What is Article Writing? Article Writing is one of the many forms of writings where you can make your arguments on topics that interest you enough to share your ideas with the world through numerous channels. These channels have evolved with the passage of time; from newspapers, magazines to gradually claiming a huge stake over the digital space.
Books, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, the gigantic online space of social media, blogs, videos have turned the world into one global village where there is a seemingly perennial flow of ideas. The relevant connection of these ideas from different sources is the root cause of innovation we see in real-time.
Humans have been gifted with the capability to think and generate ideas. Ideas have established and destroyed civilizations. They give way to progress, change and revolution. Ideas when expressed into words, shared with the world and manifested into actions, cause development. Everyone has ideas. They have no identity unless there is a mutual sharing of information.
Article writing is different from other forms of writing. The main objective of article writing is to share ideas to a large audience through offline or online platforms and contribute to creating a space for change in thoughts, events and happenings. Articles also serve the purpose of communicating news incorporating academic, political, economic analysis amongst the masses through print and electronic media.
The first step:
The first step of article writing is to choose a well-defined topic. It can be something you feel strongly about. It is necessary to pick such a topic because your interest and enthusiasm regarding the subject naturally get reflected in the words and the tone with which you will be writing. Such a write-up garners the attention, respect, and time of the reader.
The second step:
An article essentially needs good and reliable content.
To write an efficient article, you should try to know the topic inside out. Preliminary research should be conducted through all the available sources; books, research papers, journals, newspapers, online material in the form of relevant blogs, websites, social media content, news articles. Physical examination by undertaking a field trip to the place of your subject is a very passionate move to get a close-up and reliable view of the ground situation. Gathering evidence in the form of photographs, videos, statistics, opinions of the authority will add to the content of your article. It will also establish a feeling of trust amongst the people who read the material you will be publishing. Maintain a record of the sources you have gathered the information for ready reference.
The third step:
The second step is all about reading and knowing. The next step is roughly writing whatever you have learned. Allow your mind to do the thinking and analyze the information you have gathered and loosely write whatever comes to your mind regarding the topic. Avoid being concise and let the free flow of ideas, opinions take the first seat. There is no need to be systematic in jotting the raw thoughts down. When done with writing all that is known, you end up with a framework of your article. This framework needs to be refined, rearranged, and structured in a scheme that increases its readability.
The fourth step:
To deliver the objective of article writing, your material has to stand out amongst the noise of other write-ups on the same topic, especially on the internet. You need to gather your reader’s attention. They need to be assured that the time they invest in reading your article is worth it.
Nobody will invest time out of their daily schedule to read the same plain sentences they have to read at their school, colleges or offices out of obligation. If you want people to read your article, you need to think like a reader. Always take into consideration the need of your readers while systematically writing the content. Keep yourself in the shoes of the target audience and accordingly set the tone and style of your language.
The tone of your writing makes a remarkable difference in the readability of the article. You should maintain a casual but not too formal tone of writing.
The article should involve a direct conversation with the reader in a semi-formal way aimed to create a natural flow as the material is consumed. Care should be taken that the readers do not lose interest through their reading session. It is always a good idea to add elements of humour, entertainment and personal touch to the write-up, that the readers can relate to.
The fifth step:
Special attention needs to be given to structuring the contents of the article in a manner that efficiently delivers the required information in a way that is eye-catching and worth retaining.
The article should essentially start with a catchy, concise, to the point title. The title should be chosen in such a way that it sparks curiosity in the mind of the reader. By doing this you let your reader to roughly interpret what is in store for them and keep holding their attention by feeding their curiosity with the rest of the content.
The introduction to the article should be composed in a way that it provides only the very important and prerequisite information in an approachable, interesting and captivating manner. The introduction should be apt and definitely not lengthy. It should be engaging yet simple. A small insight into the value of content ahead is the most crucial part of the introduction.
The next section of the article is the main body of the write up which should systematically describe the ideas, opinions, supporting evidence in the form of well-structured paragraphs. Subheadings and points should be used to increase the visibility of the content.
The sixth step:
Read, revise, repeat.
Make efforts to filter out grammatical errors. Take special care in rechecking the formation of the sentences over and over again.
Read your words out loud.
Ask a few acquaintances to go through the draft. Accept criticism constructively and apply changes, if required.
Finally, publish your work.
Article writing is an activity that you can master with practice and perseverance. The more you read from different sources, the more you develop your ideas and opinions. The more strong opinions and belief system you construct, the more unrestricted becomes jotting down raw thoughts. Outlining and structuring the contents of your articles gets better with an honest analysis of the behaviour of your readers. Being open to criticism and learning new and better techniques will help you level up your skills with time.