Writing an article can be a rewarding experience – but it’s easy to get it wrong. When writing an article there are some very simple things that you can do to ensure it turns out well. The following list is an easy guide for best practice. Use it.

1 – Writing an article vs writing an essay

An article and an essay are very different and you don’t want one to sound like the other!

Essays are about exploring, speculating, perhaps even asking questions you don’t know the answer to. As a result they tend to be long and drawn-out. The conclusion may not be definitive.

Articles are about informing people in some way, whether that is a news article, an opinion piece, a review or a sports report. They don’t theorise like an essay does, so don’t write like you’re producing an essay. Be direct and to the point.

2 – Plagiarism

One of the most important things to remember when writing an article is do not plagiarise, whether it is accidentally or not.

If you copy someone else’s work without crediting them, that is plagiarism.

Crediting a person or company means naming them in some way. If it’s a photo, you could put the name on the photo. If it’s a piece of research, say who did it and link to it.

It’s ok to use different internet sources to get your facts, but always put it into your own words and always make your article unique. Never copy everything that’s been said in another article.

3 – Repeating yourself & waffling

There should be no unnecessary words or phrases in your article.

Articles are all about spreading information in clear and engaging ways – and an article full of repetitions won’t meet this demand.

Avoid veering off into an irrelevant discussion, always remember the topic you’re article is about.

4 – Inaccuracies

It seems so obvious but it’s easy to accidentally report something inaccurate.

This is a problem not only because it is misinforming people but also because it makes both The Llama and you as the writer appear unreliable.

Make sure you trust the source you’re taking information from. If you’re unsure about a piece of information, verify it by checking it on a different source. If you feel you cannot verify a piece of information, leave it out.

5 – Not having a focus

You need to know exactly what you’re writing about before you write your article. You need to know your main point is and what information you will include.

If possible write your headline before you start writing the piece as it will remind you what you’re focusing on and prevent you going on a tangent.

Without a focus, your article may sound like a load of waffle (not the sweet kind).

6 – Giving commands

Most of the time, telling a reader they ‘will’ or ‘should’ do something is a bit too harsh for an article. It might end up sounding like a set of instructions and your reader will either lose interest or feel attacked.

If you’re trying to persuade a reader to see your point of view, ensure you argue your point well and give plenty of verified evidence.

That’s far more powerful than commands.

7 – Contradicting yourself

People will be very confused if you start contradicting yourself in your article. If you state something as fact then later say something that goes against that fact, that’s a contradiction.

This comes back to ensuring you have a clear focus but just to be safe proofread your article before you send or submit it anywhere.

This is good practice anyway!

8 – Forgetting to think about the photos

No article should ever be published without at least one image and more if you can.

Pictures play a huge part in getting someone to click on a story and in helping readers to understand what’s going on.

If you’re writing a news article about a crime, people want a picture of where it happened. If you’re doing an interview with an author, people want a photo of that writer so they can imagine who you’re talking to.

9 – Failing at the research

Articles need varying degrees of research. Some take weeks to build the material for while others just need a bit of fact-checking. But every article needs some.

Ensure you do enough research for the article you are writing and ensure your research is from sources you trust and know.

Be careful of Wikipedia. It can be a useful reference site but it’s worth double checking facts you take from there because remember that anyone can edit Wikipedia pages.

10 – Giving everything away in the headline

Headlines are an art in themselves but one of the key rules to remember when writing one is it needs to draw the reader in but not tell them everything.

E.g. Blind man in London has a wonderful dog who helps him on the Underground and when he goes to the supermarket.

When you read this headline you aren’t left wondering what else there is to the story. It feels like you already have all the answers.

A better one would be – Meet the London guide dog who’s changing the life of his owner.

With this second headline, you’re intrigued about the dog, how they’re changing their owner’s life and who the owner is.

11 – Writing huge paragraphs

Remember point 4? Just as you shouldn’t write your article like an essay, you also shouldn’t structure it like one.

If you’re writing a news article, your paragraphs should be one or two sentences long.

For pieces like reviews and interviews, you may choose to make your paragraphs a little bit longer, but they should still be quite short. It makes the article easier to read.

12 – Not using interesting language

Even though you’re not writing a novel, you still need to make your language interesting to read.

This is different to making it flowery – there’s no need to use unnecessary, descriptive words.

But try to vary you’re language. If you’re including several quotes, don’t always say ‘he said’ and ‘she said’. Use words like ‘explained’, ‘asked’, and ‘added’.