What makes a good article?

Touchstone Newspaper© Danielle Travali, 2010-2011

Is it engaging? Interesting to read? Well-researched? Well-thought out? Would you want to read this even if it weren’t your writing (that’s a tough one, but get serious and ask yourself that question)?

These are just a few things for you to think about when piecing together your story…

The Writing

Is the piece well-cited? Where did you get the facts you’re using in your article?

If it’s not an editorial or solely opinion-based piece, poem, work of fiction or something you devised all on your own, you need to ask yourself the following: how many experts did you interview? This makes a difference between CREDIBILITY and CRAP

Credibility

Hyperlinks are important, because they direct people to:

Things you don’t necessarily want to describe

Relevant outside information that’s beneficial to your story

Your sources Relevant videos that make your story more

engaging

Hyperlinks

The benefit of the Web is that people can participate—it’s an ACTIVE medium versus other PASSIVE forms of journalism (newspapers, television, etc…where you don’t do anything but LOOK and get BORED)

Interactivity / Multimedia

This is important. Do your homework by reading the news and talking to people. What do people want to read about? Search Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Yahoo Buzz, Technorati, and other social networking sites to find out what people are searching for on a regular basis.

Consider your audience. You’re writing for college-aged students with interests and issues similar to yours. Ask yourself: is my story relevant? Is it timely? Why would my audience care?

Relevance and Shelf Life

A well-organized story is key to keeping the reader’s/viewer’s attention.

Your nut paragraph, or central idea, should come in the beginning after your lead (starting sentence that draws your reader in…should be engaging / witty / poignant to fit the house style).

Body paragraphs to follow, with a thought-provoking ending (you do not have to write a conclusion. This is not the same thing as an academic term paper)

Good organization

and you’ll be a pro!

Follow these guidelines…