Writing an article

Articles are magazine and newspaper style essays. As part of your ZIMSEC English Language examination you can be asked to write an article on a chosen topic in Section B of Paper 1. The given topics normally require you to write an informative article for example you can be presented with a topic such as, “Write an article for your school magazine titled,’Why my school is the best.'”

Whenever presented with such a topic you should take an approach that is not very different from the one you should employ when dealing with argumentative essays although the “correct viewpoint” is this instance is non-optional. For example you cannot choose to say write about why you think your school is not the best.

You have to write supporting the topic and providing probably fictional information to expand and develop the points given in the question for example if the question has points like: High Pass rate, Recent successes in sport etc you might want to support the first point by saying you school has consistently achieved a 100 % pass rate for the past 5 years and some of your students have received national prizes due to their academic excellence. It does not have to be true, just reasonable, plausible and in support of the given topic.

Format of an article

Headline/Title: Put title of article here. You could use the question as a guide e.g. Why St Faith’s Secondary is the best school in Zimbabwe.

By/Author: Your Name here.

It is always a good thing to provide a summation of your whole approach to the topic. For example you could begin by saying: Although generally ignored by most in the media probably due to it being located far away from the capital, St Faith’s Secondary near Rusape is undoubtedly one of the most premier learning institution in this country. In my eyes it is the best school there is.

Expand on the given points and fabricate sensible evidence to support them. Take care to arrange them in logical or chronological order and paragraph them accordingly.

Give a sensible conclusion. A rephrase of the introduction will do in most instances. For example you could end by saying: With all this evidence presented, it is hard to argue with the fact that St Faith’s Secondary is the country’s best learning institution.

Other tips and things to note.

• It is always a good idea to write short paragraphs when writing an article. Your paragraphs should be about 2-5 lines in length.
• No signature is required.
• Avoid colloquialisms and cliches.
• Always present your work in a logical manner.
• Always provide plausible evidence and information when supporting and expanding the points given in the essay question.
• Avoid giving contradictory evidence.

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