FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
In Cambridge First or Cambridge Advanced, you might be asked to write an article. But do
you know what makes an article different from other types of writing?
1 The reader
is identified
An article is like a direct conversation with the reader. The exam question
might tell you who your readers are. For example, the students at a school, or
the people living in a town or people who are interested in sports. Everything
you write must speak to that reader and engage their interest right from the first
sentence.
2 It has to get attention
If you're anywhere on the internet these days, you'll be bombarded with
articles with headlines that pull the reader in. It's called "click
baiting" and all the writer is trying to do is make you open the page to read
their article. You need to think like a journalist when you're writing
your article.
Look at the heading and the first line of this article. How did I get your attention?*
3 It has to be interesting
For an article to work, it has to be engaging enough to read all the way
through. Remember how bored the examiner must be after reading fifty exam
papers. Make it easier for them to get a good impression about your writing by
entertaining them. Add humour, real life or made up examples, or make up
quotes.
4 It has to be easy to read
Use subheadings to break up the text and make clear paragraphs. Write in a
semi-informal, conversational style. And make sure there is organisation
to your ideas. The planning stage is vital for this. Spend 5-10 minutes
brainstorming ideas and choose the best three or four. Think what your
subheadings might be and then write a short introduction that lets the reader
know what to expect.
Keep in mind that you want the reader to keep reading, so don't tell them
exactly what they will read. This is not an essay! In an essay you usually
restate the question, explain how you will answer it and maybe say why it's
important. In an article, that will kill the reader's interest.
Look back at this paragraph. What sentence style have I used that makes it
semi-informal and speak directly to the reader?**
5 Write a good ending
In an essay you sum up the points that have gone before and draw a conclusion
from that. But in an article, it's better to give the reader something to think
about, perhaps by asking them another question or giving them a call to action.
Often, the best endings link back to the starting point in some way.
Here are two endings I could use for this article:
- Look at your internet browsing history from
the last day. Which articles got your attention? Can you see how they did it?
- So, now you know how to write an article, why
don't you write one giving advice on something you know about?
Common mistakes students make in articles
- The language is too formal and more suited to essays. Avoid words
like: to sum up, some people say, nevertheless, on one hand etc.
- They don't use quotes or examples
- They either use not enough, or too many, questions. The questions,
called rhetorical questions because they don't require an answer,
shouldn't be more than one per paragraph. Good examples are:
- Have you ever ……..?
- What do you think about ……..?
- Are you one of those people who thinks that ……?
- What would life be like if ……?
- Will the future bring us ….. ?
EXAMPLE OF AN ARTICLE
ARE LIONS ENEMIES
OF THE HUMANITY?
People around the world have believed something in it
minds about this kind of species, lions. The nature has showed their strength and
capacity to survive in the middle of a desert, the ability to catch their prey and
how protect every member of the family of the pack. It is for that it is called
“the king of the jungle”. Lions are the second largest living feline species,
second only to the tiger. Both male and female lions roar, and that roar can be
heard over five miles away!. Lions consume a wide variety of prey, from wildebeest,
impala, zebra, giraffe, buffalo and wild hogs to sometimes rhinos and hippos.
They will also feed on smaller animals such as hares, birds and reptiles. Lions are also known to attack elephants when
food is scarce.
Keeping this information in mind it is
difficult to do not think about the dangerous lions could be with people, they
are not small cats, lions are enormous cats with a different diet, with a
different habitat , but the most important is that they are animals, they are
not monsters. Is true that people have to be careful when want to be close of
them, but never treat them as objects, as they be our enemies.
The advertising, the films, and some
stories of the real life make us to believe that we cannot live with this kind
of species; in addition we have considered necessary to keep these animals
locked up in a jail as prisoners, and some have declared their dead. And why we
have to arrive to this thoughts acting as killers without mercy and love even
when we know they are beings with feelings and that is the nature that God gave
them?
Sometimes the species of humans are more
dangerous than lions. Our conscience is not coherent and our critical thinking
is not according to our actions. We pretend to defend and protect our life and
our relative’s life but we want to the life of others disappear. As we, lions
want to live, and they want to have a good life, it is not their fault to show
themselves with that nature because it is their essence. We need to be in peace
with nature and all it species because we be part of those species too.
Made by: Adriana Marcela Sandoval Robles
1 The reader is identified
An article is like a direct conversation with the reader. The exam question might tell you who your readers are. For example, the students at a school, or the people living in a town or people who are interested in sports. Everything you write must speak to that reader and engage their interest right from the first sentence.
2 It has to get attention
If you're anywhere on the internet these days, you'll be bombarded with articles with headlines that pull the reader in. It's called "click baiting" and all the writer is trying to do is make you open the page to read their article. You need to think like a journalist when you're writing your article.
Look at the heading and the first line of this article. How did I get your attention?*
3 It has to be interesting
For an article to work, it has to be engaging enough to read all the way through. Remember how bored the examiner must be after reading fifty exam papers. Make it easier for them to get a good impression about your writing by entertaining them. Add humour, real life or made up examples, or make up quotes.
4 It has to be easy to read
Use subheadings to break up the text and make clear paragraphs. Write in a semi-informal, conversational style. And make sure there is organisation to your ideas. The planning stage is vital for this. Spend 5-10 minutes brainstorming ideas and choose the best three or four. Think what your subheadings might be and then write a short introduction that lets the reader know what to expect.
Keep in mind that you want the reader to keep reading, so don't tell them exactly what they will read. This is not an essay! In an essay you usually restate the question, explain how you will answer it and maybe say why it's important. In an article, that will kill the reader's interest.
Look back at this paragraph. What sentence style have I used that makes it semi-informal and speak directly to the reader?**
5 Write a good ending
In an essay you sum up the points that have gone before and draw a conclusion from that. But in an article, it's better to give the reader something to think about, perhaps by asking them another question or giving them a call to action. Often, the best endings link back to the starting point in some way.
Here are two endings I could use for this article:
- Have you ever ……..?
- What do you think about ……..?
- Are you one of those people who thinks that ……?
- What would life be like if ……?
- Will the future bring us ….. ?
ARE LIONS ENEMIES
OF THE HUMANITY?
People around the world have believed something in it
minds about this kind of species, lions. The nature has showed their strength and
capacity to survive in the middle of a desert, the ability to catch their prey and
how protect every member of the family of the pack. It is for that it is called
“the king of the jungle”. Lions are the second largest living feline species,
second only to the tiger. Both male and female lions roar, and that roar can be
heard over five miles away!. Lions consume a wide variety of prey, from wildebeest,
impala, zebra, giraffe, buffalo and wild hogs to sometimes rhinos and hippos.
They will also feed on smaller animals such as hares, birds and reptiles. Lions are also known to attack elephants when
food is scarce.
Keeping this information in mind it is
difficult to do not think about the dangerous lions could be with people, they
are not small cats, lions are enormous cats with a different diet, with a
different habitat , but the most important is that they are animals, they are
not monsters. Is true that people have to be careful when want to be close of
them, but never treat them as objects, as they be our enemies.
The advertising, the films, and some
stories of the real life make us to believe that we cannot live with this kind
of species; in addition we have considered necessary to keep these animals
locked up in a jail as prisoners, and some have declared their dead. And why we
have to arrive to this thoughts acting as killers without mercy and love even
when we know they are beings with feelings and that is the nature that God gave
them?
Sometimes the species of humans are more
dangerous than lions. Our conscience is not coherent and our critical thinking
is not according to our actions. We pretend to defend and protect our life and
our relative’s life but we want to the life of others disappear. As we, lions
want to live, and they want to have a good life, it is not their fault to show
themselves with that nature because it is their essence. We need to be in peace
with nature and all it species because we be part of those species too.
Made by: Adriana Marcela Sandoval Robles
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