How to Write an Article

Writing to be understood takes more than stating all the facts. It means your prose itself must be clear and uncomplicated. You can explain very complex ideas without having complex text. This does not mean you should play down your vocabulary. It means that you should make sure you’re using words correctly in proper grammatical sentences. If you don’t know what a word means or how to use it, look it up. Your prose should be free of ambiguity. Sentences should not be choppy, but neither should they run on beyond a single idea. Paragraphs should be logical structures and if you must say something in a complicated way that runs to several sentences, try adding a sentence to summarize the idea. In other words, make every effort possible to be clear about each point in the article.

The first paragraph of your article is the most important. The first paragraph is used to ‘animate’ your article, to give it life, meaning and context. Animating paragraphs may express feelings – joy, happiness, sadness, or something similar. They may consist of short stories or examples of what you are trying to describe. Animation may be placed into your essay at any point. But it is generally most effective when introducing a topic, or when concluding a topic.

The Introduction

Simply introduce the topic and explain what you’re going to write about, without using ‘I’ at all. You may wish to begin with a blocked quotation if you have found one that really sums up your focus point well Don’t use one just for the sake of starting that way, though. The introduction gives the reader the essential information right at the beginning. The introduction is the most important part — entice your reader. Use quotations, drama, and emotion, everything to build up an atmosphere.

The Main Body

The main body needs to answer the questions raised in the introduction. So you have to maintain the atmosphere while answering. Don’t just write down the set of facts. Try to relate each paragraph to the next in some fashion. In long articles, you can also use subtopic structures to break up the prose and avoid having to segue between all sections. When you cannot be certain of something you’re stating on your own, be sure to include supporting words and phrases so it cannot be assumed that you are stating absolute facts. If your analysis can be stated as fact, however, do not use ambiguous words, because they will minimize the impact of your analysis.

The Conclusion

In your conclusion, follow the same rules as the introduction: don’t patronise, don’t use ‘I,’ and don’t be cheesy. Your conclusion needs to remind the reader about what the article was all about, so use a strong punch line.

Length

Most assignments come with a specific word count in mind: some a minimum, some a maximum, some both. I have found that most articles tend to easily fall within the required word count range naturally. If your article is thoroughly researched, it should be difficult to fall below a word count target. In fact, if your research was very good, you may have more difficulty staying below a maximum word count. You have to find a balance between fitting in the information you deem essential and not making the article sound disjointed and choppy. Too often, students write the same points over and over again, wasting space and making the article boring.