what is an article and how to write an article
Answers
An article is a piece of writing that is published in a newspaper or magazine.
How to write an article:-
STEP 1: SELECT YOUR TOPIC.
Choose a topic that interests you enough to focus on it for at least a week or two. If your topic is broad, narrow it. Instead of writing about how to decorate your home, try covering how to decorate your home in country style on a shoestring budget. That’s more specific and, as such, easier to tackle.
Then write a rough, rough draft, including everything you can think of. Stay loose, avoid getting analytical, and enjoy the process of sharing what you know. When you’re done, you’ll have the bare bones of an article that only you could write. Then put it aside for a while.
STEP 2: ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE’S NEEDS.
Now, come back to your piece. Switch gears and imagine you’re the reader of this article. Pick three words to describe the audience you want to address (e.g., professionals, single men). As this reader, what questions would you like answered? You might not know the answers yet, but list the questions anyway; you’ll find answers in the next step.
STEP 3: RESEARCH.
Research will ground your article in fact. Good details to include with your how-to are:
Statistics
Quotes by well-known people
Definitions
Anecdotes (short, illustrative stories about yourself or someone else)
Quotes and examples from people like the reader or from popular books on the subject
References to other media (film, television, radio)
Helpful tools, resources or products (if many, consider creating a sidebar)
References to local venues or events (if for a regional/local publication).
Collect everything you have gathered and put it in a folder, an electronic document, a notebook or whatever you like. Don’t forget to keep track of sources in case you are later asked by an editor to verify them. You may want to sift through your research at a separate sitting from gathering it. Or just go ahead and sprinkle your research in right when you find it. It’s a lot like cooking—play around until you feel you have it “just right.”
STEP 4: TIGHTEN YOUR DRAFT.
Keeping your audience in mind, write a tighter draft incorporating the new supporting information you’ve collected. Sometimes what you’ve learned in Steps 2 and 3 may compel you to start over with a completely fresh draft. Or you may just want to revise what you have as you proceed, retaining a nice conversational tone by directly addressing your audience.
STEP 5: MAKE IT SPECIFIC.
ouble-check to see that you’ve included every pertinent step in the process. How-to articles have to be thorough. You want your reader to walk away knowing exactly how to make that Thanksgiving dinner on a shoestring budget, execute that rugby tackle or locate great accommodations.
STEP 6: READ, REVISE, REPEAT.