You’ve done your research. Conducted the interview. Now you’ve got to write the article. Gulp. In the third of his series on ‘how to write an article’, former trade press editor and journalist Andy Barrett shows how to finesse those sprawling notes into the perfect article.

Whatever happens, don’t be downhearted. Even if you are downhearted! With that mass of information in front of you, this is the moment when the most seasoned journalists can find themselves staring blankly at the empty page wondering where to start.

The secret here (well, ‘secret’ is probably pitching it a bit) is simply start. Write something. Write anything.

If you have your angle and all your research, you will find your direction and shape eventually – I promise. Start anywhere and you can easily go back to refine your opening later.

The opening

This is vital. The opening sentence is what sets your premise and hooks your reader. While I’d never say that the rest of the article is unimportant (it certainly is important), no-one will ever read it if your opening line doesn’t hook.

Your opening sentence can be intriguing: “I went from being a bad writer to a good writer after a conversation with a lecturer in business management.” (Who wouldn’t want to read on?)

It can be a question: “What would happen if an epidemiologist and an expert on clinical trials met on a bus just as a pandemic was breaking out?”

It can be the beginning of a story: “In 1964, shop owner Ivor Arbiter revolutionised rock ‘n’ roll with a short business trip to the USA.”

It can be a shocker: “Over 30 per cent of US citizens are obese – and the figure is growing by five per cent every year!”

Pique your readers’ curiosity

You can also open your article with a quote, with humour, with a proverb, an anecdote, pretty much any way you like. The important thing is to pique your readers’ curiosity and make it clear what the article is about.

Look at the four examples above – there is little doubt as to the subject matter for any of them.

It doesn’t have to be a single sentence, either. If you need two (or at the most, three) that’s fine. But keep it short.

There are dozens of excellent articles on writing effective opening lines – and some of them have good opening lines, too!

See 7 great ways to start an article on this site.

The argument

The main body of your article (known as ‘the argument’ or sometimes just ‘the middle’) is where you discuss the main points you want to address – and is very likely what you have written first.

This is where your preparation really comes to the fore. While compiling your research or transcribing your interview, you will have noted the important points and rated them in order of priority.

Open with point one, discuss or argue, do the same with point two, point three, and so on.

The 80/20 rule

Looking back, you’ll see the classic 80/20 rule has been in action. The body of your article takes up over 80 per cent of the piece and probably took less than 20 per cent of the entire writing time.

It’s in the argument section of the article that all the main quotes and facts are referenced, each supporting (or contradicting) the point you are making.

Remember, especially if you’re writing for the web, to keep your sentences and paragraphs short and to the point. Sometimes a single sentence could be all the paragraph needs.

The conclusion

The end of your article – or ‘the conclusion’ – should flow naturally from the argument.

By the very nature of an article, the argument should be clear enough for people to know where it’s going. This isn’t a whodunnit. It’s 1+1+1 = 3.

The skill in finding a satisfying or even elegant conclusion for your article is to say everything you’ve said in as few words as possible and – my personal preference – giving a nod back to the opening line.

Don’t shock for the sake of it

Don’t try to force drama, scandal or shocks into your conclusion if none are there. You’ve told people what you’re going to talk about, you’ve talked about it – and here’s the conclusion. It can be as simple as that.

A lot of fuss is made about ‘make sure your subject interesting’. Well, the truth is, if an article is well written, it will be interesting for someone.

Have a look at 5 steps to writing an article on any subject. Pretty much anything can be interesting if you approach it in the right way.

Editing

And that’s the first draft! Now you have to re-read, tighten, edit, change, cut and re-read – and repeat.

An editor I worked under once told me that no article was ever made worse by shortening… and no second draft was ever made worse by the third draft. Re-read, edit, repeat for as long as your time allows.

Murder your darlings

Of course, never forget to kill your darlings if necessary. That killer line, that explosive point, that controversial counterpoint – they might be unnecessary or, even worse, distracting from your overall piece.

Before you know it, you’ll be on to the next one.

You can find other interesting advice on writing articles in How to write an article in six easy steps by Christina Katz and 6 rules for good writing by Hannah Frankman.

Thanks to Greg Weaver on Unsplash for the splendid drums photograph.

Read the full ‘how to write an article’ series – Part 1 finding the angle and Part 2 the interview.