Components and Structure of an Article
1) Catchy Title and Writer's Name:
Give your article a catchy title by using any figure of speech or sensational vocabulary.
e.g.
The Matter of Life and Debt
(This can be a title for a financial article. It is a wordplay on the popular phrase - the matter of life and death.)
Maximise Health by Minimising Salt, Sugar and Fat Intake
(This is a title for an article on healthy diet. It employs the figure of speech contrast as well as alliteration)
How To Avoid Social Media Self-destruction
(This is a title for an article on controlling the use of social media. It uses alliteration as a figure of speech. The word 'destruction' is an example of sensational vocabulary.
2) Opening:
Begin your article with a startling fact, a well-known saying, a quote by a famous person, a proverb, shocking statistics, a thought-provoking or rhetorical question.
3) Detailing:
Elaborate the given topic or idea with respect to any of the following combinations.
positive / negative aspects
advantages / disadvantages // pros / cons // merits / demerits // boon / bane // benefits / drawbacks, limitations
causes / effects / solutions, suggestions
Make the detailing paragraphs as interesting as possible using figures of speech like metaphor, simile, contrast, rhetorical questions, idioms etc., and at times you can even add slight humor if the topic permits it. Unlike report writing, you can be informal and as creatively as possible while writing an article.
4) Authenticity:
Include research results, statistics available, published facts or expert opinions to make your article authentic.
Use phrases in bold to convey facts and figures relevant to your topic:
- According to a study conducted by the United Nations, an estimated 17 percent of the total global food produced is wasted.
- As per a report released by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, National Highways comprise of 2% of road network, but account for 30.6% of accidents and 35.7% of deaths.
- According to a research carried out by Statusbrew, a typical social media user spends almost 2.5 hours on average every day using social media.
- As per the latest survey by Chrome Data Analytics and Media, 70% of the consumers prefer to watch series on OTT platforms at night.
- As per the data revealed by Puma, 57% of India hasn't played a sport even once in the last 12 months.
Expert opinion:
“Consume a colorful diet—color your plate with a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, lean meats and fish,” advises Taylor Wallace, Ph.D., principal and CEO of the Think Healthy Group, a food science and nutrition research firm.
5) Conclusion:
Conclude your article with a suggestion, a thought-provoking question or statement, highlighting the present scenario or by asserting future expectations.
Exercise 1:
[CBSE March 2023, Set 1]
Draft an article in 120-150 words to be published in a prominent journal on the problem of stray dogs in your colony. Give suggestions to overcome this menace. You are Prerna/Prashant. Use the given cues along with your ideas to compose the article:
The Cost of Canine Cacophony
- Prerna
Have you ever got scared when a stray dog stares at you suspiciously? Has it ever bothered you why they decide to arrange their talk shows in the dark of the night? Yes, we all have been affected by the nuisance of stray dogs at one time or another. And believe me, there are millions of them out there.
According to the numbers revealed by WHO, there are about 600 million stray dogs in the world, and 62 million of them are in India alone, homeless, fearless, and to our disappointment, sometimes mannerless.
The aggression and hostility of these stray dogs towards stranger is well-known. However, when such behavior becomes uncontrolled and frequent, it presents a great problem to the residents. Not only that, but the unhygienic conditions in which they live increase the risk of diseases among the locals. Moreover, their primary source of food is from the trash, and they nonchalantly tip over and rummage through its contents leaving a complete mess for us to clean up.
So, the question is how this problem can be tackled. There are a few things we can do. First, we can put them in shelter homes where they can be better taken care of. Some of them can be adopted, and befriended, and thereby their hostile behavior can be conquered by love. To reduce the risk of diseases they carry, a comprehensive vaccination program is actually underway.
Dogs are men’s best friend they say. I think it's time we returned the favor.
Exercise 2:
[CBSE March 2023, Set 2]
You are Praveen/Prerna, Secretary, Eco-club of Bharati School, Lucknow. Write an article for the school magazine on the hazards of environment pollution. You may use the cues given below. (120-150 words)
Causes – dumping of industrial waste in water bodies, improper disposal of e-waste and medical waste, indiscriminate construction work: Solutions – stricter laws / role of media in spreading awareness / initiative by NGOs |
Home, Humans and Hazards
- Prerna
Pollution – the word rings a bell in our mind when we hear it. But it is an alarm bell, to say the least. Perhaps it is not ringing loud enough for us to hear, for its effects are constantly on the rise. With every passing year, pollution and its effects clutch humanity tighter in its unkind tentacles.
Do you know that every year we dump 8 million tons of plastic in the oceans? 37 billion metric tons of carbon is puked out into the atmosphere every year worldwide. Further, the harmful and illegitimate disposal of e-waste and medical waste are just adding up to the problem. Moreover, the world seems to be always building. According to a research conducted by construction blog Bimhow, the construction sector contributes to almost one-fourth of air pollution, 40% of water pollution, and half of landfill wastes.
The effects of this are not going to be pretty for humanity. Global warming and climate change are not only claiming human lives, but that of other species as well. This disrupts the balance of nature, and nature is going to respond. And those sights would not be friendly. Pollution is a modern monster of the world that needs to be tamed.
How can it be done then? First of all, every country has their laws to curb pollution. The thing is that they need to be enforced in stricter manners. Further, media can play a crucial role in spreading awareness about the harmful effects, and about the initiatives taken all around the world by various NGOs.
This world is our home. It has sheltered humanity for thousands of years. It is our duty to protect it. Mother Earth, we call it. Mother. It is high time we treated her like one.
Exercise 3:
[CBSE March 2023, Set 3]
You are Nishi/Nishant, a social worker. You feel that progress and advancement of India can be enhanced by educating the girl child. He/She Writes an article of 120-150 words for the local newspaper expressing his/her views. You may use the cues given below.
Advantages of Educating the Girl Child - Financial independence - Lead productive lives - Can participate in decisions that affect them - Build better future for themselves and their families |
Educate, Elevate, Liberate
- Nishant
Michelle Obama has said that when women are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous. Women literacy has been of prime focus in various government schemes all around the world. It is true that the quality and extent of women education has a vital role to play in the development of the nation.
An educated girl cultivates self-confidence that will help her make wise choices and learned decisions. These will in turn make valuable contributions to the society as well as the country. When women can become independent and can lead productive and fulfilling lives, not only theirs, but the lives of all around her improves. They actively participate in the decisions that most affect them, and this way, build better futures for themselves and their families.
According to comments released by UNICEF, investing in girls’ education transforms communities, countries and entire world. Girls’ education strengthens economy and reduces inequality.
The stability of any society or country, and how resilient they are in the face of adversities, is reflected through the contributions made by both the genders to the overall upliftment.
With campaigns like ‘Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan’, and several provisions by the government to encourage the education of girls, prospects for India are certainly looking up in this regard.
Comments