Good News!

Surely you have stumbled across an order that must be current, factually sound and comprehensible – the news. Today, we want to discuss both the format and content of these types of orders to prepare you for your next assignment: Write about the latest news!

Dear Authors,

Surely you have stumbled across an order that must be current, factually sound and comprehensible – the news. Today, we want to discuss both the format and content of these types of orders to prepare you for your next assignment: Write about the latest news!

Reaching your goal, step-by-step

From before your initial research to the finishing touches, think about the following: What do I want to write? Is my content current? Who are my readers and what do they want to know?

News is about the facts and not about your personal opinion.. Comments and glosses, on the other hand, offer the opportunity to convey an opinion. If you want to present an accurate and factually correct news story, excellent research in beneficial. In the following, we will show you how to research effectively.

Is that really true? – Gathering and verifying information

„I heard that somewhere,“ cannot serve as a basis for real news; information must be researched and verified, preferably through various different sources. The vastness of the Internet can be a true asset here: Utilize search engines to gather initial information and to get an overview of what is out there. Make use of fast communication channels such as email and, whenever possible, ask the source directly. Perhaps you already have your own archives that you can fall back on?

Once you have found (often more than enough) sources, you should organize and evaluate them.:

• Is the source relevant for my target audience? – The same applies to research as it does to writing: Always keep your target audience in mind.

• Is the information believable? – Be critical with Internet sites: Who has what interests in them? Is the information current and first-hand?

• Are they sufficient to properly explain the issue? – Have you viewed the issue from all sides and have you taken all relevant facts into account?

Who, how, what – when, what, where? – Answering questions

As you may have noticed – it’s all about facts. To help you make sure you haven’t forgotten any relevant information simply ask these simple questions: Who, what, where, where from, why and how. None of these questions should remain unanswered.

Structure your answers:

Lead: Your first sentence should present the core topic of your text. Usually, this is the answer to who and what.

Detailed sentence: All other above-mentioned questions should be answered in the second sentence, especially from where you got the information, unless you conducted your own survey or have invented something ground-breaking.

Background sentence: Die third sentence offers opportunity to include information such as the context, history and analysis of the issue.

Maintain good form – adhere to the formatting rules

• Title/Headline

• Subtitle/sub-headlines – in order to write a successful news story, you need conclusive title and subtitle. You can find information on how to write a successful headline here (add hyperlink).

• Teasers – placed after the headline, the teaser sparks the curiosity of the reader further. Write in a way that appeals to your target audience.

• Message (alternatively -news) – You’ve captured your reader’s attention with an attention-grabbing headline and teaser? Good! Now reward him with a good article, made up of excellent vocabulary, great sentences and coherent structure.

Checkpoint style – Using language effectively.

Have you given all the important facts and answered the most important questions? Great! Time for the finishing touches!

• Great vocabulary does not mean elaborate words and phrases. In this case, simple is better: Words with too many syllables are more likely to stem from bureaucracy or the business world. Simplify to make the article more accessible to your target audience.

• Make sure that your sentences are short and to-the-point. Is your message clear? Have you avoided using convoluted sentences? Are your main points in the main clause, while subordinate information is marginalised to subordinate clauses?

• Make it easy for your reader: Have you used subheadings and paragraphs? Is there a central theme that guides the reader through the text? Do you use imagery and strong verbs to make your text accessible without using too many adjectives?

Have you managed to check all of these points off the list? – Congratulations! You made it!

Until our next meeting, we say goodbye with a friendly kiss:

KISS – Keep it short and simple!

Your Textbroker Academy