| Tips
on Writing Newspaper Articles and Submitting
Photos |
The
Inverted Pyramid
Newspaper stories are usually written in
an inverted pyramid style. This means that
the basic facts, the conclusion, the lead,
etc., comes first. As you move through the
story, more and more detail and background
is provided.
This
is different than much writing where you
build to a conclusion, putting together
details and background before explaining
what the results are.
This
type of writing came about in newspapers
for a variety of reasons. First, in the
days of the telegraph, the whole story
took long to transmit, and starting with
the main information ("The battle
was lost, 940 killed") was more important
for getting on press immediately than
the details ("Our soldiers crossed
the bridge at dawn with fresh supplies...").
Secondly, it made it easier for the layout
people to fit the story in the available
space, since they could just cut off the
end. Finally, it also made it much better
for readers who had differing amounts
of time to read and were awating the main
information.
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How
to Write a Newspaper Article
1 Choose a recent news article
from the a newspaper and observe its style
of writing:
Headlines
are in bold and a larger print
use
important words that immediately capture
your attention
use
few personal pronouns
unlike
titles of books, the first word is usually
the only word to start with a capital, except
proper nouns.
The
first letter is usually larger and fancy.
The
Byline is often written in capital letters.
Identifies
the newspaper name and city.
Uses
captivating vivid verbs and nouns.
2 Read the leading paragraph of several
various articles and indicate the 5 W's
(What, where, when, who, why, and how)
3 Note that the newspaper articles usually
have several paragraphs
4 Note that the majority of newspaper articles
are NOT written from a first person narration.
5 Note that the pictures often have captions. |
Select
A Photo
1
Write a short article in newspaper
format. The piece is to be 200 words or
less.
2 Once the rough piece has been
written, type it on a computer and run spell
check and grammatik. Use your computer tools
and place the text within a ‘FULL'
format.
3 Check for the following:
is
the title captivating,
is
the title in bold
does
the headline use proper capitals
is
the headline centered
does
the headline capture the reader's attention
does
the byline use your real first name and
an imaginary last name
have
you stated the location and name of the
paper
does
the leading paragraph answer the 5 W's (if
so write down what they are in order to
ensure that they are clearly stated)
does
your story have paragraphs
does
your story avoid first person narration
can
you find at least five vivid words or phrases
is
there a quote or citation from " a
person or institution of authority"
does
your closing paragraph have a powerful completion
4 After making revisions and
editing your work print the ‘good'
copy and share it with a peer. (The more
suggestions they make, the better your article
will become so stress that they are to point
out any discrepancies and parts of your
article that does not appear clear to them.)
5 Make the new revisions. Print
your ‘good' copy and hand it in to
the teacher who will make further suggestions
6 Make the new revisions. Print
your completed copy and place it in your
writing folder. Smile at yourself for doing
such good work! |
Who
- What - When - Where - Why - How
Almost all newspaper stories start
off by answering most of these questions.
Try to answer these questions in your story.
For example: "Sherry Smith won first
place in the Cutest Pet contest yesterday
at Columbia Mall." Check your local
newspaper for more examples.
Accuracy.
Your writing might be wonderful, but if
you don't get the facts right, people
won't believe what you write the next
time. Make sure everything you say is
true. And spell people's names correctly
— they get upset when you don't.
What
makes a good story? Anything that could
interest or affect your classmates, teachers,
school or family will make a good story.
For example, science topics like the strange
worlds of the planets and how the weather
works … school activities such as
fund-raisers, what goes on in music classes,
and the importance of safety patrols …
after-school activities … a review
of a book you enjoyed … or how middle
school will be different from fourth grade
all could make good newspaper stories.
Be curious. Ask yourself, "What would
I like to know more about?" —
then write a story about it.
Interviews
You may want to interview someone to get
the facts. Here's what to do:
- Make
an appointment. Call or meet with the
person, tell them what kind of a story
you want to write, then set a time and
place for the interview.
-
Prepare questions. Write down the questions
you want to ask. For example, "How
long have you been working here?"
"What do you like most about your
job?" and "Is there anything
you would like to tell our readers?"
- Take
tools. Take a small notebook and two
pens or pencils to the interview.
- Write
it down. Take notes as the person answers
your questions — you want to be
sure to quote the person accurately
in your story. It's OK to ask the person
to repeat what they said or ask them
what they mean if you don't understand
them the first time. The main thing
is to get it right.
- Research.
Use encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs
and other reference materials to get
the facts you need. More and more reporters
are doing their research on the Internet.
Research includes interviewing people
— such as a professor or doctor
or coach — who know the facts.
And your research may be just your own
observation of an event: for example,
reporting on the visit of a policeman
and his dog to your class.
Writing
the Story
Start with a good lead — a sentence
that grabs your reader and makes her want
to read more — for example, "The
fourth grade class painted one wall of
their classroom with a picture so strange
that their teacher immediately sent for
the principal." Write your story
plainly so that everyone can understand
it. If possible, use quotes in your story
to make it more interesting - for example,
"The flames were so hot I thought
my helmet would melt," the firefighter
said. And remember to answer the questions
Who - What - When - Where - Why - How.
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