Writing Articles for Newspapers and Magazines Tips and Tricks

June 12th, 2007 by janet

When it comes to writing for magazines and newspapers, the technique is quite different to that of writing fiction and non-fiction books, and even writing for the web. At the Boyup Brook Book Bonanza in May, I went along to a workshop on this particular subject. I picked up some useful tips which I thought Id pass along to you. The Opening Line The opening line of the article must grab the readers attention straight away. This is no different to any other form of writing: a story must hook the reader in a very short space of time. The difference? In article writing, this hook must be the first sentence, not the second or the third. Another crucial point here is the length of the opening sentence. The word count needs to be no more than twenty-two words for your grab line. This in itself is a challenge. Sentence Style and Structure Sentences need to be short in this style of writing. Similarly, paragraphs consist of only two or three sentences. Theres a lot of what they call white space in articles, a technique thats used to break up the text, make it more appealing to read. The Use of Quotes An article is always more interesting to read if it includes quotes from someone with an expert opinion on the matter. But when doing this, the writer must make sure that he or she has relayed the quote accurately. Its important to always check with the source to avoid the possibility of misquoting. This sounds like common sense, but it wouldnt be hard to make assumptions or get a bit slack towards a deadline. Language In the examples read out at the workshop, and in further research Ive done, it seems that the rules of fiction writing go out the window in article writing. Adverbs and adjectives are scattered throughout the text, as are metaphors and similes. Whereas in fiction writing, the emphasis is on erradicating adverbs and not overusing metaphors which can distract the reader, this is not the case in composing articles. How To Query Editors Sending off a query to a magazine or newspaper editor is different again to querying book publishers. In the latter case, the writer must follow the publishers submission guidelines to the letter. This could mean submitting a query letter and a synopsis, or a cover letter, synopsis

and the first three chapters, or even the full manuscript. If the guidelines arent followed, the publisher wont even consider the manuscript. When a writer is contemplating having an article published in a magazine or newspaper, the instinctive response would be to send off the article as a way of demonstrating the high quality of work. Wrong. The advice in this workshop was not to waste time and energy producing articles that might never be picked up. So whats the answer? Easy. Send a query letter containing the following information:

knowledge of the magazines themes and content and an idea that would suit the readership; a sample of writing a writer bio, outlining credentials and past publications, if any; and the writers qualifications for being able to write the proposed article.

The sample of writing referred to in the above list ideally should be the first two lines of the article; the opening sentence (the grab line) and the first sentence of the second paragraph. This demonstrates the ability to write and write well. Some writers might feel terrified of submitting a query without having written the article. What if the idea is accepted? Can I deliver the goods on time? But the general consensus amongst the group was that sometimes writers need that little push to fire them up. Expect Rejection One thing that comes up time and time again in the writing world is to expect rejection. Its normal in this industry. The important thing is to keep on going; keep writing those query letters, researching markets, coming up with new ideas. The more a writers name is seen by editors, the better the chance of finally getting something accepted. One interesting school of thought amongst writers who submit to magazines in particular, is to go outside the magazines themes and styles. For example, some writers have struck gold when submitting a fiction piece to a non-fiction magazine, but still following their main theme. Obviously there is some leeway here with magazine editors. If something takes their eye and it brings another angle to the magazine, theyll snap it up. So whats the bottom line? Keep on trying, think laterally, and enjoy the writing experience.

Writing a Newspaper Article Level(s): Grades 6 - 9 Overview In this lesson, students will write a news article for the school newspaper. The lesson begins with a discussion about freedom of speech and the important role it plays in journalism. Next, students will learn how to create news articles by developing 'lead paragraphs' and by using the 'inverted pyramid' model. Once this is done, they will be given time during class to select topics, conduct research, write their articles and proof read and peer edit their own and other's works. Outcomes Students will:

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easyprint, pdf kit version. To open the lesson kit for printing, click here. To print only this page, use the "printable version" link at the top of the page.

understand journalistic terms and vocabulary understand the structure of news articles produce and publish written work, using appropriate technology analyse and assess the information and ideas gathered from a variety of print and electronic sources develop keyboarding skills develop peer editing and proof reading skills

Materials and Preparation Photocopy the following student handouts:

Creating a Newspaper Article Formula for a Well-Written News Article

Procedure This unit should take approximately one-and-a-half weeks.

Freedom of speech - 1 day Introduction to school journalism/brainstorming - 1 day Research articles - 2 days Write/revise - 3 days

Daily Lesson Plans Day One

Start out your journalism unit with a discussion about freedom of speech and what it means. Intermediate school students have many strong opinions on this topic and it gives the teacher a nice opportunity to play Devil's Advocate. Begin by asking the following questions:

Have you heard the term "freedom of speech"? Where does this phrase come from? What is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and how does it affect freedom of speech? Do you think we have freedom of speech in Canada? Why or why not? Should we have complete freedom of speech, so we can say anything we want?"

If the class as a whole seems to agree that "yes, we should have total freedom of speech" ask them:

Should racist remarks be allowed in the classroom? Should a teacher be allowed to swear in a classroom? Is it okay to tell lies and spread rumours about other classmates?

If the class as a whole seems to agree that "no, we should not have total freedom of speech" ask them:

Do you think newspapers should get permission from the person they are writing about before a story is printed? What if the person won't give permission? What if a story is important and the key person won't give permission? For example, if you found out that the principal was embezzling money from the school, do you think the principal would give you permission to print the story?

(A good background resource for this discussion would be the teaching lesson You be the Editor and You Were the Editor, which presents several fictitious "freedom of speech" scenarios faced by a news editor.) Tell students that they will be writing articles for a school newspaper. They will each be responsible for one article, but may work in pairs to write two articles. Tell them to think about a topic and bring ideas to class tomorrow. Day Two Distribute Creating a Newspaper Article Lay out a big sheet of bulletin board paper on a table in the middle of the room. Ask students to form a circle around the paper. Brainstorm ideas for newspaper article topics. Encourage students to include all facets of the school, and its activities. You may need to remind them their topics will have to be approved by the principal. Explain what limitations there might be. In some cases, students may censor themselves too much, and you will need to explain that it is okay to take risks. Once the list is finished, allow students to sign up for topics and form pairs if they wish. Limit the number of feature articles. Explain to students that space in a newspaper is an issue.

Space costs money and we only have so much money, therefore, we only have so much space. Talk about how to write a newspaper article. Distribute the handout Formula for a WellWritten Article. Tell them that the 'lead' is the opening to their article and should hook the reader. It should answer the 5 W's: Who, What, When, Where, Why (and sometimes How). Tell them about the inverted pyramid. This means that articles should be written with the most important information first and the least important last. Day Three Take your class to the library. Read your students an article that includes facts or statistics. Explore with them how the facts or statistics support the article. Ask them where they think the reporter found these facts or statistics. Tell students they must try to find two or more facts or statistics to support their topic. This gives them practice in research and adds substance to their article. If your students wish to do school wide surveys to get their facts, you will need to prepare a short lesson on statistics and what makes them valid and invalid. Find out ahead of time if teachers will allow your students to interrupt their classes to conduct surveys. Some teachers will appreciate the opportunity for their students to be involved in a survey, others will resent the disruption. Limit the number of survey topics for students to do. Days Four and Five Continue researching and writing news articles. Tell students they will be due in two days. Day Six Have students exchange news articles and ask them to check that the 'lead' paragraph answers the 5 W's. Ask them to answer the questions, "Did this article 'hook' you into reading more? Why or why not?" You may want to make up a check sheet that the students can fill in and return to the article writers. Ask students to revise their articles if it is necessary. Evaluation

Completed articles, including peer edited drafts.

.......................................................................

Creating a Newspaper Article 1. Outline the purpose of your article 2. Choose an article topic 3. Research the article 4. Write the article 5. Edit the article - have a friend proofread it

6. Rewrite the article and type it on the computer 7. Do a spell check 8. Optional class activity: Use a software program such as PageMaker or QuarkXpress to create a newspaper that will contain all the articles