TEXT TYPES REVISION #1: ARTICLES

How to write an article

There are a number of things you should take into consideration before you write, while you write and after you´ve finished writing...

1. Before you write

Take a minute to read the task(instructions) carefully and decide what to write and in which style.

Ask yourself the following questions

What do I have to write about? (Content/ check task)

What do I aim to do through the article? ( Identify the purpose (s): entertain / persuade/ inform/ offer advice/ describe/ argue)

Who is the article for? A newspaper, a formal magazine/ a blog...? (To decide on style/check task/ Identify your reader, everything you write must speak to him and engage his interest from the first sentence)

How many paragraphs am I going to write? (Organization)

What kind of language should I use? (Language/grammar I am expected to use/ check task)

2. While you write

 - Have into consideration that articles have different  PURPOSES , such as to inform and to entertain/interest the reader. Ideally after going through your text, your readers should have the feeling that they have learnt something or at least that they have had a good time.

- Think of an eye-catching TITLE  that grabs your reader, a “click baiting”. It should suggest the theme of your article.

Place: Use adjectives that can enhance its attractiveness ¨The Tranquility and Peace of an Island that Time Forgot¨

Proposing a solution or Opinion: You can address your readership directly, “ What you Need to Do to Be Successful¨

Qs: ¨Is Learning English Really Necessary Today?¨

Statement: ¨Laughter Can Improve Our Health¨

You are free to be creative when choosing a title but make sure it reflects what the text is about.

- It is always a good idea to start the article with an inviting title and a riveting INTRODUCTION. Something that makes your public continue reading. It could be a question (that they will only be able to answer after reading the text), or something intended to capture the reader´s imagination. You may start retelling a personal anecdote, using direct speech, describing a current state of events, using a metaphor, an exaggeration, statistics or  a quote.

- As you write remember to stick to your PLAN, check that you are truly answering the task questions and that you have clear well-organized coherent PARAGRAPHS (You shouldn´t start writing about A and end up writing about Z). It is also of vital importance to include some advanced examples of the USE OF GRAMMAR as well as lexis (idioms, collocations, sayings.) So instead of saying something like "I had a lot of fun although I don´t normally enjoy jazz concerts" say something like” I had a whale of a time although jazz concerts are not my cup of tea" (idioms: have a whale of a time; not my cup of tea.)

- You may use SUB-HEADINGS (questions, statements, imperatives)to break up the text and make clear paragraphs .

- Address your readers every now and then.

- You  may include humorous comments, jokes, reported speech, rhetorical questions, depending on the purpose and tone of the article.

- Write a good ENDING. Give your readers something to think about, by asking them another question or giving them a call to action. Try to link back to the starting point.

- You may write down your FULL NAME below the title or at the end. By: X

3.  After you write

Take your time to proofread. Check for spelling mistakes and see if you have to make any corrections. Make sure that you have used a wide variety of words and if you find one that has been used more than once, replace it for a synonym.

Avoid repetition: Don´t say "I like history programmes, I also like music programmes."

 Say: "I´m into history programmes and I also like music TV shows."

 Ask yourself the following questions:

 - Have I completed the task? (Content)

 - Is my article well-organized? (Organization)

 - Have I used a wide range of vocabulary? (Language)

 - Have I used different grammar tenses? (Language)

 - Is all the article written in the same style? (Style)

 - Is the article interesting enough? (Reader)

What is the difference between an article and an essay?

 As I see it, an essay is more academic, usually written for a university/college class. An article is usually for a magazine or a blog, they can be formal or informal, the topics can be serious or trivial, they are indented to inform and also to entertain.

SAMPLE 1

Task: "You are a student at an international college. Your tutor has asked you to write an article for the college website on ways students can improve language skills outside the classroom. In your article, you should suggest ways in which students can make contact with English-language speakers. You should also assess whether the most effective way of improving language skills is to make friends with speakers of the language"

A fun way to learn English (give your article a title)

(State your main idea in the first paragraph)

In today's intercultural society, no one can deny the importance of learning a second language, especially English. In our college we believe that major action should be taken to guarantee that all of us, the students, are given the chance to practice this ability to communicate with people from all over the world. This task will require working with a holistic approach and will imply the participation of a very committed group of people willing to help each other. So are you ready? (use a question to motivate readers)

(Organize your text into paragraphs)

Our first idea is to use the Internet. For young people surfing the net is as easy as pie and we all have access to it. We suggest getting in touch with other students from around the world. Some highly recommendable sites include a wide range of social networks as Facebook and Twitter. It is also a good idea to encourage students to chat via Skype with people from English speaking countries.

 A second idea is to organize reading or conversation clubs, which can have monthly gatherings in different spots in the city. Needless to say this will be a very effective way to learn while making friends and having a blast. There are several attractive places in town such as parks, art galleries, cafés, and social artistic venues where students and professionals can give a boost to their social and language skills.

A final idea is for the college to create a web page. With the support of this effective tool, our students can have blogs with a variety of engaging tasks and games. We can have fun getting familiar with collocations and structures that can be shared as part of an exercise on our creative website. It will definitely be highly engaging for students regardless of their backgrounds and specializations; they will find an enjoyable site where they can put language into practice, as they will be well-connected and comfortable with the cutting-edge technology.

By Elena Traviesa

#words: 325

SAMPLE 2

Blind love for cities

It is said that love is blind and it must be so. I have got a soft spot for cities, polluted or heavily congested as they might be. I would not like to live in the country at all ! There is something soothing about cobblestone roads and the reek of exhausted fumes. I can´t explain it, it just makes me feel at home. It may have something to do with having been born and raised in a city. One gets used to the odours and the noise, and the sight of the hoardings advertising beer and the queues at the bus stop.

It is not true what some anti-city people say, that they are difficult places to live in. On the contrary, more  and more people are choosing to live in them, as they have so much to offer, both socially and culturally, as there is the theatre, the malls, the 24/7 multiplex cinemas, the workshops, the concerts, and so on. In the city there is always somewhere to go, someone to meet and something to think of. Isn´t it the place that has inspired musicians to compose the best of songs or directors to set their unforgettable scenes? Eastern or Western, big or small,  it is in the city where we find those once-in-a-life- time opportunities that make us feel we are on the top of the world. It is there where we dream, love, hate, know, meet, feel…

You may, therefore, rarely disagree that this is not the case of the country. I recently travelled to the hills, in the outskirts, to visit some friends of mine. What a nightmarish experience I had! All that quiet and peace was nerve-racking; I was constantly, secretly, expecting something seriously bad to happen, or better, just something to happen, to escape from that silence and hear some noise! There is something about the country that certainly makes many people feel nostalgic, whether it is its colors or its sounds, it is a mystery hard to unfold.

Needless to say, city life and the wonders we may find in it bare no comparison with what many people nowadays claim to find just outside of it. So never mind how heavily country dwellers criticize cities, don´t believe them. It is true that in the cities we have muggers and hooligans, but... we also have music, and people, and cosmopolitan bars that can be found nowhere else but in these spots many of us blindly fall in love with.

Gustavo Albarracín

 words: 421

                                                      

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