📰 Article Writing — the format

Inform and engage a publication's readership, with a clear angle rather than a neutral survey.

Writing for: Readers of the named publication — a school magazine, a local paper, a website. The task always names them; the register follows.

Register: Semi-formal

Length: Usually 200–400 words depending on the paper.

Audience: Readers of the named publication — a school magazine, a local paper, a website

The format, in order

  1. 1

    Headline

    Short, intriguing, and about the angle — not a label.

    Why Our Library Is Busier Than Ever

  2. 2

    Strapline or byline

    Optional single line under the headline giving the angle or the author.

  3. 3

    Opening paragraph

    Hook plus the essential information. A question, a statistic or a scene.

  4. 4

    Body

    Develop two or three aspects, one per paragraph. Quotation or anecdote lifts it.

  5. 5

    Conclusion

    End with a forward look, a call to action or a return to the opening image.

What the marks are for

Content

  • ✓A clear angle rather than a neutral list
  • ✓Content pitched at the named readership
  • ✓Ideas developed with example, quotation or anecdote
  • ✓A deliberate ending

Language

  • ✓Engaging, semi-formal register appropriate to the publication
  • ✓Direct address and rhetorical variety where it suits
  • ✓Paragraphs short enough to read easily
  • ✓Headline that does real work

What loses marks

  • ✗No headline, or a headline that is just the topic
  • ✗Writing an essay and calling it an article
  • ✗Ignoring the named publication, so the register is generic
  • ✗Too formal for a school magazine, or too slangy for a newspaper
  • ✗Ending abruptly because the word count ran out

Phrases that work

  • Ask anyone who has tried it and they will tell you…
  • It is easy to see why…
  • But there is another side to this.
  • So what does this mean for the rest of us?
  • One thing is certain: …

Before you hand it in

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Command words cheat sheet

Study notes on the Learning Portal

Where this is examined

  • · Cambridge IGCSE ESL (0510) — writing
  • · Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500) — directed writing
  • · Edexcel International GCSE English Language (4EA1)
  • · Cambridge Lower Secondary English

Word counts, paper numbers and mark allocations are set by the syllabus for your session and change between series. Always check your current syllabus and your teacher's guidance before relying on a length or a mark split given here.

Other writing formats

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