels. Lumiere’s videos are around 5 seconds long, while Sora makes videos up to 60 seconds.

Lumiere cannot make videos composed of multiple shots, while Sora can. Sora, like other models, is also reportedly capable of video-editing tasks such as creating videos from images or other videos, combining elements from different videos, and extending videos in time.

Both models generate broadly realistic videos, but may suffer from hallucinations. Lumiere’s videos may be more easily recognised as AI-generated. Sora’s videos look more dynamic, having more interactions between elements.

However, in many of the example videos inconsistencies become apparent on close inspection.

Promising applications

Video content is currently produced either by filming the real world or by using special effects, both of which can be costly and time consuming. If Sora becomes available at a reasonable price, people may start using it as a prototyping software to visualise ideas at a much lower cost.

Based on what we know of Sora’s capabilities it could even be used to create short videos for some applications in entertainment, advertising and education.

OpenAI’s technical paper about Sora is titled “Video generation models as world simulators”. The paper argues that bigger versions of video generators like Sora may be “capable simulators of the physical and digital world, and the objects, animals and people that live within them”.

If this is correct, future versions may have scientific applications for physical, chemical, and even societal experiments. For example, one might be able to test the impact of tsunamis of different sizes on different kinds of infrastructure – and on the physical and mental health of the people nearby.

Achieving this level of simulation is highly challenging, and some experts say a system like Sora is fundamentally incapable of doing it.

A complete simulator would need to calculate physical and chemical reactions at the most detailed levels of the universe. However, simulating a rough approximation of the world and making realistic videos to human eyes might be within reach in the coming years.

Risks and ethical concerns

The main concerns around tools like Sora revolve around their societal and ethical impact. In a world already plagued by disinformation , tools like Sora may make things worse.

It’s easy to see how the ability to generate realistic video of any scene you can describe could be used to spread convincing fake news or throw doubt on real footage. It may endanger public health measures, be used to influence elections, or even burden the justice system with potential fake evidence .

Read more: Whether of politicians, pop stars or teenage girls, sexualised deepfakes are on the rise. They hold a mirror to our sexist world

Video generators may also enable direct threats to targeted individuals, via deepfakes – particularly pornographic ones . These may have terrible repercussions on the lives of the affected individuals and their families.

Beyond these concerns, there are also questions of copyright and intellectual property. Generative AI tools require vast amounts of data for training, and OpenAI has not revealed where Sora’s training data came from.

Large language models and image generators have also been criticised for this reason. In the United States, a group of famous authors have sued OpenAI over a potential misuse of their materials. The case argues that large language models and the companies who use them are stealing the authors’ work to create new content.

Read more: Two authors are suing OpenAI for training ChatGPT with their books. Could they win?

It is not the first time in recent memory that technology has run ahead of the law. For instance, the question of the obligations of social media platforms in moderating content has created heated debate in the past couple of years – much of it revolving around Section 230 of the US Code .

While these concerns are real, based on past experience we would not expect them to stop the development of video-generating technology. OpenAI says it is “taking several important safety steps” before making Sora available to the public, including working with experts in “misinformation, hateful content, and bias” and “building tools to help detect misleading content”.

  • Artificial intelligence (AI)
  • text-to-image
  • Generative AI
  • Diffusion models

Want to write?

Write an article and join a growing community of more than 178,800 academics and researchers from 4,893 institutions.

Register now

  • We’re working with industry partners on common technical standards for identifying AI content, including video and audio.
  • In the coming months, we will label images that users post to Facebook, Instagram and Threads when we can detect industry standard indicators that they are AI-generated. 
  • We’ve labeled photorealistic images created using Meta AI since it launched so that people know they are “Imagined with AI”.

As a company that’s been at the cutting edge of AI development for more than a decade, it’s been hugely encouraging to witness the explosion of creativity from people using our new generative AI tools, like our Meta AI image generator which helps people create pictures with simple text prompts.

As the difference between human and synthetic content gets blurred, people want to know where the boundary lies. People are often coming across AI-generated content for the first time and our users have told us they appreciate transparency around this new technology. So it’s important that we help people know when photorealistic content they’re seeing has been created using AI. We do that by applying “Imagined with AI” labels to photorealistic images created using our Meta AI feature, but we want to be able to do this with content created with other companies’ tools too. 

That’s why we’ve been working with industry partners to align on common technical standards that signal when a piece of content has been created using AI. Being able to detect these signals will make it possible for us to label AI-generated images that users post to Facebook, Instagram and Threads. We’re building this capability now, and in the coming months we’ll start applying labels in all languages supported by each app. We’re taking this approach through the next year, during which a number of important elections are taking place around the world. During this time, we expect to learn much more about how people are creating and sharing AI content, what sort of transparency people find most valuable, and how these technologies evolve. What we learn will inform industry best practices and our own approach going forward.

A New Approach to Identifying and Labeling AI-Generated Content

When photorealistic images are created using our Meta AI feature, we do several things to make sure people know AI is involved, including putting visible markers that you can see on the images, and both invisible watermarks and metadata embedded within image files. Using both invisible watermarking and metadata in this way improves both the robustness of these invisible markers and helps other platforms identify them. This is an important part of the responsible approach we’re taking to building generative AI features . 

Since AI-generated content appears across the internet, we’ve been working with other companies in our industry to develop common standards for identifying it through forums like the Partnership on AI (PAI). The invisible markers we use for Meta AI images – IPTC metadata and invisible watermarks – are in line with PAI’s best practices .

We’re building industry-leading tools that can identify invisible markers at scale – specifically, the “AI generated” information in the C2PA and IPTC technical standards – so we can label images from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney, and Shutterstock as they implement their plans for adding metadata to images created by their tools. 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While companies are starting to include signals in their image generators, they haven’t started including them in AI tools that generate audio and video at the same scale, so we can’t yet detect those signals and label this content from other companies. While the industry works towards this capability, we’re adding a feature for people to disclose when they share AI-generated video or audio so we can add a label to it. We’ll require people to use this disclosure and label tool when they post organic content with a photorealistic video or realistic-sounding audio that was digitally created or altered, and we may apply penalties if they fail to do so. If we determine that digitally created or altered image, video or audio content creates a particularly high risk of materially deceiving the public on a matter of importance, we may add a more prominent label if appropriate, so people have more information and context.

This approach represents the cutting edge of what’s technically possible right now. But it’s not yet possible to identify all AI-generated content, and there are ways that people can strip out invisible markers. So we’re pursuing a range of options. We’re working hard to develop classifiers that can help us to automatically detect AI-generated content, even if the content lacks invisible markers. At the same time, we’re looking for ways to make it more difficult to remove or alter invisible watermarks. For example, Meta’s AI Research lab FAIR recently shared research on an invisible watermarking technology we’re developing called Stable Signature . This integrates the watermarking mechanism directly into the image generation process for some types of image generators, which could be valuable for open source models so the watermarking can’t be disabled. 

This work is especially important as this is likely to become an increasingly adversarial space in the years ahead. People and organizations that actively want to deceive people with AI-generated content will look for ways around safeguards that are put in place to detect it. Across our industry and society more generally, we’ll need to keep looking for ways to stay one step ahead. 

In the meantime, it’s important people consider several things when determining if content has been created by AI, like checking whether the account sharing the content is trustworthy or looking for details that might look or sound unnatural. 

These are early days for the spread of AI-generated content. As it becomes more common in the years ahead, there will be debates across society about what should and shouldn’t be done to identify both synthetic and non-synthetic content. Industry and regulators may move towards ways of authenticating content that hasn’t been created using AI as well content that has. What we’re setting out today are the steps we think are appropriate for content shared on our platforms right now. But we’ll continue to watch and learn, and we’ll keep our approach under review as we do. We’ll keep collaborating with our industry peers. And we’ll remain in a dialogue with governments and civil society. 

AI Is Both a Sword and a Shield

Our Community Standards apply to all content posted on our platforms regardless of how it is created. When it comes to harmful content, the most important thing is that we are able to catch it and take action regardless of whether or not it has been generated using AI. And the use of AI in our integrity systems is a big part of what makes it possible for us to catch it.  

We’ve used AI systems to help protect our users for a number of years. For example, we use AI to help us detect and address hate speech and other content that violates our policies. This is a big part of the reason why we’ve been able to cut the prevalence of hate speech on Facebook to just 0.01-0.02% (as of Q3 2023). In other words, for every 10,000 content views, we estimate just one or two will contain hate speech.

While we use AI technology to help enforce our policies, our use of generative AI tools for this purpose has been limited. But we’re optimistic that generative AI could help us take down harmful content faster and more accurately. It could also be useful in enforcing our policies during moments of heightened risk, like elections. We’ve started testing Large Language Models (LLMs) by training them on our Community Standards to help determine whether a piece of content violates our policies. These initial tests suggest the LLMs can perform better than existing machine learning models. We’re also using LLMs to remove content from review queues in certain circumstances when we’re highly confident it doesn’t violate our policies. This frees up capacity for our reviewers to focus on content that’s more likely to break our rules.

AI-generated content is also eligible to be fact-checked by our independent fact-checking partners and we label debunked content so people have accurate information when they encounter similar content across the internet.

Meta has been a pioneer in AI development for more than a decade. We know that progress and responsibility can and must go hand in hand. Generative AI tools offer huge opportunities, and we believe that it is both possible and necessary for these technologies to be developed in a transparent and accountable way. That’s why we want to help people know when photorealistic images have been created using AI, and why we are being open about the limits of what’s possible too. We’ll continue to learn from how people use our tools in order to improve them. And we’ll continue to work collaboratively with others through forums like PAI to develop common standards and guardrails. 

Related News

What’s new across our ai experiences.

To help personalize content, tailor and measure ads, and provide a safer experience, we use cookies. By clicking or navigating the site, you agree to allow our collection of information on and off Facebook through cookies. Learn more, including about available controls: Cookie Policy

  • School & Boards
  • College Admission
  • Govt Jobs Alert & Prep
  • Current Affairs
  • GK & Aptitude
  • CBSE Class 10

CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Practice Paper 2024 with Solutions: Best for Last Minute Revision

Cbse class 10 hindi a practice paper 2024: download here the cbse class 10 hindi a practice paper with solutions to prepare for the upcoming cbse class 10 hindi exam 2024. these questions are best for last minute revision and assess your preparedness for the exam..

Gurmeet Kaur

Prominent features of CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Practice Paper 2024

  • The practice paper is aligned with the latest CBSE sample paper.
  • Questions are based on the important topics from the prescribed syllabus.
  • Questions have been curated by experienced subject teachers.
  • The practice paper is available in an easily downloadable format.

Thus, the CBSE Class 10 Hindi practice paper provided here is an essential resource to analyse your preparedness for the upcoming CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Exam 2024 and enhance your problem-solving skills. Download the practice paper and solutions in PDF here.

CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Practice Paper 2024

example of news article writing

Also Check:

CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Sample Paper for Board Exam 2024

CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Additional Questions by CBSE for Board Exam 2024

CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Deleted Syllabus for Board Exam 2024

CBSE Class 10 Hindi Letter Writing Format & Important Examples

CBSE Class 10 Hindi Paragraph Writing Format & Important Examples

CBSE Class 10 Hindi Message Writing Format & Important Examples

Get here latest School , CBSE and Govt Jobs notification in English and Hindi for Sarkari Naukari and Sarkari Result . Download the Jagran Josh Sarkari Naukri App .

  • CBSE Date Sheet 2024
  • CBSE 10th Date Sheet 2024
  • CBSE 12th Date Sheet 2024
  • UP Board Class 10 Hindi Exam 2024
  • CBSE Class 12 English Board Exam 2024
  • Bihar DElEd Admit Card 2024
  • Central Bank of India Recruitment 2024
  • KSP Hall Ticket 2024
  • UPSSSC VDO Result 2024
  • Jharkhand High Court Recruitment 2024

Related Stories

CBSE Class 10 English Sample Paper for Board Exam 2024 with Solutions

CBSE Class 10 English Gap Filling MCQs with Answers

CBSE Class 10 English Exam 2024: Check Important Grammar Questions and Answers for Last Minute Revision

Trending Categories

  • CBSE Class 10 Practice Papers
  • Education News

Latest Education News

Indian Democracy Quiz: GK Question And Answer On Indian Democracy

BEU Result 2024 OUT at beu-bih.ac.in; Direct Link to Download B.Tech Marksheet

GGSIPU Result 2024 OUT on ipu.ac.in; Download IP University UG and PG Semester Marksheet

Inter Hall Ticket 2024 AP Link Soon @bieap.apcfss.in: Download BIEAP Intermediate 1st, 2nd Year Admit Card Here

SSC New Website Launched 2024: एसएससी ने लॉन्च की नई वेबसाइट, छात्र नए सिरे से करें रजिस्ट्रेशन

Today’s School Assembly Headlines (23 February): FDI in Space Sector, IPL 2024 Schedule, World's Largest Snake and Other News in English

Find 3 Differences In 25 Seconds In Father Son Bonding Picture

Only 1 Out Of 10 People Could Spot The Mouse Hidden Among Mushrooms In 11 Seconds!

SSC New Website Launched 2024: OTR New Registrations Invited at ssc.gov.in

Brain Teaser IQ Test: Find the fake passport in 8 seconds!

UP Board Class 12 Hindi Question Paper 2024 PDF with Answer Key

All Can See Group of Trekkers, Only A High IQ Genius Can Find CANDLE, PEAR, HEART & BOOK Among Other 8 Hidden Things!

CBSE Class 12 English Answer Key 2024 and Question Papers, Download PDF All SETs

CISF Skill Test Result 2024 Declared at cisfrectt.cisf.gov.in, Download ASI Steno and HC Result Here

WBPSC Food SI Exam Date 2024 Out: Check Official Notice and Exam Pattern

Central Bank of India Apprenticeship Salary 2024: Check Job Profile, Overtime, Leaves and Holidays

What Is The Blue Aadhaar Card? How To Apply For Baal Aadhaar Card?

APSC CCE Prelims Exam Date 2024 Revised on apsc.nic.in, Check Official Notice Here

Optical Illusion: Can you find the dog in the picture in 4 seconds?

IPL 2024 Tickets: Price, When and How to Book TATA IPL Ticket Online?

IMAGES

  1. Article Writing Examples for Students

    example of news article writing

  2. FREE 8+ Newspaper Article Samples in PDF

    example of news article writing

  3. Newspaper article template

    example of news article writing

  4. Newspaper Article Template For Microsoft Word

    example of news article writing

  5. FREE 8+ Newspaper Article Samples in PDF

    example of news article writing

  6. News Writing 101

    example of news article writing

VIDEO

  1. News Writing: Parts of the News Article and Steps and Tips

  2. How To Write A Newspaper Article

  3. ESL

  4. NEWS WRITING IMPORTANT TIPS

  5. Writing News Articles

  6. Writing News Articles

COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a News Article: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

    Part 1 Planning Your Article Download Article 1 Research your topic. To begin writing a news article, you need to research the topic you will be writing about extensively. In order to have a credible, well written, well-structured article, you have to know the topic well.

  2. How to Write a News Article

    For example, "College Football Team Welcomes Legendary NFL Coach" or "School District Announces New Grading Policy." National: reports on current affairs within a particular country. For example, "NASA's James Webb Telescope Captures Surreal Images of the Cosmos."

  3. News Writing: Tips and Examples for Better Reporting

    1. Stay consistent with news values. The first thing you should do before starting a piece of news writing is consider how the topic fits in with the 6 key news values. These values help journalists determine how newsworthy a story is, as well as which information should be included in the lede and article as a whole.

  4. How to Write an Effective News Article

    Examples: "Lost dog finds his way home" "Debate tonight in Jasper Hall" "Panel chooses 3 essay winners" Byline The byline is the name of the writer—your name, in this case. Lead (sometimes written "lede") The lead is the first sentence or paragraph, written to provide a preview of the entire article.

  5. How to Write a Newspaper Article (with Pictures)

    1 Contact sources for the article. Contact your sources as far in advance as possible, as this will make arranging interviews with them easier. Try to have at least 2-3 primary sources for the article. Go for sources that are on opposite sides of a topic or subject so your article is well-rounded. [1]

  6. How To Write a News Article (+4 Tools, Examples & Template)

    1. Headline These 5-12 words should deliver the gist of the whole news. In most cases, it's important not to play with words or to be too cryptic. A news article headline should be clear and succinct and tell the reader what the article is about. Should they find the topic interesting, they will probably read the article.

  7. The Writing Center

    Journalists commonly use six values to determine how newsworthy a story or elements of a story are. Knowing the news values can help a journalist make many decisions, including: What information to give first in a news article, and in the lede. Timeliness- Recent events have a higher news value than less recent ones.

  8. How to Write a News Story

    The following is an excerpt from The Elements of News Writing by James W. Kershner (Pearson, 2009). This book is available for checkout at Buley Library (Call number PN 4775 .K37 2009, on the 3rd floor) 1. Select a newsworthy story. Your goal is to give a timely account of a recent, interesting, and significant event or development.

  9. LibGuides: How to Write a News Article: Article Format/Narrative

    The article begins with the lede and presents information in order of descending importance. The most important information comes first, followed by less important details. The Hourglass - builds on the inverted pyramid and combines a narrative. It delivers breaking news and tells a story. The first 4-6 paragraphs contain a summary lede and ...

  10. LibGuides: How to Write a News Article: The Intro or Lede

    The introduction to a news article is called the 'lede' and is usually in the first paragraph as in an essay. The 'lede' is a deliberate misspelling of 'lead' to prevent confusion in the days when printing was done with lead type. The lede not only tells what the story is about, it also invites the reader to read further.

  11. Article Writing

    1. Introduction The introduction in article writing is the first section that sets the stage for the entire article. It serves to grab the reader's attention and give them a reason to keep reading. This part typically includes: Hook: Start with an interesting fact, question, or statement to grab attention.

  12. A Reporter Explains His Approach to Writing News and Features

    The greatest challenge in writing a news article, in Mr. Barnes's opinion, is achieving both speed and accuracy on deadline. Features present a different conundrum: A writer must carefully ...

  13. A good lead is everything

    It is the puzzle piece on which the rest of the story depends. To that end, please write your lead first — don't undermine it by going back and thinking of one to slap on after you've finished writing the rest of the story. Coming up with a good lead is hard. Even the most experienced and distinguished writers know this.

  14. The Anatomy Of A News Article

    1. Facts Rule Over All. News articles focus only on the facts — that's it. If a man kills an old lady, that's obviously a heinous crime that's deserving of a harsh punishment. But a news ...

  15. News Article Outline

    2+ News Article Outline Examples - PDF You may think that writing the news is just like writing any other article. Well, sorry to break it to you, but it is not. Writing the news requires the person to have a particular set of skills not only in terms of writing them, but also gathering the needed information for the story itself.

  16. 5 Tips on Writing a Feature Journalism Article

    1. Find a compelling story and choose your style. A feature can focus on an interesting person, like an author, singer or entrepreneur, a group of people, a topic, an issue, or a certain location. The possibilities are endless. It can be a profile, a human-interest story, seasonal, a lifestyle piece (which are very popular and fun to write ...

  17. Master the Essentials of News Writing: A Beginner's Guide

    News articles should be written in a clear and concise manner. Avoid jargon, technical terms, and complex sentences that may confuse the reader. Use simple, everyday language that is easily understood by a wide audience. 6. Maintain Objectivity. Objectivity is a cornerstone of news writing.

  18. 15 News Writing Rules for Beginning Journalism Students

    Tips for News Writing . Generally speaking, the lede, or introduction to the story, should be a single sentence of 35 to 45 words that summarizes the main points of the story, not a seven-sentence monstrosity that looks like it's out of a Jane Austen novel.; The lede should summarize the story from start to finish. So if you're writing about a fire that destroyed a building and left 18 people ...

  19. Exploring Article Writing Formats: Examples and Best Practices

    Finally, the conclusion summarizes the key points and provides a closing statement. Examples of article writing formats include feature articles, news articles, opinion pieces, and blog posts. Following a specific format ensures that articles are coherent, easy to read, and effectively communicate the intended message to the target audience.

  20. 10 News Writing Exercises for Journalism Students

    Looking for a way to hone your news writing skills? Try these news writing exercises. Each provides a set of facts or a scenario, and it's up to you to produce a story from it. You'll have to fill in the blanks with imaginary but logical information that you compile. To get the maximum benefit, force yourself to do these on a tight deadline:

  21. Writing an article

    Organisation. Plan a route through your article before you start writing it - the structure of an article is usually in three parts. For example: An introduction - engage your reader's interest and introduce your argument or the main points of the topic to be discussed. A middle - develop relevant and interesting points about the topic ...

  22. Newspaper Report Writing

    How to Write a Newspaper Report Figure out what to write about Normally, it would be the assignments editor or the desk editor that would give you the occasion or incident that you would need to write about. Other styles of journalism are better for things like profiles, advice articles, and opinion pieces.

  23. How to Write a Great Article in the Cambridge B2 First Exam

    Step Two: Write it (25 minutes) An interesting introduction is the key to a first-rate article. You want to capture your audience's attention whilst making it clear what it's going to be about. Start with an opening line that sets the tone of the topic. Try to catch the attention from the first word.

  24. Judge Engoron fines Trump more than $350M, bars him from ...

    Judge fines Donald Trump more than $350 million, bars him from running businesses in N.Y. for three years. The state AG's office said that when factoring in pre-judgment interest, the amount ...

  25. Google's Gemini is now in everything. Here's how you can try it out

    A more elaborate example involved Gemini managing a snack rota for the parents of kids on a soccer team. Gemini would come up with a schedule for who should bring snacks and when, help you email ...

  26. What is Sora? A new generative AI tool could transform video production

    Late last week, OpenAI announced a new generative AI system named Sora, which produces short videos from text prompts.While Sora is not yet available to the public, the high quality of the sample ...

  27. Labeling AI-Generated Images on Facebook, Instagram and Threads

    For example, we use AI to help us detect and address hate speech and other content that violates our policies. This is a big part of the reason why we've been able to cut the prevalence of hate speech on Facebook to just 0.01-0.02% (as of Q3 2023). In other words, for every 10,000 content views, we estimate just one or two will contain hate ...

  28. CBSE Class 10 Hindi Practice Paper 2024 with Solutions PDF

    Prominent features of CBSE Class 10 Hindi A Practice Paper 2024. The practice paper is aligned with the latest CBSE sample paper. Questions are based on the important topics from the prescribed ...