An article is an informal/ neutral piece of writing that is written for a specific audience. The purpose of an article is to share an opinion, or knowledge on a particular topic, or offer suggestions and pieces of advice to the readers. Newspapers, magazines, and journals usually publish articles. For that reason, articles have to be easy to read.
Parts of an Article
- Title: It should be short and informative. Try to choose an interesting title, so the reader wants to read your article to learn more about the topic.
- Author’s name: A line having the name of the person who wrote the article (optional)
- Main paragraphs: This is the main part of your article, it should include the following parts:
- Introductory paragraph: Here you introduce the topic. The introduction should be short, catching, and interesting.
- Descriptive paragraph: Here you give examples and reasons.
- Additional information: only if needed.
- Conclusion: This is the ending paragraph of the article that should be a summary of your article.
Steps to write an article
1 Think of the topic that you are going to write about carefully.
2 Identify the target audience. Who are going to read your article: students, young people, adults, elderly people, or professionals?
3 Find the objective of writing the article. Do you want to give advice? Are you going to give some useful tips? Do you want to teach your readers how to do something?
4 Identify the details that are more significant and think of some examples.
5 Organize your ideas and arrange the information and the facts in a coherent and logical way.
Now that you know the parts of an article and the steps to follow, let’s see an article sample for the B1 Cambridge writing test.
You see this announcement in your English school magazine.
| Articles wanted! |
Write an article telling us how to make your home safer when children visit you. What are the most dangerous places in a house for children? Why? The best articles answering this question will be published next month. |
Useful language for writing an article
For the introductory paragraph:
- Have you ever thought about …?
- What would you do if …?
- Do you like + verb+ing …?
- How important is it for you to …?
- What would life be like if …?
Giving your opinion:
- In my opinion, …
- From my point of view, …
- As far as I’m concerned, …
- I guess that …
- I’m under the impression that …
- I have no doubt that …
- I have the feeling that…
Giving advice:
- Don’t forget to …
- Remember to…
- Make sure you…
- You should + base form
- You should have + past participle
- Never + base form
- What about if …?
- Let’s consider…
- Why don’t you …?
Adding more details and examples:
- Above all…
- In addition, …
- Above all, …
- On top of that, …
- Moreover, …
- Another advantage/ disadvantage of …
Reasons:
- … in case
- … so (that)
- … because it might + base form
- The evidence shows (that) …
- The facts suggest (that) …
Writing Practice 1
You are going to write an opinion article for a school magazine about the best places to visit in your city.
Plan the content
1 Think of at least 2 interesting/ touristic places
2 Think of an interesting introductory paragraph
3 Write your introduction
4 Write your descriptive paragraphs. Write one paragraph per place
5 Write your conclusion
6 Type your answer in the box below, and I’ll give you personalized feedback.
Checklist
- Introduction:
- Did you write a clear introduction that introduces the purpose of the opinion article?
- Does the introduction include a sentence with your opinion on the best places to visit?
- Body paragraphs:
- Have you included separate paragraphs for each recommended place?
- Did you provide detailed descriptions of each place, highlighting their attractions and unique features?
- Have you supported your opinion with specific examples or personal experiences for each place?
- Conclusion:
- Does the conclusion summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs?
- Does it restate your opinion on the best places to visit in the city?
- Does it provide a strong closing statement or call to action?
Writing Practice 2
You are going to write an article for a school magazine. Choose one of the titles below>
- How to stay safe if you are hiking in the mountains.
- How to stay safe on a day at the beach.
- How to stay safe online.
Plan the content
1 Think of at least 3 useful tips
2 Think of an interesting introductory paragraph
3 Write your introduction
4 Write your descriptive paragraphs. Write one paragraph per tip.
5 Write your conclusion
6 Type your answer in the box below, and I’ll give you personalized feedback.
How to stay safe if you are hiking in the mountains.
Do you like hiking in the mountains? Hiking is an exciting and healthy activity. I guess staying safe when you are hiking in the mountains is very important for us. Below there are some useful tips about how to stay safe if you are hiking in the mountains.
In my opinion, the most important thing is wearing a pair of comfortable sneakers. If you do so, your hiking wiil be enjoyable. If not, your hiking will be a terrible activity. Other important things are wearing a cap to prevent sunburns and putting sunscreen on your face and arms.
Second, you should take a suitable bag that contains water, emergency medicine, a tissue or a towel, energy food, an outside coat, and other needed items. On top of that is water.
Lastly, I want to remind you to take an insect repellent liquid spray. Moreover, you’d better get a trekking pole to help you walk and protect your knees.
If you prepare well, you will have a lot of fun.
Let’s go hiking in the mountains!
Excellent Beryl!! Great tips!!! 🌟🌟🌟 Please compare your first draft with the final version.
Teacher, thanks very much for your checking. I revised the problematic part. There were a total of 8 mistakes in my first draft.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
[…] using a formal tone. As with other pieces of formal writing (for example, essays, formal emails, articles, etc.), there is a special format used to write reports in […]
The best places to visit in our city
Do you like visiting different cities? What would you do if you go to my city? There are many exciting places in my city. For example, there are museums, wetland parks, malls, zoos,etc. Where would you like to go? Today I recommend two beautiful places to you.
The first place is a wetland park and its name is Baigui lake park. It is located in the southwest of my city. The government spent much money building it ten years ago.There are many plants,animals,birds and fishes.You can camp in a forest in the park and have a barbecue.On top of that, you can see egrets by boat on the lake.
The next place that I want to recommend to you is a mall. This mall is located in the east of our city and its name is wanda plaza.There are many shops in this plaza and their prices are fair.Therefore, there are so many people shopping here that the road before the plaza is often jammed with traffic. However, it is still a good place to go but remember not to go there on weekends.
Finally,these two places are the best in their respective fields.In my case,one of them is the best outdoor activities place and the other is the best shopping mall. Moreover, make sure you have read the map of both places before you go. If you follow these advice,you will have a lot of fun with your visit.
Well done!!! Don’t forget to write your conclusion 😀
How to stay safe online
Do you like surfing the Internet? With the development of the times, many people use the internet to work or study. What would you do if you are online? I have the feeling that it is important to keep safe while you are using the internet. Below there is some useful information about how to stay safe if you are online.
First,I guess that there were lots of network attacks in recent years. So the important thing before you use the internet is to install antivirus software on your computer or phone.Antivirus software can intercept most network attacks. If you don’t do this, the viruses might attack your account and the trojans can steal your password. Never be unprotected while using the internet.
Second,you should not visit some illegal websites. For example, there are gambling websites, usury websites, and pornographic websites. These websites might download or install viruses or trojans on your device. Afterward, these viruses or trojans will attack your device.
Finally, anyways, good surfing habits will help you to stay safe online. On top of that, you should often check your device and keep your device in good condition.
Great Job Shuabing. Don’t forget to write your conclusion 😀
The best places to visit in my city
What is the most important thing of park for you? It would be different if you have girlfriend/boyfriend, kids or not. I have been living in Toronto since last April with my two children, so I will introduce our favorite parks for kids from my point of view.
First place is the Grange Park. It locates nearby our home and int middle of the downtown area. It has a lot of play equipment for toddlers and more older kids. They can also use splash pads in summer. Because it has a lot of nature, you can watch many squirrels and birds. It is a big park, so we can have a lunch on the park benches. In my opinion, a lot of families could enjoy this park.
Second place is the Round House Park. It is located nearby our home, too. It is in the Railway Museum, and we can see many steam locomotives in this park. It has two play equipment that look like the steam locomotive. Because boys usually like vehicles like my son, I have no doubt that most boys would like this park.
I guess that some of the important things of park for kids are accessibility, comfortability and good park equipment. How to make your children enjoy parks on weekends is imporant. But don’t forget these tips. Let’s enjoy our weekends in the great parks with our kids!
Well done!
How to make the amazing coffee
Susan is an Italian pretty lady. She lived in the beautiful city of New York. She always makes a great coffee in her house and enjoy the coffee time.
One day, she called me and invited me to drink coffee. She told me this coffee is different from others. When I went to her house and sat in the yard. Susan made the coffee in the kitchen, set the table and we also had wine. We drank apricot wine and a mint wine. One cup of coffee then apricot wine and finally mint wine. I try to drink a one cup of coffee, is a little too sweet. She told me this cup of coffee is a little Italian liqueur so will sweet. And then I drank another cup of coffee. It was a magical feeling! It was a cool feeling! I love it!
Actually I didn’t want to leave before I had to work, I think you can try to this wonderful coffee! Is amazing!
Good effort!
The best places to visit in our city
Do you enjoy traveling to different cities？If so, my city will impress you because of its beautiful buildings. For example the Palace Museum, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, the Old Summer Palace, the Niu Street,the Temple of Heaven etc. It will take you at least one day to visit each place. If you want to vist all of them on the same day, it will be a test of both time and strength, won’t it? But, or those who come here for the first time, I suggest you two places: the Palace Museum and the Great Wall.
The first place is the Palace Museum. It is the largest and well preserved ancient wooden structure buliding in the world. It covers an area of 72000 square meters. There are over seventy palaces and over nine thousand rooms. Doesn’t it sound worth it visiting?
The second place I recommend to you is the Great Wall. In fact, it’s called the Badaling Great Wall, which is a part of the Great Wall. This bulding has a history of over 500 years. Its total length is 7600 meters. The wall is 6-9 meters high and about 5 meters wide. It is said that it can make five houses walk side by side. By the way,the highest point of the wall exceeds 1000 meters. I think it is cool enough to take photos.
Finally, these two places are the best for those who come here for the first time.If you follow these advice, my city will leave a deep impression on you.