Article Conventions

Before beginning to put together my newspaper website, and the newspaper itself, I need to research methods and conventions writing articles, suitable for my newspaper. As articles will be featured on the website and newspaper, this is an important aspect of my project to get right, and I need to find the best way to write and present successful articles.

Newspaper Article Conventions

The front page of my newspaper will display the top stories of the week, so they will need to be suitably written and presented. Information in newspaper articles is generally laid out in order of importance, the vital parts being processed first and the end of the article being reserved for less important details.

Key features of an article include the headline, which is designed to be bold, eye-catching and give the viewer the main gist of the story, but at the same time doesn’t give too much away, to encourage readers to read on. It is usually written in the present tense, doesn’t always make grammatical sense and can include puns to amuse of intrigue readers.

The first paragraph of a newspaper paper article provides a summary of the story and usually answers the Five W’s – Who? What? When? Where? Why? Most readers will only briefly scan an article so the headline and lead paragraph are the most important things to concentrate on.

The story is then extended in the body of the article. The information is presented throughout several paragraphs, most only consisting of two or three sentences, putting the vital information first. Direct quotations are used wherever possible to allow readers to hear the ‘voice’ of the witness, and most readers will be more interested in the story if they can identify with at least one party involved.

Finally the end or tail of an article will include general details related to the topic of the article, but are not essential for understanding it. If a sub editor needs more space on a page, these last few sentences may be cut out.

As well as abiding to the Five W’s concept, by explaining these details early on in the article, we see the body of the article being filled with further details such as where the teenagers were taken, and Op Vision’s crime prevention plan since the burglary.

We can understand while the last few sentences relate to the story they aren’t particularly necessary and could be removed if need be.  Furthermore the heading has been emboldened to catch more attention, and gives the basic idea of the story, but leaves viewers to read on to find out the details of the story.

While this article is from a national newspaper, and on a larger more global topic, we can see that it still follows the majority of the same conventions as the smaller, local newspaper article. All five W’s are answered in the first two paragraphs, and the paragraphs themselves while longer, still only consist of one or two sentences each.

After the first two paragraphs of the article, the story is elaborated and expanded in much more detail, and readers can decide for themselves whether to read on or move on after finding out the initial details.

The use of direct quotes from several parties, offers a range of opinions on the matter, and as described above, it allows readers to identify with different parties, and increase their interest in the story.