Types of Articles

This widely-used article type is known for its direct and matter-of-fact approach. Focusing on ‘big’ matters, hard news (or news report) tells of information significant and broad enough for urgent publishing to be considered—the recent past. Usually, it makes the front-page headlines and is associated with the inverted pyramid structure.

The term ‘hard’ comes from the serious topics these articles deal in. Their main purpose is purely to inform in the most straightforward manner possible. As much as one writer would like to express their creative touch, these articles have to be as truthful and unbiased as possible. Neutrality is essential as these articles are supposed to appeal to all walks of life. Adjectives are used sparingly—such as when stated by an interviewee—as comments by the writer are of no relevance to the story. 

We see hard news in school every week through the Student and Parents’ Bulletin (SPB). It tells only the barebones facts regarding announcements or events 

A common type of soft news, these stories take length and detail to explore the background information of hard news. While hard news articles are straightforward and concise, features focus on the in-depth insights of major topics and events or the experiences of heralded individuals. 

In the specifics of coverage, they aren’t as broadly written as hard news with the inverted pyramid. A writer can be creative with these articles’ presentation and structure by dividing it into segments, making narratives, or using anecdotes. The writer’s personality is expressed through their creative writing styles, and it’s their job to make this article memorably interesting through them. A writer’s opinions may arise, but those are based on the facts they’ve gathered. Features are further divided into two subtypes:  

These brief opinion pieces are specifically reserved only for the publication’s senior staff. Here, views expressed by one or more editors are displayed. Sometimes, an accompanying editorial cartoon represents the topic talked about in caricature and comic-like drawings. 

It’s the members of senior staff themselves that evaluate which topic to write on. Most editorials are left unsigned, implying that they are the opinion of the periodical itself. 

Just like how their architectural counterparts stand in repetitive patterns, columns in publications are recurring pieces. They are articles concerning a specific topic of interest that have regular appearances within the periodical and are authored by the same writers called columnists. Columnists can incorporate their stylistic touches to make it theirs; think of it as your own segment in a TV show episode. 

Columns have a standard title, recognized structure, and fixed schedule. Each issue is written in short paragraphs with a simple vocabulary. They could be written like the way you talk, yet proper grammar should never be sacrificed.

Reviewers share their constructive criticism towards such items by showing both the positive and negative sides. They should give their honest comments regarding the experience they had without any outside bias. Also, they have to write informatively and at the same time persuasively for the readers to know what is the best action to do (e.g. should I see it or should I use something else?). 

These articles often have the general critique as its title to automatically show readers what to expect. It ends with a final rating such as an ‘out of 10’ or ‘out of 5 stars’ score.