how can i write newspaper article

How to Write a Newspaper Article

A newspaper article tells readers about important events, or news. The opening, or lead paragraph of a newspaper article answers six questions:

•     Who?
•     What (or what happened)?
•     When?
•     Where?
•     Why?
•     How?

WhiteSmoke (who) provides you with the best online English writing software (what) whenever you are writing (when), in any software program you use anywhere in the world (where), because its unique all-in-one-solution includes English grammar software, spell check software, dictionary, thesaurus, and exclusive writing enhancement tool in one easy-to-use interface (why and how). The rest of a news article elaborates on those six questions, going from the most important information to the least important information. Sometimes an article might include some background or history relevant to the story. Newspaper articles are always organized from most important to least important so that editors can cut paragraphs from the end of the story, should space require it. Newspaper articles have short paragraphs, often one to three sentences. The sentences are usually simpler, declarative sentences, as well--although not always. A newspaper article begins with a dateline, giving the date and location for the reporter when the story is filed with an editor. A byline is the name of the author. Usually the writer gives the story a working title, sometimes called a "slug," which is also the name of the electronic file where the story is saved. Editors create headlines for a story when doing the newspaper layout (design) for publication , as the headline has to fit the space allowed for it in the design. Newspaper articles have to be clearly written. All names have to be spelled correctly, all facts need to be checked and re-checked, and every quote needs to be verified with the source, too. To write a better newspaper article, use WhiteSmoke English writing software. This English grammar software will check spelling, punctuation, and grammar. It will suggest strong words to improve your writing, including adjectives and adverbs . Its online dictionary and thesaurus software will assure that you can choose the word that precisely fits your meaning.

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If you have a class filled with newshounds eager to write their own front-page stories about classroom events or the latest happenings in the cafeteria, Scholastic Teachables has you covered with ready-to-go resources for your young journalists.

These 5 resources will help students in grades 3–5 learn about the newswriting process and how to add descriptive elements that will engage readers. Not only will they learn how to write a news article, students will also learn important content-area vocabulary that gives new meaning to words like  dummy ,  bleeds , and  widow . Before you know it, your classroom will be a busy newsroom filled with young reporters looking to break the next big story!

1.     Newspaper Writing: Narrative Learning Center

This  narrative learning center  specifically designed for newspaper writing helps students report facts and write a compelling news story that will engage their readers. The printable includes an introductory lesson, student directions, model writing samples, graphic organizers, differentiation tips, and an assessment rubric.

2.     Newspaper Article: Leveled Graphic Organizers

This lesson with  tiered graphic organizers  will help your cub reporters and front-page newshounds learn the basics of news writing. Students will write a news article that opens with a lead, includes who, what, when, where, and why, and presents details in the body of the story.

3.     Newspaper Jargon: Grade 4 Vocabulary

To be true news writers, students need to know the industry jargon. This  vocabulary packet  teaches students what words like  bleeds ,  dummy , and  stringer  commonly mean in newsrooms.

4.     The Daily News: Language Arts Bulletin Board

This  bulletin board  resource not only turns your classroom into a newsroom, it also helps students develop the speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills they need to run it effectively. 

5.     Plenty of Plastic: Grade 5 Opinion Writing Lesson

Every respected newspaper has a robust editorial section. This  writing lesson  helps create persuasive opinion writers by encouraging students to take a written stance for or against plastic bags.

Scholastic Teachables helps teachers like you build the next generation of journalists and newshounds. Even better, these teaching materials are ready to go, saving you time when you need it most during the school year. The printables are free to subscribers of Scholastic Teachables or are available for individual purchase.  Log in or subscribe today  for teaching tools to help your students write news articles that can make a difference in your classroom, school, and community!

How to End a Newspaper Article

Paul parcellin.

Newspaper articles, or stories, focus on "hard news," such as crime reports, political developments, war or severe weather reports. Other kinds of newspaper stories include "soft news,", which covers topics of human interest, such as a resident celebrating his 100th birthday, a regional fund-raising drive or a litter of kittens up for adoption. Newspapers also contain features, which are usually longer in word count than standard news stories. Features often resemble magazine articles for their in-depth research and reporting on a given topic. However, features can be about either hard or soft news topics. All newspaper stories, no matter what their subject happens to be, should end with answers, if possible, to any questions the writer has raised.

Write your story answering the basic questions that any news article must supply to the reader, "who," what," "when," "where," "why" and "how." Tell the reader who the story is about -- what happened to that person or people, or what is it that they did; when the event occurred; why the event occurred and how the people involved did what they did. Fill in all the facts in easy-to-understand terms that provide satisfying descriptions and explanations to a reader who may have no prior knowledge of the subject you're writing about.

Verify your facts by rereading the text and analyzing whether or not all of your reporting is backed up by research or interviews of those involved with the story. If parts of your story are unsupported by factual information or are based on assumptions you've made without getting confirmation from reliable sources, then it's time to go back and ensure that any weak points in your article are clarified and supported by more substantial reporting.

End your article with a summary of the facts and answers to any questions that the article may have raised. For example, if it is a crime story and the police have not yet reported that the crime has been solved, end with a discussion of the ongoing police investigation and explain further, if more information is needed, what the police are seeking to learn and what can bring the case to a conclusion.

Complete a hard news story on a political event, act of war or natural disaster with with an eye toward the future. What are the possible outcomes that this event may bring about? Who will be affected by the event, and what, if any, possible solutions lie on the horizon? Check your facts for consistency and proofread your work for typographical errors.

End your feature story, if it's a lighthearted piece, with a quip or amusing anecdote, if that's appropriate to the subject matter. If possible, write an ending paragraph that offers and amusing reference to the article's opening paragraph, especially if your story begins with a questions, such as, "How will John Ames Fulbright spend his 100th birthday?" After a story that will likely summarize Mr. Fulbright's life, your last paragraph can answer that question with a telling quote from Mr. Fulbright. "I'll be trout fishing at my favorite stream, as usual," he said.

• 1 Johns Hopkins University: Let's Write a Newspaper Story!

About the Author

Based in Los Angeles, Paul Parcellin writes for a variety of publications, including The Boston Globe, Creative Screenwriting, American Craft magazine, Art New England and Citysearch.com. He has served as lifestyles editor for the Salem Evening News in Salem, Mass., and reviewed art exhibits for Art Papers magazine.

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How to write an article for media, newspaper, and magazine

What is an article in the newspaper?

Some would say that it is a dying art. With the availability of the Internet, millions of people can get the news at their fingertips, so why do we need the papers delivered to our doorstep now? Well, it is certainly true that the Internet has become a game-changer, but people are always required to be informed, and the newspaper has long served the need.

The written news may be changing, but it will always be important in our society. The rest of this lesson discusses how to write an article in the style of a physical newspaper.

Well, a news article discusses the current recent news of common interest (ie daily newspaper) or a specific topic (ie political or business news magazines, club newspapers, or technology news websites). A news article may include eyewitness accounts of the incident.

How do you write a newspaper article?

The best way to structure a newspaper article is to first write an outline. Review your research and notes. Then jot down the ideas for the following six sections. Remember, this is just a foundation on which you can build your story.

How do you write a news article headline?

Headline: This is a brief, noticeable statement about the incident. The title of your article should be attractive and up to the point. You should puncture your title using Associated Press style guidelines, which specify, for example, that the first word is capitalized, but, unlike other heading styles, the words after the first word (except for proper nouns) are usually But do not occur. Numbers are not spelt. Other members of the publishing staff often write headlines, but this will help focus your thoughts and perhaps save those other employees for some time.

What is the newspaper byline?

Byline: Byline is the author’s name in this case – your name. It tells who wrote the story.

What is a newspaper byline?

Lead: It is also called Lead paragraph that has all the who, what, when, where, why and how. The author needs to find answers to these questions and write to them, the opening sentence of the article. The lead is usually the first paragraph and is written to provide a preview of the entire story. It contains a summary of the story and contains many basic facts. The lead will help readers decide if they want to read the rest of the story, or if they are satisfied knowing these details.

What is the newspaper storyline?

Storyline: Once you set the stage with a good lead, follow a well-written story that includes facts from your research and quotes from people you interviewed. Have done The article should not have your opinion. Detail any events in chronological order. Use active voice – not passive voice – when possible and write in clear, short, direct sentences.

In a news article, you usually place the most important information in the opening paragraph and follow up with supporting information, enough to ensure that the reader sees the important details first and that you hope, to continue until the end Is ready from.

Source: Keep your sources with information and citations that they do not provide, at the bottom of each page or the end of the story, as you would for an academic paper.

Your conclusion can be your final information, summary or carefully chosen quote to leave the reader with a strong sense of your information.

What are the 5 parts of a newspaper article?

Who – Who was involved?

What – What happened?

Where – Where did it happen?

Why – Why it happened?

When – When did it happen?

How – How it happened?

How do I find newspaper articles?

Now how will you know where to submit the article? Talk to the editor yourself and write and submit the article as per your need.

what are the requirement for submission of article in newspaper.

mr. gitesh sharmaze, does a news paper or a magazine\'s article should have a definite purpose intended by a caliber-ed author. haa yee bath tho hai k...

hindi news tak is one of the best hindi news website which provides latest breaking news in hindi, in it you can get or read latest politics news, ent...

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How to write newspaper articles.

While educating myself with a correspondence writing course, I wrote a number of articles for local newspapers. Although I always wanted to write fiction, the course advised starting with non-fiction and journalism. This is because it is a lot easier to sell a newspaper article than a book, especially if you're writing a piece of local interest and are approaching a local publication.

Having an article published gives you valuable experience in dealing with editors and how they edit (or, in some cases, butcher) your work to make it fit the page.

Writing a gig or theatre review makes an excellent starting point. If the gig is local and you write well, a local paper is likely to use your work. That’s how I started – I wrote a review for a band I played in. Admittedly, this was a bit cheeky, but being in the band meant I knew the music and knew no one else from the paper was there to review the gig. This allowed me to write about the band and the performance convincingly.

To write an article, you need an angle. When the smoking ban was first introduced in the UK, I decided to do a piece on it as I had a friend who ran a local pub. I interviewed him, talking about the impact it was having on his business. The editor loved the local angle and the article went straight in the next edition. A really simple idea, but it worked. By using local contacts, you can produce something unique that no one else might have thought of or be able to write.

I’ve discovered that one thing to avoid when doing this kind of freelance journalism is voicing your own opinion. No one cares what you think. Readers just want the facts so they can make up their own minds. I found editors tend to strip anything out that is opinion based rather than factual. You can describe what happened and allow an interviewee to talk and give their perspective, but your own thoughts are not needed. This technique seems to work well. Remaining unbiased results in a higher success rate.

I can’t really talk in any great depth about this as fiction is my first love and I simply used article writing as a stepping stone to gain experience with having work edited and published. However, the experience I gained from doing this has proved invaluable. For any kind of writer, journalism makes an excellent starting point.

Below are copies of some of the articles I’ve had published in local press; the Bristol Evening Post and the South Avon Mercury.

Bristol Evening Post - Valentine's Day Article - February 14th 2004

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Mercury - Ye Gods! Gig Review - November 11th 2004

Mercury - Smoking Ban Article - December 9th 2004

Mercury - Brain Busters - February 3rd 2005

Mercury - Valentine's Day Article - February 3rd 2005

Bristol Evening Post - Vic Du Monte - April 28th 2005

Mercury - Vic Du Monte - September 29th 2005

Bristol Evening Post - Vic Du Monte - September 29th 2005

Mercury - Ye Gods! Album Release - December 8th 2005

Mercury - Portishead Carnival Article - March 30th 2006

Mercury - Lands End to John O Groats Charity Ride - June 2007

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Stan P Hello. I'm from Pittsburgh, PA. Every time I contact a newspaper outside of Pittsburgh (National and Regional Newspapers) I get turned down because I am not local. How can I get published in other newspapers when they only accept local writers.

Chris Fielden Hi Stan. In my experience, for local papers, you have to come up with a story with a local angle. That was the only way I got into them, apart from in Bristol (where I live) because I’m a local writer. Or tie a story in with local events.

For example, I sent bacon into space once (crazy project…) and got into a Wiltshire (UK) area newspaper and on the local radio because they had an event all about locally sourced ham (Wiltshire is famous for it). Bit of an extreme example, but hopefully you see what I mean. The bacon in the project made it newsworthy for that area at that time.

Re the nationals: you’d need a really strong story to get into one of them – it’s very competitive and they often have in-house staff to contend with too. Still, if the story is strong and original and/or you have a unique interview or information or something newsworthy, most editors would still consider it.

I’ll admit, it’s been a long time since I wrote for a newspaper – about 6 or 7 years – but that was my experience of it at the time.

I hope that’s helpful.

Mani P Dear sir, I'd like you to write articles for our newly opened restaurant, in the Toronto Star or any other famous news paper in Toronto Etobicoke. Can you help me with that ?

Chris Fielden Hi Mani. I don't undertake that kind of writing anymore I'm afraid - I concentrate on fiction.

I'd recommend working with a Canadian author who understands the local publications.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Ravi A Hello. How can send you my articles to be published in news papers? I'm a writer and want to develop my career. Can you help me to publish my articles in news papers?

Chris Fielden Hi Ravi. I'm afraid I can't publish articles for you, as I don't run a newspaper. The best way to go about submitting your articles is to buy copies of newspapers you are interested in and read them so you understand the kind of stories they publish. Then read their submission guidelines and get in touch with them directly to pitch your ideas. In my experience, that's the best way to do it.

I hope that's helpful and wish you the best of luck with your writing.

Jemma U That was useful.

Chris Fielden Thanks, Jemma :-)

Grace J Thank you for the information! I am currently a year 8 (or grade 7, if you are in America) student who is planning to make a school newspaper with friends!

Chris Fielden No problem, Grace! That's awesome news about your school newspaper. Please let me know when you get it off the ground - would love to take a look at it :-)

Penchalaiah K How do I write for an English newspaper?

Chris Fielden Hi Penchalaiah. Most newspapers have contact details on their website. Some have submission guidelines too. So the best bet it to start there :)

Amarachi P I am Amarachi from Nigeria. I have been asked to write an article for publication on a newspaper on my experience as the football captain at my last school.

Chris Fielden That's great, Amarachi.

I wish you the best of luck with writing your article - it sounds really interesting :-)

Valerie T Hi,  I'm  Valerie. I've been asked to write and publish an article as an assignment in school. Can you give me any advice on what topics or areas to write on?

Chris Fielden Hi Valerie. It depends where you hope to have the article published. If you're going for a local newspaper (which is a good place to start) then an article concerning something of local interest might be good. For example, when the smoking ban was implemented in the UK, I interviewed a pub landlord in the town I live in about the impact it was having on his business and a local newspaper published it.

You could also consider contacting one of your local publications, explaining your situation and asking them if they would like you to write about anything specific.

I hope that helps and wish you the best of luck with your assignment.

Chioma N I am Chioma from Nigeria. I am 16 yrs old. I really want to know more about being a journalist. Can you teach me? Thank you.

Chris Fielden Hi Chioma, thank you for your message.

I used to do a lot of writing for newspapers, but I now concentrate on fiction writing and running my blog, so I can't help you I'm afraid.

There are many online writing courses. I'd research some of them as a starting point. Try checking out your local universities - many unis run journalism courses. Or try the Open University and similar educational facilities that operate online learning options.

I hope that helps and wish you the best of luck with your writing :-)

Chioma N Thank you.

Chris Fielden You're welcome, Chioma :-)

Ejoh E I'm a content creator, writer for Cheap SEO Articles but I want to become a freelancer. I tried writing for someone once and he complained. He said it was too short and jumbled. I felt the article was fine. What can I do to make my article better?

Chris Fielden Hi Ejoh. Thank you for your message.

I'd recommend having a couple of articles critiqued. You can do that via a paid service, like the critique service I offer on my website .

Or you can look at platforms that offer free critiques. I list details of those in this resource .

I hope that's helpful and wish you the best of luck with your writing :-)

Eamonn M Good article, Chris. It came up when I googled article writing so your SEOs are working!

I used to write humorous articles for the Bristol Evening Post and was paid about £30 each for them, not bad back in the 1980s. I don't think they pay anything now but I'm thinking of article writing to keep my brain in gear. I'm giving up on short stories. Even the tiniest non-paying mag gets hundreds of submissions a month now. As for novels, there are 8 billion on Amazon and 8 billion authors tweeting at you to buy their book. I can't give mine away. Also, friends and family read articles. No one except my brother is the least bit interested in fantasy and SF.

I enjoyed your short story book and must review it on Amazon. All your advice was sound but there are so many short story writers now that even the lowest paying obscure online zines get hundreds of submissions every month. One's chance of acceptance is getting lower and of money almost zero. Not much reward for the effort.

Chris Fielden Thanks for your comment, Eamonn.

Sorry to hear you're giving up on fiction writing. You're right about the number of authors and submissions, but I find a dogged approach still works. Everyone experiences rejections, but if you keep trying, acceptances still occur. I'd urge you to keep trying.

Article writing can earn you money, depending on who your write for and what you write about. I hope that works well for you. And if you enjoy it, that's great. I find non-fiction easier to write. Well... "easier" might be the wrong word. "Quicker" might be more accurate. Fiction takes me a long time to write. Making things up requires more thought, I think. Writing a bit of fiction and non-fiction is good, though. Each inspires the other. I find the same with music. Working in different creative mediums works well for me. Maybe it will work for you too?

All the best to you.

The copyright of the stories and content published on this website remain with the author.

Christopher Fielden and all the other contributing authors published via this website have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the authors of these works.

The stories and articles on this site are provided for you to read free of charge subject to the condition that they are not, by way of trade or otherwise, copied, lent, sold, hired out, printed or otherwise circulated in any format without the author’s prior consent.

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How to I write an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+write+an+article+for+publication+in+national+newspaper Read lots and take good notes.

People who do that are called "journalists" (except by some politicians). Journalism is a profession that you can major in in schools. My suggestion is to search online for the term "Journalist education" or something like that. For example: https://learn.org/articles/What_Education_is_Required_to_Become_a_Journalist.html

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