How to start writing articles. Let's talk about a good person. How to evaluate the competition of a phrase

The ability to logically and competently formulate thoughts in writing is a useful skill. The person who owns it will never be without a penny in his pocket: written texts can be sold to newspapers, magazines and websites. We will tell you how to create an article that will be bought.

Article: types and styles

This is one of, and not just any text, as many mistakenly think. The article is distinguished from other genres by:

• socially useful, relevant topic;
• deep analysis of phenomena and facts;
• high level of generalization;
• completeness, completeness of the text: after reading it, the reader should receive answers to all questions that have arisen.

Most often, articles are informational and problematic. The task of the first is to convey important information to talk about some events or phenomena. The purpose of the second is to sharpen a certain problem, to draw attention to it.

As for the styles with which articles are written, there are two of them: narrative and descriptive. The first is when the author presents the facts in chronological order. The second - when he first talks about the main thing, and adds details as the topic is revealed.

How to get started with text

From an idea. Think about what area you are strong in, what topic excites you. This is the first step in journalism.

The second step is finding the right media. Many authors make the mistake of writing texts “at random”, and not for a specific edition. But it is better to decide on the publication in advance. To study its format, the way of presenting publications, the manner of the authors. In this case, you will not have to rewrite the article, change its structure, because you will know what criteria the editors put forward for the texts.

The third step is information gathering. Even if you deeply know the topic you are going to explore, be sure to check your knowledge, find the newest, most useful information to replenish it.

The sources of such information are documents and statistics, the press and blogs, interviews and even overheard conversations. Of course, all the information obtained (except, perhaps, official) needs to be verified.

The fourth step is to create an outline for the article. This milestone which even the masters of journalism do not neglect. It is required so as not to forget anything that should be conveyed to the reader. As you work on your plan, keep in mind that the article consists of the following snippets:

• intro or ;
• main part ();

Title and intro

A good headline should "kill two birds with one stone": give an idea of ​​the topic and force the reader to read the article.

The saying about the "sister of talent" fits the title best. It must be interesting, but short.

It is not bad if the title of the article is stated in the form of a question: in this case, the reader will be sure that he will receive an exhaustive answer to it.

The introduction that follows the title usually consists of several sentences. In them, briefly, in essence, the author describes the problem that he is going to analyze, and substantiates its topicality, importance for readers.

A lead is a kind of introduction, an announcement of an article.

He can be:

• basic;
• episodic;
• resonant;
• citation.

In episodic - one of the episodes of the topic is presented, motivating to read the text.

In the resonant one, something intriguing, enticing is brought into the first paragraph.

In a quotation, the role of the introduction is played by an excerpt from the speech of one of the heroes of the article, for example, an authoritative expert.

Content and final paragraph

After the introduction, adhering to the theses of the plan, the author describes the problem (event, fact), analyzes it and offers solutions.

In this segment of the work, it is important to ensure that one judgment follows from another, and that the facts and conclusions presented do not contradict each other.

So that the text does not look like a boring “blanket”, it is structured. Every few phrases related by meaning are drawn up in a separate paragraph. And each aspect of the problem - separate chapters.

The chapters (sections) into which the text is divided should preferably be titled. The principle is the same: section headings should give an idea of ​​what will be discussed next and encourage reading.

Remember, creating an interesting story is not the same as winning the reader. The text should look presentable, comfortable for the eyes. That is why many editors insist on a clear structure: small paragraphs, the presence of sections and subheadings. Good way to make the article more readable - these are lists in the form of bulleted lists.

The conclusion should be as compact and capacious as the introduction. It contains conclusions made by the author; a summary that covers all of the above.

Writing an article for a newspaper: step by step

Have you studied the topic, collected enough information and are ready to start creating? Here is the instruction.

• Make a plan with a list of theses that will appear in the text.
• Write an introduction briefly explaining the value of your article to the reader.
• According to the plan, clearly following the topic, outline the main part of the article.
• Write a final paragraph with a conclusion.
• Re-read the text, correct mistakes, remove the excess of cognate words and ... Take a break.
• During the rest, try to abstract from the text, imagine that the article was written by stranger. Are you interested in reading it? Do it with "new eyes", read the article aloud. Nothing is in doubt, is everything clear? Are there jargon, tautologies? ..
• Come up with a meaningful title. Of course, he can “think up” earlier, but experience shows that most often the most successful option comes to mind after working on the text.
• Do not rush to send the article to the editor. The morning is wiser than the evening: perhaps tomorrow you will find a flaw that has not been noticed today. Or a brilliant headline idea hits you.

One complete thought - one sentence.

Do not overload the article with details: details should help to see the essence, and not distract from it.

Try not to use verbs of different tenses.

Don't get carried away with terms.

Over time, you won't need instructions or advice to write competitive, quality articles.

That's the problem, the problem! How to start an article? Not one copywriter puzzles over this question. It happens that everything is fine in the main part of the article, the end is also logical, but the beginning looks sluggish, boring and very banal! Let's tell you a secret: in order to captivate the reader, the article must have, firstly, an interesting title, and secondly, a "catchy" first paragraph, that is, the very beginning. Even if later the article is written interestingly and well, the reader may not know this, because he will evaluate the material by the first lines. If he sees hackneyed phrases, banality, or sentences that are too difficult to read at the beginning, he will close the article without regret.

If you want to ensure that people take your articles with a bang and read excitedly, then it's time to learn how to start your text correctly. That is what we are going to talk about now.

"Each of us ...", "Today ...", "Not so long ago ...", "At present ..." - such words and expressions are mortally bored, cause a desire to yawn and quickly close "another template article." Such initial phrases seem normal to you, but in the reader they evoke precisely those feelings and desires that we have just described. The reader has already "fed up" with such materials, and therefore, from the very beginning, such articles will be perceived as boring, useless and mediocre. Another mistake is very long drawn out sentences with numerous terms and complex structures. In order to “drive into” what you want to say with such a sentence, a person must either read very slowly or re-read several times. The well-known thoughts such as "Birthday happens only once a year!", "A child in a family is a great joy", etc., do not please readers. Boring!

• Do not use banal phrases and words at the beginning of the article;
• Refuse clericalism, "hackneyed" designs, templates;
• Do not try to make the beginning of the article abstruse by using long sentences and an abundance of difficult terms.

How to start an article: good options

In order for the beginning of the article to cause a person to think like: “Wow, this is something interesting, I haven’t read this yet! What does it say next?” Use the techniques suggested below. We offer you exactly the techniques that successful copywriters use.

1. Start the article with a question. Thus, you involve the reader in a conversation, he willy-nilly answer it and be sure to see what you write next. For example: "You know that smoking is harmful, but you are not going to quit anyway?", "Do you have a loved one and a close person?".
2. Creating a mental image. Reception is good, but not suitable for all articles. Its essence is that you need to invite the reader to imagine a certain situation: "Imagine that suddenly ...", "Imagine that you ....", "Let's say you have ....", etc. Further write what situation you want to imagine. Thus, you also involve the reader in communication, interest him, he thinks: "Well, presented, and what's next?" and read your article.
3. History or anecdote. All people love to listen and tell each other stories. It's interesting, it brings you together, so why not tell an exciting story (maybe fictional) or an anecdote on the topic at the very beginning? The main thing here is the liveliness of the story, you can use colloquial style. Let the reader imagine that this story is being told by a friend or acquaintance. It will be great if you tell a story from your life, so to speak, from personal experience. This inspires confidence in the reader and the idea that "the author understands me and will certainly advise or tell something more sensible."
4. Statement of problem or question. If it’s hard for you to come up with a “catchy” start, then the easiest way is to immediately point out the problem or question that interests the reader, and promise to give a useful and correct answer to it, and then start doing it.
5. Conclusion on emotions. To interest the reader, at the very beginning of the article it can be brought to positive or negative emotions, for example, provoke. Usually this affects a certain audience of readers, and it is better to work negative emotions, not positive ones. For example: "All women are such fools!", "To spend time on the Internet is an occupation for ordinary and boring people." At the same time, it is important in the article to refute your attacks on readers so that they do not take offense.
6. Quotes and facts. Two more simple ways for those who can't think of witty start. All that is needed is to provide at the very beginning factual data related to the issue under consideration, or an exact quote. famous person, also directly related to the subject of the conversation.
7. Joe Sugerman, an American copywriter, once came up with another way to start an article. It's called "slippery hill". Its essence lies in the fact that at the beginning the shortest unsaid sentence is written. It raises interest and a lot of questions. In the second sentence, the idea is considered in more detail, appears new information, in the third sentence - more more information. So we gradually lead the reader to reading the information that we want to tell.

Here are a few ways to get started writing an article, use any of them and spark reader interest!

A newspaper article must contain an objective and factual account of an event, place or person. Most people read the text fluently, so the most important information should be placed at the very beginning, and then supplement the material with descriptive details for the informativeness of the plot. Study the topic and stick to the correct structure of the text organization in order to create competent and engaging articles.

Steps

Part 1

1. Contact sources. Try to get in touch with everyone as early as possible so sources can find time to interview. For an article, it is desirable to have 2-3 primary sources. It is advisable to communicate with people who have opposing views on the situation in order to fully cover the issue.

   • Sources must be experts in the topic you are considering (for example, experienced professionals, professors or academics). You can use sources with extensive experience or a long relationship in this area.
   • Eyewitnesses to the event will also be helpful, especially if you have experience in the matter you are considering.

2. Conduct an interview. Try to conduct face-to-face conversations with sources in a comfortable and quiet environment, such as a coffee shop, office, or home. If it is not possible to meet in person, then you can talk by phone or via video link. Prepare your questions ahead of time and get permission to record the conversation so you can use quotes later.

   • Sometimes more than one interview is required with the main source. Also, if necessary, you can send additional questions to the person.
   • Transcribe the audio recording of the conversation in printed form to provide accurate quotes in the article. Having a transcript will simplify the task of fact checking and backing up information.

3. Research publicly available information on the topic at your local library or on the Internet. Always use only reliable information that is based on facts. Explore various monographs and articles in the library. Find verified information online on trusted services (scientific databases or official government websites).

   • Correctly cite the information in the article, include the name of the person or organization that provided you with the information. Use reliable sources so that your article has weight.

4. Check statistics and other numbers before using them in an article. If your article relies on statistics, data, or quantitative information, then always check the information with reliable sources. Indicate such sources in the article so that readers are convinced of the reliability of the information.

   • If you have received an assignment from the editor, you may need to provide him with a list of all sources for the article. This will demonstrate that you have checked all the facts.

   Part 2

   Article structure

   1. Come up with a catchy, informative headline. The title should grab the reader's attention and hint at the content of the article. A competent headline contains answers to the questions “what” and “where”. It should be short and clear, contain 4-5 words.

      • For example, come up with a headline like: “A teenager has disappeared in Irkutsk,” or: “The Duma has not adopted a law on benefits.”
      • In some cases, it is more convenient to write the title after the article is completed in order to fit the main points of the text into it.

   2. Start your article with an "introductory" sentence. The first sentence, also often called the loanword "lead", contains the main details of the plot. The first sentence should provide concise answers to the “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “why”, and “how” questions, as well as engage the reader so that he continues to explore the material.

      • For example, you can write a lead like this: “Three schools in Samara have been quarantined due to a flu outbreak,” or: “Police report that a missing teenage girl was found at an abandoned construction site in a residential area of ​​​​the city.”

   3. Arrange information in chronological order, starting with the most relevant and important details. It should be enough for the reader to look through the first part of the article to find out necessary information on this topic. Indicate the most recent data in the first two paragraphs of the article. This approach is called the inverted pyramid principle.

      • For example, you could write: “10-12 students have been diagnosed with the flu, but doctors fear that the number of cases may increase if schools are not closed.”

   4. Supplement the article with important details. It is here that you need to answer the questions “why” and “how” in more detail in order to inform the reader of all the details. Write a detailed background or briefly review past events that have direct relationship to the situation. Paragraphs should not include more than 2-3 sentences so that readers do not get confused.

      • For example, write: “The girl's mother reported her child missing on Friday night when she did not return home after meeting with a friend. This is the second girl who went missing in Irkutsk in the last two weeks.”

   5. Use at least 2-3 supporting quotes from sources. The first part of the article should contain one persuasive citation, and the second part - one or two additional citations. With the help of quotations, any information that cannot be attributed to well-known information should be confirmed. Use short, informative and understandable quotes. Always cite the source to which the quote belongs.

      • For example, write: “Police spokesman Sergei Fedorov said, “The girl is in shock, but nothing threatens her health,” or: “The school administration says: “Quarantine will prevent the spread of influenza and protect our students.”
      • Do not use long quotes or more than four quotes in an article so as not to confuse readers.

   6. End the article with an informative quote or link to more information. At the end of the article, you can give a spectacular quote that will help the reader to better understand the situation. You can also leave a link to the website of the organization or event that is described in the article.

      • For example, write: “The girl’s mother felt relieved and showed concern for other residents of Irkutsk: “I hope that no other child will be lost in our city.”
      • You can also write: “Representatives of the health sector urge parents to follow developments on the citywide portal www.schooling-samara.ru and school websites.”

   Part 3

   Tone and style

   1. Use specific and understandable words that won't let you get confused. Avoid vague phrases and general statements that do not benefit the reader. Use simple and understandable language accessible to a wide range of readers. Sentences should take no more than two or three lines. In other cases, divide the thought into several sentences.

      • For example, instead of the phrase: “The girl’s mother suggested that the disappearance was related to the school,” it would be better to write: “The mother of the missing girl suggested that bullying at school could be the reason for the absence.”

We released new book"Content Marketing in in social networks: How to get into the head of subscribers and fall in love with your brand.

Most copywriters are assholes. Even if you make a detailed TOR, tell in detail what to write about and what you want to see, you still risk getting a terrible text. Instead of good and interesting material, the scribbler will give out something completely different. Therefore, sometimes it is easier to do everything yourself.

If you are not a writer at all (or a beginner) and you suddenly want to file a bomb article, but it is not being written - read on, there will be examples, algorithms, explanations on how to write an article correctly and that's it. There will be no magic formulas backed by research and A / B testing here, only personal experience from which you can draw something for yourself. If you are a beginner blogger, read on too, because a blog is not a drain hole where you can pour a stream of consciousness. This is a platform for interesting and good content. And you want to do just that anyway.

Article writing algorithm

You gathered your thoughts, created a file in Word and are ready to start. And then you happen existential crisis- you don’t understand what to do with your future article: what and how to write about, which submission method to choose, where to start. This happens because you started from the wrong place. First you need to prepare. Let's see how to do it.

Analysis

The first rule of writing an article: work with the text begins even before you write the first line. First you need to analyze everything: decide why and for whom you are writing material, what result you want to achieve and how you are going to do it. Answering these questions means cutting off all unnecessary and starting to work on the target audience.

So you will understand in what style to write and whether professional terms can be used. After that, you can sketch out the future structure, decide on the pitch and do a lot of other useful things.

Examples of analysis when writing an article

We are writing an article for the blog of a brokerage company.

For whom:potential customers who understand the topic at a basic level; professional brokers, analysts and sympathizers.

For what:talk about current trends in the market and how to use them for your own selfish purposes.

Result:confirm expertise; prove that the employees of the company can be trusted with their money.

How we achieve the goal:we give arguments and analytical calculations; we advise you to contact professionals if knowledge and experience are not enough; we use basic professional terms, more complex ones are explained separately.

Let's go through each item

First we define our target audience. It consists of two large segments: professional colleagues and potential clients of the company. The first will appreciate the material only if it is useful and relevant. They want to get new knowledge that will be useful in everyday work. The latter are unlikely to follow the instructions from the article on their own, they will simply understand that you understand the issue and more willing trust you with their money. Let's move on to the next point.

First, we determine the "reader value" of the material - what will be received by those who click on the link and spend a little of their time on the article. This is important because no one will read a text written for its own sake. People need something useful: advice, examples, theory, in general, something that they use in their own life and work.

Next, we define the purpose of the company. It can be anything: increase the number of hits, brand awareness, confirm expertise. The main thing is that she was. Readers don't need useless text, but neither does the company. What is the point of spending money on writing articles if the output from them is zero?

The last block brings everything together and helps you decide on the tools. We have already identified the target audience and set goals. Now we need to understand how to achieve these goals. In our case, we need to do two things: prove expertise to colleagues, and advise clients to turn to professionals. To achieve the first goal, we need to find fresh, relevant and useful information. To achieve the second, you need to present this information in an understandable and convenient way, because potential customers have different levels of economic literacy and this must be taken into account.

If there are complex things in the article, they should be explained separately on the fingers. What is obvious to a professional is completely incomprehensible to a beginner. At the same time, you should not completely abandon the terms, you just need to apply them carefully and with care for the reader. Example: “...volatility has increased – the difference between the highest and lowest price of assets. Their cost fluctuated within 7%.

All these things are easily transferred to any topic. If you are writing an article for a cosmetics store blog, target a female audience of almost all ages. Review new products, or detailed instructions with screenshots and videos. Mention products sold in your store, but without fake advertising. Do not use English words if you can not do it. Make clear and interesting article for everyone and don't forget the fun - your audience doesn't want to read textbooks.

An important point: it is better to write everything down. If you keep all the analytical calculations in your head, it is easy to miss something. And you can always return to the entry at the beginning of the document to check if you have gone astray. Even better - write everything down on a piece of paper in beautiful handwriting. This helps to remember everything at once - the effect is the same as from the abstract. If the student did not stick to the phone during the class, then he remembers the content of the lecture for at least a couple of hours after it ends.

Making the structure

We have decided what to write about, now we will figure out how to write. To make it clear and convenient for the reader, you need to carefully pack your thoughts into blocks and paragraphs - this way the text is easier to read. This will help put everything in order in your own head and the head of the reader. Well, it's also easier to find the information you need.

The structure of the text is not subject to rules and formulas, only common sense. If the format allows, go from the general to the specific. Let's analyze an example of developing a structure when writing an article: let's try to outline a material plan about neural networks.

Article plan

• Introduction.
• What are neural networks?
• How do they work?
• What are and where are they used?
• How will they be used in the future?
• Conclusion.

In my opinion, everything is logical: we start with general concept and gradually delve into the topic. Use headings for each separate semantic block, do not combine them if you can do without it. Let's look at the example above: you can talk about what neural networks are and how they work in two different blocks. But with classification and application, this cannot be done - these things are tightly tied to each other.

If you are writing instructional material, describe the actions in chronological order, one after the other. At the same time, try to make each item independent of each other so that a person can return to it and not get confused.

If this is a selection article, then everything is even easier. Blocks are almost always independent of each other, so arrange them however you like. If this is not your case, first write about the important, and then about everything else.

Summarizing

In general, the main thing is logic and common sense.

We write

After you understand the structure, write. Write as you spell it, but keep a couple of important things in mind:

• One paragraph, one thought.It's the same principle as with blocks. Don't try to cram everything into one poor little paragraph at once. He will feel bad - he will swell up and will feverishly explain to the reader something incomprehensible. The latter will definitely not appreciate this.

• Cling thoughts to each other. The end of the previous thought is the beginning of the next. Here it is easier to give an example: “... the most popular type automatic box gears - hydrotransformer. The torque converter transmits torque with the help of an oil flow that rotates the turbine and the reactor wheel ... ".

• Don't sit too long. Try to write well right away, but do not sit for an hour on one sentence. If you don't get it right the first time, move on. Everything will be fine in the next step.

You have finished writing the text, but it is not ready yet. Now the material needs to be sanded and polished.

Editing

It's even more difficult than writing material. It is necessary to correct errors and inaccuracies, clear the text of unnecessary elements, bring it to a readable form and add everything that was missed. Let's take a look at each point:

• Mistakes. Everything is clear here - you can trust yourself or use verification services. Most of all I like"Spelling" but it is paid. For 0 rubles, the text.ru verification service helps to do the same.

• Superfluous. The first edition of the text is always a stream of consciousness that needs to be streamlined. To do this, we proofread the text and ask ourselves how it can be shortened without compromising the meaning. Distracted but good example: "The application is configuring the system" is shortened to "The application is configuring the system". The meaning is not lost, but it became easier to read. Many advise to drive the text into the Glavred service, but if you are not a professional text writer, it will only confuse you and make you hate the whole world. So just trust your intuition. You also need to remove duplicate information, and make vague wording clear and sharp.

• Structure. Once again we go through the structure: we check the division into paragraphs, insert additional headings, if appropriate.

• Lost. The first time it is difficult to give out all the necessary information at once. Something is forgotten, and something is invented later. These losses must be compensated. Example: you are proofreading a text and suddenly remember a thought that insidiously eluded you or come up with a new one cool example. All this needs to be added.

Ready!

Now the text is finished. It remains to place the material on the site, add photos, graphs, tables or videos.

A few words about optimization

“Okay, but how, for example, to write an SEO article? What to do if you need to keep track of spamming, water content and uniqueness of the text? What if you need to enter completely wild requests? - ask those who want traffic (everyone). Do all the same. Yes, it will take more time, but it is a completely doable task.

Any text should be optimized for search engines. Because quality content can bring you a lot of traffic and customers. If you really want to, you can generally write articles “based on real events», – search queries. We at SEMANTICA call this "".

• Always think about the reader. Do not write difficult, you are not a writer. Don't write text for text's sake, make it useful. Use personal experience, but do not turn the article into an “expensive diary”: instead of the material about “how I went out with Andryukha and visited 15 bars in a night,” write “15 bars in district X: an overview and amazing stories.”

• Use examples. Everything is simple here - abstract concepts are difficult to try on. If you are writing about something, tell us how it is used in real life: "the power of the heater is XX watts - this is enough to warm a standard room in XX m 2".

• Be original. Do not mow under someone. Write as you spell it, all of these guidelines leave plenty of room for creativity. The main thing is not to go too far and do not make your Opus Magnum about everything in the world out of an article in a blog. At first helpful information, then everything else.

Results

It was difficult, but we figured out how to write an article, found out the basic rules for writing interesting material and looked at how everything works with examples. The main thing is to think over the future opus to the smallest detail, optimize the text and double-check it ten times. Analyze the target audience, decide why you are writing at all, think over the structure and edit the finished article. Ideally, you will end up with good material that is interesting to read. And if you optimize the text correctly, you will get traffic.