The aim of newspaper article writing is to inform the reader with correct and up-to-date information. To achieve this, it is important to keep the tone of your writing informative without showing your own opinion or subjectivity.
Teaching students about writing newspaper articles can be challenging, but there are plenty of resources available to support teachers in their efforts. The key is to ensure that your students understand the importance of presenting factual information and to make sure they learn the skills needed to write well.
1. Use simple words to avoid confusing the reader and making it hard for them to read efficiently.
When writing a news article, it is important to keep the language simple and easy to understand. This is because newspapers are typically written for a broad audience, including those who do not know English as their first language.
2. Use a short, snappy and informative headline that tells the story of what happened to help the reader decide whether or not they want to read the rest of the article.
3. Have a clear structure to the article.
The news article should be organized into paragraphs and sub-paragraphs, so that the information can be clearly understood by readers. This helps them to follow the flow of the story and keep it interesting.
4. Include relevant information to make the article more interesting and compelling for the reader.
The lead paragraph of a newspaper article should include the 5 Ws: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. It should also include a summary of what is to come in the rest of the article.
5. Include quotes and opinions from people who were involved in the event.
This is to help the readers to get a clear picture of what happened, who was involved and how they feel about it.
6. Don’t make your article too long.
It is usually advised to keep newspaper articles to a maximum of 500 words and less. This is because big words are difficult to read and can take up too much space in the article.
7. Don’t overdo it with facts.
A good way to encourage your students to write with a clear structure is to ask them to create an article about something that has recently occurred. This activity can be very effective as it will teach them how to organize their thoughts and facts in an organised manner, ensuring that they will have an article that is well-structured.
