FOCUS : WRITING - an article
A BIG CURRENT ISSUE IN EUROPE - CATALONIA'S DESIRE TO BREAK FREE FROM SPANISH CONTROL
WORKBOOK ACTIVITIES
Five
Things You Need to Know about Writing Articles
In
Cambridge First or Cambridge Advanced, you might be asked to write an article.
But do you know what IS THE DIFFERENCE from other types of writing?
1 The
reader is identified
An
article is like a direct conversation with the reader. The exam question might
tell you who your readers are. For example, the students at a school, or the
people living in a town or people who are interested in sports. Everything you
write must speak to that reader and engage their interest right from the first
sentence.
2 It
has to get attention
If
you're anywhere on the internet these days, you'll be bombarded with articles
with headlines that pull the reader in. It's called "click baiting"
and all the writer is trying to do is make you open the page to read their
article. You need to think like a
journalist when you're writing your article.
Look
at the heading and the first line of this article. How did I get your
attention?*
3 It
has to be interesting
For an
article to work, it has to be engaging enough to read all the way through.
Remember how bored the examiner must be after reading fifty exam papers. Make
it easier for them to get a good impression about your writing by entertaining
them. Add humour, real life or made up examples, or make up quotes.
4 It
has to be easy to read
Use
subheadings to break up the text and make clear paragraphs. Write in a
semi-informal, conversational style. And
make sure there is organisation to your ideas. The planning stage is vital for
this. Spend 5-10 minutes brainstorming
ideas and choose the best three or four. Think what your subheadings might be
and then write a short introduction that lets the reader know what to expect.
Keep
in mind that you want the reader to keep reading, so don't tell them exactly
what they will read. This is not an essay! In an essay you usually restate the
question, explain how you will answer it and maybe say why it's important. In
an article, that will kill the reader's interest.
Look
back at this paragraph. What sentence style have I used that makes it
semi-informal and speak directly to the reader?**
5
Write a good ending
In an
essay you sum up the points that have gone before and draw a conclusion from
that. But in an article, it's better to give the reader something to think
about, perhaps by asking them another question or giving them a call to action.
Often, the best endings link back to the starting point in some way.
Here
are two endings I could use for this article:
Look
at your internet browsing history from the last day. Which articles got your
attention? Can you see how they did it?
So,
now you know how to write an article, why don't you write one giving advice on
something you know about?
Common
mistakes students make in articles
The language is too formal and more suited to essays. Avoid words like: to sum up, some people say, nevertheless, on one hand etc.
They
don't use quotes or examples
They
either use not enough, or too many, questions. The questions, called rhetorical
questions because they don't require an answer, shouldn't be more than one per
paragraph. Good examples are:
Have
you ever ……..?
What
do you think about ……..?
Are
you one of those people who thinks that ……?
What
would life be like if ……?
Will
the future bring us ….. ?
* A
title which makes the subject immediately clear. For some reason, people like
reading lists! And a direct, rhetorical question in the first paragraph to make
readers want to find out the answer.
**
I've used the imperative to give instructions. E.g. Think…Keep in
mind…Write…Spend…
