writing a newspaper article english

How to Write a News Article

Jennifer Calonia

News articles report on current events that are relevant to the readership of a publication. These current events might take place locally, nationally, or internationally.

News writing is a skill that’s used worldwide, but this writing format—with its unique rules and structure—differs from other forms of writing . Understanding how to write a news story correctly can ensure you’re performing your journalistic duty to your audience.

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What is a news article?

A news article is a writing format that provides concise and factual information to a reader. News stories typically report on current affairs that are noteworthy—including legislation, announcements, education, discoveries or research, election results, public health, sports, and the arts.

Unlike blog and opinion posts, a strong news article doesn’t include personal opinion, speculation, or bias. Additionally, the diction and syntax should be accessible to any reader, even if they’re not deeply familiar with the topic. News stories, therefore, don’t contain jargon that you might find in a research paper or essay.

What are the rules for writing a news article?

Whether you’re learning how to write a short news story for a school assignment or want to showcase a variety of clips in your writing portfolio , the rules of news writing hold true.

There are three types of news articles:

Regardless of the type of news article you’re writing, it should always include the facts of the story, a catchy but informative headline, a summary of events in paragraph form, and interview quotes from expert sources or of public sentiment about the event. News stories are typically written from a third-person point of view while avoiding opinion, speculation, or an informal tone.

How is a news article structured?

While many news stories are concise and straightforward, long-form or deeply investigated pieces may comprise thousands of words. On the shorter side, news articles can be about 500 words.

When it comes to how to structure a news article, use an inverted pyramid. Organizing your content this way allows you to thoughtfully structure paragraphs :

The first paragraph of a news article should begin with a topic sentence that concisely describes the main point of the story. Placing this sentence at the beginning of a news article hooks the reader immediately so the lede isn’t buried.

At a traditional newspaper, this practice is described as “writing above the fold,” which alludes to the biggest, most pressing news being visible at the top of a folded newspaper.

How to write a news article

There are a handful of steps to practice when writing a news story. Here’s how to approach it.

1 Gathering information

Source the five Ws about your news topic: who, what, where, when, and why. Lock down a keen understanding of the timeline of events so you can correctly summarize the incident or news to your reader. The key is to position yourself as a credible and reliable source of information by doing your due diligence as a fact gatherer.

2 Interviewing subjects

Consider who you want to interview for the new article. For example, you might choose to interview primary sources , such as a person who is directly involved in the story.

Alternatively, secondary sources might offer your readers insight from people close to or affected by the topic who have unique perspectives. This might be an expert who can offer technical commentary or analysis, or an everyday person who can share an anecdote about how the topic affected them.

When interviewing sources, always disclose that you’re a reporter and the topic that you’re writing on.

3 Outlining

Draft an outline for your news article, keeping the inverted-pyramid structure in mind. Consider your potential readership and publication to ensure that your writing meets the audience’s expectations in terms of complexity.

For example, if this news article is for a general news publication, your readership might include a wider audience compared to a news article for a specialized publication or community.

Brainstorm a snappy headline that concisely informs readers of the news topic while seizing their interest. Gather the most important points from your research and pool them into their respective pyramid “buckets.” These buckets should be based on their order of importance.

4 Writing

Get to writing! The paragraphs in a news article should be short, to the point, and written in a formal tone. Make sure that any statements or opinions are attributed to a credible source that you’ve vetted.

5 Revising

Reread your first draft aloud. In addition to looking for obvious typos or grammar mistakes , listen for awkward transitions and jarring tense or perspective shifts. Also, consider whether your first draft successfully conveys the purpose of your news story.

Rework your writing as needed and repeat this step. Don’t forget to proofread your work.

6 Fact-checking

Strong news stories are built on facts. If any statement or information is shaky or unsupported, the entire work is compromised. Before publishing a news article, double-check that all the information you’ve gathered from the beginning is accurate, and validate the information that your interview sources provided, too.

How to write a news article FAQs

What is a news article .

A news article informs readers within a community of current events that are relevant to them. It typically revolves around a topic of interest within a publication’s readership, whether the information is about local, national, or international events.

News articles are structured like an inverted pyramid. The most important or crucial information is always presented to the reader up front, followed by additional story details. A news article concludes with less important supporting information or a summation of the reporting.

The general rules for writing a news article involve accuracy and integrity. Report on the details of a story in a factual, unbiased, and straightforward way. When writing a news article, do not editorialize or sensationalize the information, and keep your content free of your opinion.

writing a newspaper article english

How to Write a News Article

Last Updated: February 28, 2023 References Approved

This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 74 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 2,134,330 times.

Writing a news article is different from writing other articles or informative pieces because news articles present information in a specific way. It's important to be able to convey all the relevant information in a limited word count and give the facts to your target audience concisely. Knowing how to write a news article can help a career in journalism , develop your writing skills and help you convey information clearly and concisely.

Things You Should Know

Sample Articles

writing a newspaper article english

Planning Your Article

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Writing Your News Article

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Proofing Your Article

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Be sure to double check all the facts in your news article before you submit it, including names, dates, and contact information or addresses. Writing accurately is one of the best ways to establish yourself as a competent news article writer.

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Expert Q&A

writing a newspaper article english

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Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about writing an article, check out our in-depth interview with Gerald Posner .

About This Article

To write a news article, open with a strong leading sentence that states what the article is about and why it’s important. Try to answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why as early in the article as possible. Once you’ve given the reader the most important facts, you can include any additional information to help round out the article, such as opposing views or contact information. Finish with a strong concluding sentence, such as an invitation to learn more or a statement indicating future developments. For tips on researching your article, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Writing a newspaper report

Learning focus.

To learn about the features of a newspaper and write your own newspaper article.

This lesson includes:

one video with tips on how to turn a story into a newspaper article

one video about the actions of Rosa Parks

three activities

In today’s lesson, you are going to write a newspaper article about the actions that a woman called Rosa Parks took in 1955.

But first, you’re going to revise what makes a good newspaper article.

Start by watching this clip.

Newspaper articles should:

Include facts. You can do this by answering the 5 Ws: what, when, who, where, why?

Have a short, snappy and informative headline.

Provide a summary at the start explaining what happened (but not giving everything away!).

Use paragraphs to help the reader clearly understand the information.

Provide quotes to show people’s opinions about the event.

You could also include a picture with a caption to help the reader visualise what happened and who was involved.

Your writing should also:

Be formal (written as though you’re talking to someone older than you, like a teacher)

Use third person pronouns (he, she, it, they)

Be in the past tense (because the events have already happened)

You may need paper and a pen or pencil for some of these activities.

Read this Newsround article, called Mumbai Traffic - will clever red lights make drivers honk less?

It’s a good example so you can use it as inspiration for your own writing.

Once you’ve read the article, answer the questions below. You can write down your answers, think about them to yourself, or discuss them with someone at home.

What is the first thing at the very top of the article?

Does the first paragraph give away all the information about the story? What do we call this paragraph?

Is the article written in the third person ? Find a pronoun to prove this.

Is the article written in the past tense ? Find a verb to prove this.

There are no examples of direct quotes from people. Try writing down or thinking of two quotes that could have come from different Mumbai residents. One should be a fact and the other an opinion .

Does the article answer the 5 Ws: what, when, who, where, why?

Watch this video about the actions that a woman called Rosa Parks took in 1955. You will be reporting on her story afterwards.

Now fill in the ‘Article planner' to the right, using information from the video.

You can print it out if you like, or draw your own on a piece of paper.

In each box, make notes that show what you will include in each section of your article.

You don't need to write in full sentences when you are planning.

Watch the video as many times as you want to make sure you’ve got all the information and facts you need for your article.

Article Planner

Article Planner

Now write your newspaper article.

Include a headline at the top of your article. Make it short and snappy. You could even use alliteration.

Use your planning sheet to help you write in full sentences.

Look back at the Learn section for inspiration. These will help you remember what to include and how to write your newspaper article.

You could start with these sentences, if you like:

On December 1st 1955, a woman called Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat up for a white person. Her actions resulted in a bus boycott across the American city of Montgomery. Here's more about what happened.

Where next?

In this lesson you have revised the features of a newspaper and written your own newspaper article.

There are other useful articles on Bitesize to help you improve your non-fiction writing.

What are instruction manuals?

What’s the difference between adverts and brochures?

There's more to learn

More English Guides

More English Guides

Take a look at our other English guides.

KS2 English

More from KS2 English

More from KS2 English

Bitesize games

Explore brilliant games from BBC Bitesize.

There's more to learn ...

Fact opinion and report writing

Fact, opinion and report writing

Writing a newspaper report

Proofreading tips

How to write explanation texts

How to write explanation texts

How to Write a News Article That's Effective

It's similar to writing academic papers, but with vital differences

Techniques for writing a news article differ from those needed for academic papers. Whether you're interested in writing for a school newspaper, fulfilling a requirement for a class, or seeking a writing job in journalism, you'll need to know the difference. To write like a real reporter, consider this guide for how to write a news article.

Choose Your Topic

First, you must decide what to write about. Sometimes an editor or instructor will give you assignments, but you’ll often have to find your own topics to cover.

If you get to choose your topic, you might be able to pick a subject related to your personal experience or family history, which would give you a strong framework and a dose of perspective. However, this route means you must work to avoid bias—you may have strong opinions that could affect your conclusions. You also could pick a topic that revolves around a personal interest, such as your favorite sport.

Research for Your News Article

Even if you end up with a topic close to your heart, you should begin with research, using books and articles that will give you a full understanding of the subject. Go to the library and find background information about people, organizations, and events you intend to cover.

Next, interview a few people to collect more information and quotes that give perspective on the topic. Don't be intimidated by the idea of interviewing important or newsworthy people—an interview can be as formal or informal as you want to make it, so relax and have fun with it. Find people with backgrounds in the topic and strong opinions, and carefully write down or record their responses for accuracy. Let the interviewees know that you will be quoting them.

Parts of a News Article

Before you write your first draft, you should be aware of the parts that make up a news story:

Headline or title

The headline of your article should be catchy and to the point. You should punctuate your title using Associated Press style guidelines unless your publication specifies something else. Other members of the publication staff frequently write the headlines, but this will help focus your thoughts and maybe save those other staffers some time.

The byline is the name of the writer—your name, in this case.

Lead (sometimes written "lede")

The lead is the first sentence or paragraph, written to provide a preview of the entire article. It summarizes the story and includes many of the basic facts. The lead will help readers decide if they want to read the rest of the news article or if they are satisfied knowing these details.

Once you’ve set the stage with a good lead, follow up with a well-written story that contains facts from your research and quotes from people you’ve interviewed. The article should not contain your opinions. Detail any events in chronological order. Use the active voice —not passive voice —when possible, and write in clear, short, direct sentences.

In a news article, you should use the inverted pyramid format—putting the most critical information in the early paragraphs and following with supporting information. This ensures that the reader sees the important details first. Hopefully they'll be intrigued enough to continue to the end.

The sources

Include your sources in the body with the information and quotes they provide. This is different from academic papers, where you would add these at the end of the piece.

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

writing a newspaper article english

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Journalism Center

How to write a school news article.

News articles are designed to relate the news. The article is written to inform readers. It is factual, meant to present information in a quick, digestible form. The following elements of writing a newspaper article are important, so heed them well.

Research and Fact Gathering

Perhaps the #1 rule of writing a newspaper article is that you are factual. You do not want to make assumptions or fabricate information. Before you can write your article, you must have as many of the facts as you can gather. Here are some facts that you will need to find out:

You will also need to gather as much detail as you can. This will involve:

Once you have all your facts, you can begin to write your article.

The Headline or Title

For a news article, this is where you have most of your creativity. The headline must grab the attention of the reader. It needs to be catchy, emotion evoking, or creates curiosity. Be creative with it. In many instances, you will spend more time trying to come up with the perfect headline than you will in the actual writing.

The Article Body

The main news article itself is written from bottom down. In other words, the most important information comes first and each paragraph gives less and less details. Whereas a novel, for example, starts you out with little information and you must read to the end to get all of it.

In news article writing, however, you want to provide the key information right up front. You start with the 6 questions you should have already answered in your research:

Your first two paragraphs need to answer all these questions. For example:

The Varsity football team beat Smith High School last Saturday, 21 to 7, in a rematch that vindicated Coach John’s prediction of a win during Friday’s pep-rally. Our first home win this season at our very own Jane Doe Field was a morale booster to the entire student body. Quarterback, Joe Baker completed 18 out of 24 passes to cement the win.

This was only a simple example, but almost all the questions are actually answered in the first two sentences. From here you can add more inconsequential details, such as receiving yards, rushing yards, and so forth. You will at some point include quotes from people such as the coach, the quarterback, a receiver, a fan in the stands, and perhaps the principal. Although for quotes, you don’t want to include too many, but having two or three is important. By the time you get to the end of the article, you are simply expanding upon what the reader already knows from the first two paragraphs you wrote.

Don’t make your paragraphs long—two to three sentences each. Your word count will need to stay around the 500 word count or less, generally speaking.

SEE WHAT OTHER SCHOOLS ARE DOING

Below are just a few examples of what other schools are doing with their newspapers. Take a look and become inspired and find ideas.

writing a newspaper article english

Free Cloud Designer Templates

Our templates are 100% customizable, super user-friendly, and designed specifically to help you create outstanding school newspapers with our free Cloud Designer. Below are a few of the 100s of templates available to you. The first three show the various sizes we offer.

Who Are We?

We are a one-stop shop for all your newspaper needs. You can design and print real, actual newspapers right here. We specialize in shortrun newspapers for practically any niche or need, from schools to weddings.

MMNC Key Features

Popular Newspaper Niches

Schools - Colleges, High Schools, Middle, Elementary

Community - Income Generating, Public Service

Businesses - Marketing, Catalogs, Newsletters

Religious - Churches, Religious Organizations

More Popular Niches

Real Estate - Properties, Growth, Community

Restaurants - Menus, Reviews, Funny Pages

Political - Elections, Campaigns, Grass Roots

Personal - Birthdays , Reunions , Weddings

writing a newspaper article english

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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.

Newspaper

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.

Elegant Literature Monthly Fiction Magazine and Contest

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.

Writing Improvement Software

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.

Daily Writing Prompts

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

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Christopher Fielden Newspaper Article - Valentines - Bristol Evening Post - February 14th 2004

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

Christopher Fielden Newspaper Article - Ye Gods - Mercury November 11th 2004

Mercury - Smoking Ban Article - December 9th 2004

Christopher Fielden Newspaper Article - Smoking Ban - Mercury December 9th 2004

Mercury - Brain Busters - February 3rd 2005

Christopher Fielden - Brain Busters - Mercury February 3rd 2005

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

Christopher Fielden - Valentines Day Article - Mercury February 3rd 2005

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

Christopher Fielden - Vic Du Monte Newspaper Article - Bristol Evening Post - April 28th 2005

Mercury - Vic Du Monte - September 29th 2005

Christopher Fielden - Vic Du Monte's Persona Non Grata Article - Mercury September 29th 2005

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

Christopher Fielden - Vic Du Monte Article - Bristol Evening Post September 29th 2005

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

Christopher Fielden - Ye Gods gig - Mercury December 8th 2005

Mercury - Portishead Carnival Article - March 30th 2006

Chris Fielden - Portishead Carnival Newspaper Article - Mercury March 30th 2006

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

Chris Fielden - Lands End to John O Groats Charity Bicycle Ride Article - 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.

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:

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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writing a newspaper article english

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!

writing a newspaper article english

IMAGES

Newspaper Article Example For Students
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How to Write a Newspaper Article
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Newspaper Article Example
Best Photos Of Writing Newspaper Article Template

VIDEO

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COMMENTS

How to Write a News Article
The first paragraph of a news article should begin with a topic sentence that concisely describes the main point of the story. Placing this
How to Write a News Article: 14 Steps (with Pictures)
Writing Your News Article ... Start with the lead. Begin with a strong leading sentence. News articles begin with a leading sentence that is meant to grab a
Writing a newspaper report
Learn · Include facts. · Have a short, snappy and informative headline. · Provide a summary at the start explaining what happened (but not giving everything away!)
ESL
A good newspaper article include 6 elements (Headline, byline, placeline, lead, body and quotation). In this lesson, Mr. P. will list the
How to Write an Effective News Article
In a news article, you should use the inverted pyramid format—putting the most critical information in the early paragraphs and following with
How Do You Format a Newspaper Article?
Step 1: Choosing a Topic · Step 2: Researching and Collecting Sources · Step 3: Outlining the Structure · Step 4: Writing the Main Lead Paragraph.
How to Write a School News Article
The main news article itself is written from bottom down. In other words, the most important information comes first and each paragraph gives less and less
How to Write Newspaper Articles
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
How to Write a Newspaper Article
Newspaper articles have short paragraphs, often one to three sentences. The sentences are usually simpler, declarative sentences, as well--although not always.
How to Write a Newspaper Article for Grades 3-5
Inspire budding journalists in grades 3-5 with these news-article-writing resources from Scholastic, including newspaper jargon and graphic