How to Write an Online Article

In the 21st century, people are hungry for change. People want more from every realm, including the news media. How we receive news has changed and will continue to change even more drastically. Nowadays, more people get news from online articles. If you want to catch up with the 21st century, knowing how to write an online article is vital.

Things You'll Need

• A computer
• Reporting notes and sources
• Photographs

Instructions

How to Write an Online Article

1. Sort through your sources and notes, and highlight the information you will use to write your online artice.

2. Open a writing document on your computer to begin writing your online article.

3. Write your headline. By writing your headline first, this will help you identify the topic of your online story. Therefore, it is very important that your article catches the reader with the headline . Write a headline that is catchy, but avoid cliches. For example, if you are writing an article about someone that has died in a wreck, this should be mentioned in the headline. GOOD HEADLINE: Man Dies in Car Wreck BAD HEADLINE: A Man Was In a Car Wreck

4. Write you article concisely. This means that your sentences should be short and straight to the point. To write concise sentences, you should cut out unnecessary words and phrases that are redundant or add nothing more to your article. Online readers rarely read an entire article; instead they skim through the information and move on to the next thing. Although you should make your sentences concise, this does not mean eliminate the details. EXAMPLE OF A CONCISE SENTENCE: The man was a 23-year-old biology student at a local university. EXAMPLE OF A SENTENCE THAT IS NOT CONCISE: The man was a 23-year-old biology student who was really smart and really, really loved to play in the snow at a local university, which was right across the street where he lived in an apartment.

5. Add a dominant photo to to your online article. A dominant photo is a picture that stands out and catches an online reader's eye. Without a photo, there would just be mere text. Online readers skim through articles when they read, which is why a dominant picture is important to your online article. EXAMPLE OF A DOMINANT PHOTO: a picture of the cars or people in the car wreck. This adds emotion and personality to your article. EXAMPLE OF A NON-DOMINANT PHOTO: a picture of the street sign in which the wreck occurred on. This is boring and shows the reader nothing.

6. At the completion of your writing, your article should be between 500 and 750 words.

Tips & Warnings

• The length of your article depends on what your editor asks for and what online medium you are writing for.