WRITING SKILLS

WRITING: a newspaper article

A newspaper article is written with the purpose of giving
information. Because they are destined for a wide public, its
style can be more or less formal according to the target reader.

AN ARTICLE SHOULD CONSIST OF:

1st – an appealing/attractive HEADLINE (title) which gives the reader a hint of the
topic to be developed;
2nd – an interesting INTRODUCTION – a paragraph which gives the reader the main
information that answers to 4 questions: What? (o quê?), Who? (quem?), When?
(quando?), Where? (onde?);
3rd – a MAIN BODY – a paragraph or 2 with more details about the topic explored;
- a section analyzing the questions How? (como?) and Why? (porquê?)
- you can add direct speech from people involved/witness(es)/expert(s), etc.
4th – a CONCLUSION – a paragraph which sums up the main ideas mentioned
previously.

USEFUL TIPS:
1. Take special care when writing the headline for your article. After all, first
impressions count, and the headline is your presentation card. Here are some tips to
make an appealing headline:
▪ You should use the Simple Present if you are talking about something that
happened recently;
▪ Don’t use articles. They aren’t necessary in this case and only make headline
look very big;
▪ If possible, try to omit prepositions;
▪ When you are talking about organisations, don’t write their full name. use
the abbreviations;
▪ Quite often, you can leave out the auxiliary verbs.
2. Make sure you organise your text. Each aspect of the topic deserves to be addressed
in a different paragraph. Of course, you will have to use linking words and expressions
so that you give your text a good structure.
3. Use a wide variety of vocabulary and some more complex vocabulary and sentence
structures.

WRITING SKILLS

WRITING: a newspaper article

A newspaper article is written with the purpose of giving
information. Because they are destined for a wide public, its
style can be more or less formal according to the target reader.

AN ARTICLE SHOULD CONSIST OF:

1st – an appealing/attractive HEADLINE (title) which gives the reader a hint of the
topic to be developed;
2nd – an interesting INTRODUCTION – a paragraph which gives the reader the main
information that answers to 4 questions: What? (o quê?), Who? (quem?), When?
(quando?), Where? (onde?);
3rd – a MAIN BODY – a paragraph or 2 with more details about the topic explored;
- a section analyzing the questions How? (como?) and Why? (porquê?)
- you can add direct speech from people involved/witness(es)/expert(s), etc.
 WRITING SKILLS
4th – a CONCLUSION – a paragraph which sums up the main ideas mentioned
previously.

USEFUL TIPS:
1. Take special care when writing the headline for your article. After all, first
impressions count, and the headline is your presentation card. Here are some tips to
make an appealing headline:
▪ You should use the Simple Present if you are talking about something that
happened recently;
▪ Don’t use articles. They aren’t necessary in this case and only make headline
look very big;
▪ If possible, try to omit prepositions;
▪ When you are talking about organisations, don’t write their full name. use
the abbreviations;
▪ Quite often, you can leave out the auxiliary verbs.
2. Make sure you organise your text. Each aspect of the topic deserves to be addressed
in a different paragraph. Of course, you will have to use linking words and expressions
so that you give your text a good structure.
3. Use a wide variety of vocabulary and some more complex vocabulary and sentence
structures.