How To Write Anything
Every piece of non-fiction writing can be thought of as having two parts – an opening or introduction, followed by the main part of the article or paper. For convenience, we’ll call the first part the “top,” and the second part the “bottom.”
The top is fairly brief – no more than 20 percent of the entire piece, and rarely more than three or four paragraphs even in a fairly long paper. Often it’s a single paragraph (or two). However, it is very important. This is where you get your reader to read the rest. In it you must accomplish three things:
P Get the reader’s attention, usually with the opening sentence.
P Tell the reader what the story is about (that is, what is your “thesis”)
P Explain why it’s important, or interesting, or funny, or whatever it is that makes it significant and timely, and therefore worth reading right now.
Sometimes you can accomplish two of these at once. For example you can get the reader’s attention and tell what the story is about at the same time by starting with a sharp, clear, pithy statement of your theme. But often you´ll want to start with an anecdote, a fact, or a description. And then make a graceful turn into the paragraph explaining what the article is about, followed by the explanation of its significance.
There may be other things that you need to get done at the beginning. You may want to acknowledge that there is some information that conflicts with your thesis, and either deal with it or promise to do so later. Or you may want to specify what you are going to cover.
The bottom is the part where you give the reader the information you promised in the top. Here the exhortation to “write from a suitable design” becomes all important. You want to plan – often by writing it out – the order in which you are going to cover the relevant subtopics. They should follow logically. Anytime you can make the bottom into a “narration” (i.e., a story told in chronological fashion) you’re better off. A story, remember, has to have a beginning (a situation), a middle (a complication, or problem), and an end (a resolution of the problem). It should be tightly focused, and the principal theme should run through it like a skewer through a pacamuto. This doesn’t mean you leave out important people or information. You bring them in at the point where they are needed to compare and contrast with your central thesis.
A handy device is to set up a page with two columns. In the first is your basic design for the story. In the other you write down, in shorthand, the things you want to be sure to get in. Then you draw lines from the things you want to get in to the place they fit in the design. When you combine the two columns in this fashion you end up with a comprehensive plan, or outline, for writing your story.
When you get to the end, come up with a snappy conclusion that wraps things up if you can. This is a nice touch, but it is not always essential.
The Five Ws and an H
This is just a handy way of constructing the start (or "lead") of a news story when you are under deadline pressure, or when the story does not merit greater effort. In this case you get the reader's by telling him or her what they want to know in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
The "Five Ws" are who, what, when, where, why. Memorize them. They will be on a quiz or test. The "H," which is not always included, is for how. (In fact, why is also sometimes omitted from the lead paragraph if it is too complicated, or if it goes without saying.)
To think of it another way, the opening paragraph should tell the reader who did what, when, where, why and, sometimes, how.
It may become clearer if we look at real example from a kind of story we will be covering (games in the Santa Cruz Interscholastic Sports League):
Who? The Cooperative School boys varsity soccer team
What: Defeated Cambridge 11-0
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: The Jaguars' home field
Why? To open the season with a win
How: By outplaying the Cambridge Knight on offense and defense
This might all come together, with some embellishments, as follows:
The Cooperative boys varsity soccer team opened its season in impressive fashion with a decisive 11-0 win over Cambridge in a game played on the Jaguars' field Thursday afternoon. The Jaguars scored early and late, dominating play at both ends of the field.
You can always start a news story with a five W lead, though you may often be able to think of a better way to get the reader's attention. But even when you do you should answer the basic questions signalled by "The Five Ws and an H" by the second paragraph.
The Five Ws and an H
This is just a handy way of constructing the start (or "lead") of a news story when you are under deadline pressure, or when the story does not merit greater effort. In this case you get the reader's by telling him or her what they want to know in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
The "Five Ws" are who, what, when, where, why. Memorize them. They will be on a quiz or test. The "H," which is not always included, is for how. (In fact, why is also sometimes omitted from the lead paragraph if it is too complicated, or if it goes without saying.)
To think of it another way, the opening paragraph should tell the reader who did what, when, where, why and, sometimes, how.
It may become clearer if we look at real example from a kind of story we will be covering (games in the Santa Cruz Interscholastic Sports League):
Who? The Cooperative School boys varsity soccer team
What: Defeated Cambridge 11-0
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: The Jaguars' home field
Why? To open the season with a win
How: By outplaying the Cambridge Knight on offense and defense
This might all come together, with some embellishments, as follows:
The Cooperative boys varsity soccer team opened its season in impressive fashion with a decisive 11-0 win over Cambridge in a game played on the Jaguars' field Thursday afternoon. The Jaguars scored early and late, dominating play at both ends of the field.
You can always start a news story with a five W lead, though you may often be able to think of a better way to get the reader's attention. But even when you do you should answer the basic questions signalled by "The Five Ws and an H" by the second paragraph.
