Article Writing – IGCSE English

Structure

An article for a newspaper, magazine, or online is often divided into three sections:

Introduction – captivating the reader or explaining the primary point of the piece to come Middle – making clear and fascinating comments about the issue End – a final paragraph that pulls the points together

If the purpose of an article is to convince the reader, the opening and closing paragraphs should establish the writer's point of view and make it memorable. Subheadings are occasionally used to indicate the substance of each section.

Language

The language of an article is determined by its aim and audience; typically, the vocabulary of the article will correspond to the topic material and who it is intended for. For example, you'd expect an article on a recent film release to include terms like actors, screenplays, and performances.

A memorable, appealing title is vital for capturing your readers' attention and enticing them to read the whole content.

Articles are typically written in Standard English, however colloquial expressions or phrases may be used to emphasise a point. To persuade the reader to agree with your point of view, employ persuasive methods like as the rule of three, rhetorical questions, and alliteration.

Example

Here’s an extract from an article (BBC Bitesize) that tries to persuade the reader to eat a more balanced, healthy diet:

Eat Right: Live Longer

It has been scientifically proven that the less junk food a person consumes, the longer they are likely to live. So why isn’t everyone dumping the junk? Jordan McIntyre investigates.

Fast food equals fat

A staple part of twenty-first century British home-life is the weekly takeaway treat: finger-licking burgers, sticky ribs and crispy chicken wings are, for many, the normal Friday night feast. The average national calorie count in the UK is a whopping 4500 a day, a key factor in the obesity cases that are soaring. Fast food is packed with fat and obesity contributes to a range of health issues - most significantly heart disease and depression. So why aren’t we changing our lifestyles?

Short on time

Families these days are spending less and less time at home during the working week. School commitments, work meetings and extra curricular activities mean that time is short and fewer people are prepared to put in the effort to prepare fresh, healthy meals.

And when time is tight, it seems we are even more willing to compromise our waistlines for a little bit of what we fancy – fast fatty food.

Eat yourself healthy

However, Georgia Thomas of the University of Food says, ‘I am convinced that it is possible to live a busy lifestyle AND prepare healthy, satisfying meals. It seems that people have simply got out of the habit of cooking. We are busy people; how do we reward ourselves? You guessed it - food.’ Britain clearly needs to shift the stodge, and fast.

The article begins with a brief, strong header that employs alliteration to pique the reader's curiosity and introduce the topic of the piece. The introductory paragraph's rhetorical inquiry encourages the reader to challenge the matter. The subheadings guide the reader through the content and serve as small headlines, capturing the reader's attention. The author used exaggeration and colloquial expressions to create a vibrant, fascinating piece. This linguistic style is employed throughout the work, with lines like 'little bit of what we fancy' and' shift the stodge' lending a conversational tone to the entire song.

To give credence to the argument, the final paragraph includes quotations from an expert. You'd think the article would go on to discuss how we can eat healthier and close with an explanation of how simple it is to do so.