The 5 Elements of a Newspaper Article

There are five definite elements that are used in almost all newspaper articles you read in print or the Internet.

• Headline or Header: The headline is the title of the article. The headline is normally brief, doesn’t give much detail, and grabs the reader’s attention. It is typically not written in a complete sentence and attempts to sum up the main idea or topic. It is regularly written in a bigger font than the remainder of the article and the main words are capitalized.

• Sub Header: This line tells the readers who wrote the article. It may include the address of the author and the publisher or source they write for.

• Location: This is normally located at the opening of the article in a bold or italicized font.

• Lead Paragraph(s): The lead paragraph can be found at the start of the article. This is where you will find the answers to the questions “who”, “what”, “when”, “why”, “where”, and “how”.

• Supporting Paragraph(s): These are the paragraphs which support the lead paragraph and help develop the concepts brought up by the lead paragraph. These paragraphs should give more evidence by giving descriptions, specifics, or quotes.

The Main Objectives of a Newspaper Article

Many newspaper writers, otherwise known as journalists, try to follow strict rules in their writing. These values help make certain that when people read an article, they can trust what they are reading.

1. Newspaper articles must tell the truth: journalists do their best to write factual information that, to the best of their knowledge, are truthful. A vigilant journalist only writes about information that he or she can prove, and cites the sources of any unreliable evidence.

2. Provide factual information. Fact can be proved. For example, “Monday was a snow day,” is a factual statement, because it can be proved that on Monday it either was or was not snowing.

“Snow days are fun,” is not a fact, it is an opinion.

3. Newspaper articles share information that will benefit the reader.

4. Newspapers use more specific language. The dialect used in newspaper articles is usually different from the language used in everyday conversation. The style of writing is objective, and the vocabulary is more formal.

Ready for Print?

Most newspaper articles use dialect that is more proper than the language we use in everyday conversation. Read the following statements and determine whether the statement is ‘newspaper worthy’ or ‘novel worthy’. On the lines provided, write ‘news’ or ‘story’. Be prepared to defend your answers.

__________ 1. One day while a girl was outside playing, she came upon two people who were fighting.

__________ 2. Some people were at the store yesterday and saw a few people stealing things from the store.

__________ 3. The case remains unsolved and the suspects are still at large.

__________ 4. According to a recent survey, a majority of the inhabitants believe that the nuclear plant is polluting the river by dumping chemicals.

__________ 5. The kids formed a new after school club for 9th graders interested in Pokémon.

__________ 6. One time, at school, there were these students who got in a bus wreck.

__________ 7. Many years ago, the president of the club was a skydiver.

__________ 8. Last week I saw something really awesome. I was watching television and I saw a documentary about a 92 year-old woman who ran a marathon.

__________ 9. The man received a ticket for running a red light, and then not pulling over when the cop turned on his sirens.

__________ 10. The police questioned several eye witnesses on Saturday in an attempt to determine the cause of the accident.

__________ 11. Have you ever heard about the Dead Sea? Well, if you have not, it is the most beautiful and peculiar body of water.

__________ 12. The effects of the tornado have destroyed thousands of acres of crops and homes across Alabama.

__________ 13. While visiting the dilapidated house, I found an old, glass bottle that was worth a lot of money.

__________ 14. I am not sure why Sara said it. She could not have been thinking clearly.

__________ 15. During a press conference on Thursday, authorities declined to comment regarding the incriminating evidence.

Understanding a Newspaper’s Layout

The best way to understand the way newspaper articles are written is to read a newspaper article. The newspaper will expose you to the dialect and layout of a well-written article. However, news articles are not always perfect and can contain a few mistakes. Using an article from your local or national newspaper, fill in the fields appropriately. (Keep in mind that some articles may not contain all the elements, but do the best to find one that does.)

Headline:

Author or News Source:

Subject Matter:

Questions in Lead:Who/What:

When:

Where:

Why:

How:

Supporting Paragraph(s) Summary:

Were there any Eyewitness Accounts or Quotes:

Other Supporting Evidence:

Embedded Biases/Opinions:

Misprints/Convention Errors: