Choosing a Topic

After figuring out what you want to talk about, decide whether or not this topic should be placed into a school paper. This is important because a school paper is meant to be read by students, teachers, and parents. Try to pick an interesting topic that matters to these people.

• Impact. Is there an event/thing that affects the student body? In what ways and for how long?

• Timeliness. Is this something that is happening right now? Does it make sense to talk about at this moment?

• Discovery. Is there brand-new and interesting information that the student body ought to know? Is there something, like advice or movies, that they’d be interested to know?

• Suitability. Is this something that’s applicable to a school setting? Is it appropriate?

• Proximity. Where is this happening? Is it at school or in the country?

• Prominence. People are interested in well-known people, places, events, important dates, and critical situations.

• Human interest. A dramatic, personal story has great appeal. Was a student the youngest participant in a golfing tournament? Was a debater given the highest honor in a competition?

• Unusual. People gravitate towards the strange. If something out of the ordinary happens, like actual cats and dogs falling from the sky, people would love to know.

• Progress. Knowing the recent updates in the school like contest wins, or the school’s international ranking is always newsworthy.

• Humor. People love humor! And it’s a wonderful way to relax after a stressful day in school, so a funny story, humorous meme, or relatable comic can never go wrong.

After narrowing down a topic that you think is good, write down a short summary or description of your idea and offer it up to the moderator or your assigned editor. Don’t be afraid! They’ll be open to hearing your idea out, and they’ll either accept or reject your idea. Don’t be too bummed out when they reject it, as it’s their responsibility to make sure that your topic is appropriate for a school paper.

If it’s rejected, either get ready to go back to square one or look at your topic in a different light to see another way you can pitch it. There is never one way to look at things!