Paper 2: Writing - Article
English Language: AQA GCSE, topic 6.2.1
Newspaper Articles
A newspaper article informs readers about a topic.
What are the types of newspaper articles?
- Newspaper articles contain lots of facts.
- Reporters will often write in an informative style and use a wise tone.
- Personal newspaper columns are written by writers expressing their own opinion. Personal points of view and the writer's personality will be expressed more than in a normal newspaper article.
- The writing style will often be less formal and more engaging than that used in a news report.
Audience for newspaper articles
- There are two main types of newspapers:
- Tabloid newspapers generally focus on spectacular events, sports, and gossip.
- E.g. The Sun.
- Broadsheet newspapers generally comment on more sophisticated topics and focus on writing about information and things like politics.
- E.g. The Telegraph.
- Whether you are writing a newspaper article for a tabloid or a broadsheet matters in the exam.
Features of newspaper articles
- An interesting or original title and makes the reader want to find out more.
- A strapline (which is a sentence that adds some detail or colour to the title).
- Subheadings break up the article
- An introductory paragraph usually gives a brief summary of the whole article.
- Paragraphs that flow well into each other.
Tips for writing newspaper articles
- Consider your use of images – do not draw on your paper but you can draw a box and state what the image would be.
- Do not separate your writing into columns.
Test yourself on Paper 2: Writing - Article
What are columns in newspapers?
Which writer will use a more informative style?