How to write articles - Basic steps and formatting tips

Do you want to write articles? Are you struggling to express all your amazing thoughts/ideas in the form of words? Do you have the desire to become a good article writer?

Writing is an art, but it’s a learned art. Yes! Anyone can learn the art of article writing. Are you ready to express yourself in better writing? Article is a piece of writing written and published in either newspapers, magazine, journals or other online publication.

I am creating this blog out of my own experience in writing my first article. This blog tells you how to write article, its basic steps and formatting tips.

Basic Steps of Article Writing

Basic steps to write articles

Let’s learn the steps of writing article to attract reader’s attention. You can find the five important steps above on the picture.

1. Choose ‘Topic’ which you’re confident
  • Choose your article topic based on your interest area. This makes you confident in expressing your thoughts easily in writing.
2. Find your Objective Or Goal
  • Everyone writes article for a specific purpose. Find out the goal/objective of your article. Identify your reader’s needs.
3. Collect Data from reliable sources
  • There are many sources available to collect data. Not all data are authentic. Be sure to find data from trusted sources.
  • While gathering data, ensure that you don’t deviate from the objective of the article.
  • Do extensive research on the topic you are writing and construct in your own style. Never try to copy other’s thoughts/words as such as it is a bad practice.
4. Draft and Edit logically
  • Now you can step into “Writing”. Draft your article. Arrange all facts and data in a sensible flow. Once it is arranged, start constructing simple sentences. Use active voice.
  • Create a coherent paragraph by arranging the sentences in logical order.  I recommend to have different versions of draft and number it properly. By doing this, you can have a track of your data & edits.
5. Revise and Publish
  • Keep revising the article. Good things take time. So be patient and  spend valuable time in revising.
  • Last but not the least, Before publishing ensure that you follow the publisher’s guidelines. Articles submitted to publishers that don’t follow the submission guidelines will most likely be rejected.

Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s Stephen King

Article Formatting Tips

Formatting Tips of the article

You can find the format of article in the above picture.

1. Title of the Article
  • Always choose a powerful & catchy heading to attract reader’s attention. Title can have a single line of 3 to 7 words in simple language. Title should give a crisp idea of what is the article discuss about
2. By Line
  • By Line can be placed either at the left/right/bottom. Writer’s Name should be included in this area. Can include Date and Place if it’s a newspaper or Magazine article.
3. Introduction
  • Choose your article title as catchy and self-explanatory. This should create an expectation for the rest of the article .
  • You can start with a Slogan, Question, Amazing fact/figure/Statement in your article. Be sure that the introduction lets the reader know what this article writing is about.
  • You can also describe the problem along with solutions and alternatives the article is going to cover.
4. Body
  • Write meaningful paragraphs. You can use sub heading, lists, bullets/numbers .
  • Make a list of your main points and organise them properly (one to another logically) in such a way it leads to a confusion.Don’t try to convey unrelated information to the article. Include only the necessary details.
  • Explain the causes, effects and the present condition followed by suggestions/solutions..You can Include pictures, flowcharts, and tables to support your article. By doing this, you can get reader’s attention.
5. Conclusion
  • Many of us will pick up random sentences to make conclusion which is not good. Always keep in mind that never include any new idea or thought in concluding the article.
  • Give a brief recap of the entire article writing, which signifies the end of the write-up. Write a good and logical ending conclusion for the article

Hope this blog help you in understanding how to write articles, basic step by step procedure and how to format the article. Bring out The Writer in you.

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on– Louis L’Amour

Are you confused between article writing and blog writing? Blog writing and article writing are different and serve different purpose. Subscribe us and stay tuned for knowing the distinction between article writing and blog writing in our next blog.

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