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Depending on how you’d want to engage your readers, having the right structure is critical to reaching their maximum interest. Think of it as a skeleton—an article needs definite shape and support. Without them, its content will literally fall flat on the ground; a jumbled mess of ideas. Stories and information have to be arranged in a manner so that the most important points are appropriately covered. The ways a writer can do this: quite a number. In this chapter, writers will learn about five important article structures, their purpose, and their parts.
Before that...
Before that...
Making a headline
Making a headline
Every periodical article begins with a headline or title, but finding the right one for it may be a tough job. In a single sentence, the writer must be able to convey the general message of the story. A good headline is something that is:
Attention-grabbing. Headlines are supposed to catch one’s eye and make your reader choose your article over others.
Short yet substantial. They’re not summaries of the story itself but statements with less than a dozen words that leave readers wanting for more.
Clear. For the sake of clarity, verbs are in present tense and active voice, articles (a, an, the) aren’t used, infinitive forms are used for future actions (to create, to gather), and conjunctions can be replaced by commas.
Accurate and specific. “Government to Cut Taxes” doesn’t mean the same thing as “Government to Cut Budget,” and “Crackdown on Trafficking” isn’t as specific as “UN Declares Worldwide Crackdown on Human Trafficking.”
The Inverted Pyramid
The Inverted Pyramid
By far one of the most widely used, the inverted pyramid states information in order from the most to least important. Commonly associated with hard news, it’s written purely to relay vital information. This structure isn’t advisable for creative writing since it’s considerably rigid. However, it does get the job of straightforward reporting done. Also, this structure can be incorporated into others which will be discussed later on.
Lede
Lede
Every article with the inverted pyramid starts with a concise and summative lede that states the 5Ws and H: who did it, what happened, when did it happen, where they did it, why it happened, and how did it happen. It is short—a single sentence at least—but contains the most essential piece of information in the story. Even if the reader wouldn’t read the rest of your article, they know what your news is all about right away.
For more information on making a lede, check out our chapter on just that subject..
Body
Body
This section will give more detail on what was mentioned on the lede. Elaborate on the 5Ws and H, and provide additional information to support them albeit less important. No paragraph should be overcrowded with words like an essay body. Instead, they should contain brief single sentences that are written in the form of subject-verb-object. Just like the lede, readers will have a certain idea of how the rest of the story unfolds no matter where they stop.
Tail
Tail
Lastly, the pyramid ends with the least noteworthy yet still interesting information. Extra or related content about the story is written here. These can be:
Quotations by the people in the news unless they're the main focus.
Previous or related events to the one being mentioned in the article.
Contacts and operational info of a mentioned organization/group.
There is no need for a conclusion that is equally important as the lede or a recap of what elapsed. Rather, it plainly stops right there.
Narrative
Narrative
As the name suggests, this structure functions comparably to a story. The term ‘upright pyramid’ has also been used to describe it. From presenting a basic premise, the story builds and builds with more important information proceeding the previous. It is a noted structure for soft news and particularly features, for it is oftentimes used to explain the background/timeline of an event. The creative approaches a writer can do here are and in the following structures are much more than in the inverted pyramid.
Beginning
Beginning
The article starts with setting the scene of where the story is happening, and it should introduce to us the characters the readers will take note of. The 5Ws and H are presented similarly to the elements of a story. From this opening display, what is going to happen next should grow in relevance and be broader.
Middle
Middle
The main actions of an individual or the major occurrences in an event are elaborated here. The writer gets to tell the news in the guise of a compelling plot and conflict. Those two are put into more consideration due to the literary techniques the writer can apply. Characters are fleshed out—dialogue and actions between them are inserted here revealing their motives. Again, the information presented grows in importance, but it shouldn’t be presented entirely objectively.
Climax & Conclusion
Climax & Conclusion
Akin to the inverted pyramid’s lede, this ending section is the gist of the article: the most essential piece of information and the main newsworthy event itself is stated here. Previously mentioned dialogue and actions lead to the climax (the culmination and point of realization of the story’s events), and the article concludes just like how a short story would.
Hourglass
Hourglass
To put it simply, it’s a combination of the inverted pyramid and narrative structures that form an hourglass-like shape. The news’ information is first told from essential to trivial then transitions to tell the story behind it. It is usually reserved for feature stories (for the same purpose previously stated), opinion pieces, or crime news.
Inverted Pyramid
Inverted Pyramid
Just like what was previously mentioned, the article begins with the most important information before narrowing it down to more trivial details. The lede must answer the who, what, when, where, why, and how, and the following paragraphs expound on what occurred in the last with content that grows lesser in importance. Unlike the above-mentioned, however, it only comprises a few paragraphs.
Turn
Turn
As the name suggests, here marks the major shift in the organization of info. This is where the writer alerts the audience that there will be a transition to the narrative structure. An example of this would be:
“The Director-General shared his account of the decision-making process to this declaration."
Narrative
Narrative
This added structure’s inclusion allows for readers to ponder on what could’ve happened and how it could’ve ended. Following a parallel form to the narrative structure, how the events from the inverted pyramid came about is explained here chronologically with increasing importance; the writer gets to go approach the news in more detail. Storytelling is incorporated, so dialogue from the ‘characters’ and detail is anticipated here. The article ends with a concluding statement that is equally important as the lede from the beginning.
The Martini Glass
The Martini Glass
A structure similar to the hourglass, the martini glass tells the news first, recaps the events that elapsed in chronological order, and concludes with a strong closing quote. Start big, end big. Some news writers use this as a modern, creative replacement to the inverted pyramid though appealing only to a particular audience. Though one may deem this as the same thing as the hourglass, it should be noted that it differs in the structure’s latter half which will be explained later on.
Inverted Pyramid
Inverted Pyramid
It remains unchanged from the previously stated article structures. Again, it should have information presented in descending order from most to least important in a few short paragraphs.
Turn
Turn
To reiterate, the writer makes a clear transition of structure through an advisory sentence.
Recap
Recap
This is where things start to spew from the hourglass structure. Unlike the narrative, its information doesn’t grow in importance with each new paragraph. This is why the recap is represented by the thin line used to hold the martini glass. It simply retells the order of events that led to the newsworthy event through chronological, step-by-step details. There is no incorporation of storytelling, nor is there any developing plot; it’s purely a sequential recount. Also, only a targeted audience will care about this chronology as compared to the narrative in the hourglass.
Kicker
Kicker
This is where things start to spew from the hourglass structure. Unlike the narrative, its information doesn’t grow in importance with each new paragraph. This is why the recap is represented by the thin line used to hold the martini glass. It simply retells the order of events that led to the newsworthy event through chronological, step-by-step details. There is no incorporation of storytelling, nor is there any developing plot; it’s purely a sequential recount. Also, only a targeted audience will care about this chronology as compared to the narrative in the hourglass.
Kebab
Kebab
On a single kebab stick, you get a combination of all the flavors you need. You first bite a juicy veggie, proceed with the essential meat, and finish with another veggie. That’s what the kebab structure does: give a variety of important aspects in one go. Starting and ending with a personal recount, in between it is a general discussion of the story. The kebab allows the writer to show how actual people are involved in the news. It’s a recommended structure for news features and human interest stories.
Anecdote
Anecdote
An anecdote is a short, usually amusing account by a specific individual who experienced a certain event. The kebab starts with one, and it provides the reader with this person’s insight—a part of the bigger picture—before diving into the full story. This anecdote has to set the tone for the rest of the article as well as be explained by it too.
Nut Graph
Nut Graph
Short for nutshell paragraph, this section should:
Summarize the story idea through the 5Ws and H.
Explain the anecdote’s connection to the rest of the article.
Reveal the story’s essential theme.
Set up the guide that the supporting paragraphs will explain.
Explain to and convince the readers why the story is important.
In this aspect, the nut graph and the news lede are relatively alike with each other although the former is a full paragraph while the latter is at least a sentence.
Meat
Meat
Usually given in a series of paragraphs, this is where the main content (the ‘meat’) of the story is inserted. Chunk after chunk, the writer has to discuss the story at hand through a detailed, comprehensive approach. It isn’t restricted to just arranging the information in decreasing importance nor chronological order. While the presentation of ideas should be straightforward, specificity yet wideness in scope must also be taken into account.
Closing Anecdote
Closing Anecdote
After gradually going through content and details, the article ends with yet another anecdote usually by the same person as earlier. With the entire story discussed beforehand, this account now tells about the bigger picture itself.
Summary
Summary
This short chapter provided you with the basic info and parts of five different article structures you may use in your writing. The inverted pyramid presents info in decreasing importance. The narrative presents info that’s increasing in importance with storytelling. The hourglass combines both the inverted pyramid and narrative structures. The martini glass starts with an inverted pyramid before diving into a recap and concluding with a kicker. The kebab tells an anecdote before and after a detailed story. Take into account that there is no single, completely fitting structure for your article, so do what’s best with the guides you have. May your Mover journey be a creative one, writer!
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Further Resources...
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