What Is An Article?

Official definition says: An article is a stand-alone section of a larger written work. These nonfictional prose compositions appear in magazines, newspapers, academic journals, the internet, or any other type of publication. Articles can be divided into two main categories: news and features. Straight news stories deal with the timeliness and immediacy of breaking news, while feature articles are news stories that deal with human interest topics.

An article is a smaller version or a summarized version of a bigger written work. Articles are non-fictional prose compositions that are published in newspapers, academic journals, magazines and internet. These may be published in any other form of publication also.

The two major categories of articles are news and features. Straight news articles are associated with urgent breaking news and timelines. Feature articles deal with news stories that are associated with topics of human interest.

News are articles that get published in newspapers, magazines or the internet. These items deal with topics that discuss recent or current news and also news that deals with topics of general interest. Such articles include eyewitness accounts of the event. It may also include interviews, photographs, recollections, polls, debates and statistics related to the article topic. The title should be catchy and should direct the interest of the reader to the main part that the article focuses on.

Feature articles are intended for informing, amusing or teaching the reader on a particular topic. They are usually written on topics that are of human interest. These features include how-to’s, interviews, essays and personality sketches. Some examples of this kind are:

Column articles: These are short magazine or newspaper contributions that deal with a specific particular field of interest, or on broad topics such as any circumstance or issue.

Essays: These are articles that are literary in characteristic and the writer expresses an idea or develops a theme.

Evergreen articles: As the name suggests, these are timeless articles that the editor can keep for many months and publish whenever it is needed. These usually do not need any updating.

Expose articles: These articles are usually based on in depth research and documentation. Such articles are utilized to expose corruption in politics, business and among celebrities. They are also known as investigative articles.

Filler articles: These articles are just small articles that are used to fill up any empty space in a newspaper or magazine.

How-to articles: These articles are commonly guides that give step by step information on how to do something.

Seasonal articles: As the name suggests, these articles are written about vacations, seasons and any timely observance.

Other common types of articles are human interest stories, Op-Ed articles, interviews, personal experiences, travel articles, sidebars, service articles and personality profiles.

If you are someone interested in writing, you have great scope in writing articles based on any of the above mentioned types. And the best part is that you get paid when your article is published! So, why not share your thoughts, knowledge or experiences with others?