Newspaper/Magazine Articles
Before we learn about this type of writing it is important to make a clear distinction between what we mean by an article and a story. A story can be thought of as something that is being reported on, whereas an article is something that is being commented on. This is an important distinction to make because a story and an article are organized in different ways.
This can best be seen by looking at a newspaper story and then a newspaper article.
Hundreds brave bad weather in final bid for Form Six places
Will ClemHundreds of students were braving the threat of rain and blustery weather last night as they bedded down outside schools across the city in a last-ditch attempt to secure one of the few remaining Form Six vacancies.
"I'm not worried about the weather. It's worth the risk," said Mick Tso, 17, who was second in a queue of about 30 lining up outside Concordia Lutheran School in North Point - which had 40 places available - just after 7pm.
"My friends and I are going to take turns waiting throughout the night. I scored 11 points, which is not particularly good, but I hope it is enough to get a place here."
More than 25,000 eligible students are today preparing to fight over roughly 3,400 vacancies in about 160 schools as the Form Six allocations process enters its final stage.
Over 22,000 places have been snapped up over the past two days, mostly by students who scored 14 or more points in the Certificate or Education Examinations, the results of which were released on Wednesday.
The remaining 27,000 students who met the Education Bureau's minimum requirement but fell below the 14-point threshold had been barred from seeking places until yesterday afternoon, when they could seek a spot in their own schools.
Today they have the chance to hunt in other schools. If any vacancies remain at the end of this stage, they will be allocated a place through central allocation tomorrow. Students score five points for a Level 5* in English or Chinese or an A in other subjects, down to one point for a Level 2 or an E. The bureau's minimum requirement is four points in four subjects or five points in three, not including English or Chinese.
Competition for places this year has been intense, but yesterday was considerably less hectic than the first day of the process. Three schools with vacancies in Chai Wan were virtually dead by mid-morning.
But while students in the afternoon session were limited to applying to the school they had attended for Form Five, many tried to circumvent the system.
"A lot of parents get very worried about finding a place for their children, and really want to jump the queue," said Lee Kim-wah, principal of Po Chiu Catholic Secondary School in Yau Tong. Mr Lee said he had to tell them to come back today.
The South China Morning Post, August 10, 2007
Comment on organizationThis ‘story’ follows a fairly normal pattern. We start with a headline, followed by the writer’s name. The first paragraph gives a broad outline/overview of the story and then each subsequent paragraph gives more detail. The paragraphs themselves are on occasions very short – sometimes only 1 sentence.
Now read the article below:
Greater integration will benefit our city
A proposal to liberalise entry to Hong Kong for the 2 million permanent residents of Shenzhen may seem to many to be ahead of its time. But it tackles the question of how to secure the city's future under the "one country, two systems" concept.
The detail and timing of such a step calls for careful consideration to avoid a huge influx. It is, however, a sensible idea in principle, with more to be gained than just the immediate economic benefits to Hong Kong.
Our city has to integrate with the mainland sooner or later. The border with Shenzhen will disappear anyway in 2047. But integration should be incremental in order to safeguard Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. We cannot wait another 40 years and then hope for the best. Nor, for the same reason, can we tear down the border overnight. The barrier to unrestricted movement is there for legitimate reasons, such as wide disparities between the standards of living in Hong Kong and the mainland.
But Hong Kong should be open to increasing the pace of integration, while maintaining a step-by-step approach. It is time to consider a more open-minded approach to immigration issues.
Already, Hong Kong people can visit Shenzhen freely, while Shenzhen residents can visit Hong Kong under the mainland's individual travel scheme, which many do frequently. Thousands of children living in Shenzhen cross the border by bus to attend schools in the New Territories.
A case for a faster pace of integration is to be found in Hong Kong's aspirations to match the world's leading financial centres. In an interview to mark the 10th anniversary of the handover, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said the city should aim at a population of 10 million, compared with 7 million now, in order to match New York and London. He rightly emphasised that an adequate supply of talent from around the world, particularly from the mainland, is crucial to that aspiration.
But that does not mean we need to think about how to physically squeeze 10 million people into Hong Kong, already one of the most densely populated places in the world. By making the existing rules more flexible, we can effectively expand Hong Kong's working population without having to allow a lot of people to live here. After all, Central is only an hour by public transport from Shenzhen, and the north of the New Territories half that. People on both sides should be able to easily cross the border for leisure, shopping, business or work.
Shenzhen is a logical starting point for integration, with its relatively high standard of living and better educated population. Over the longer term, we should be thinking about widening integration into Guangdong. Again, timing and detail will be crucial to avoid a huge influx. The speed with which such a plan should be implemented depends on how fast the wealth gap between Hong Kong and the mainland narrows.
Many Hong Kong people may not agree that we are ready yet for greater cross-border integration. Concerns include an influx of Shenzhen criminals and chaos on our roads. Security issues must be resolved, but they are a two-way street. Shenzhen officials have every reason to be alert to penetration by Hong Kong triads.
If Hong Kong wants the advantages of greater integration, it must also accept the drawbacks. With foresight and planning they are not insurmountable. The potential benefits far outweigh them. (570 words)
The South China Morning Post, July 27, 2007Comment on organizationThis ‘article’ is more like that expected in the A.S. Level examination. The article has a headline, quite often expressing a particular opinion and the first paragraph introduces the topic and any issues relating to it. You can see in this article that there is good use of topic sentences at the start of each paragraph.
WARNING! In lesson 1 I said that a discuss style essay and a newspaper article can be thought of as quite similar. This is true, but there are important differences. When you are writing an essay you can expect your readership to be one, but when you are writing an article you must keep in mind that it is for a large audience (the newspaper or magazine’s readers). If you are writing an article and supporting one side you must still present opposition arguments and deal with them. This is because writers in newspapers/magazines are expected to present a balanced view of an issue.
The most common type of article question which comes up in the A.S. Level examinations asks candidates to look at both sides of an issue. In 2006: Question 2, ‘…Write an article for the school newspaper describing the viewpoints and arguments of the different parties. Give your article a title.’ and Question 2 from 2005, ‘…Give your view as to the benefits and drawbacks…’
In fact, newspaper articles have been one of the staples of the examination over the years, with at least one question and sometimes two appearing in most years. Other common requirements are to; give advice or to suggest three solutions to a particular problem.
PERSON and STYLE
So who are you? When you write a letter to the Editor (lesson 4) you are ‘I’, e.g. ‘I cannot agree with the Government’s idea…’, ‘I am disgusted by…’, etc. However, look at the article –
Greater integration will benefit our city – and see how many times the writer uses ‘I’.
Look at the article below, can you see any ‘I’ or can you see something else?
History must not hold back border twin cities
But for historical events that set Hong Kong apart from the rest of China, the city would long since have integrated with Shenzhen to form a greater metropolis. Now the "one country, two systems" concept stands in the way. However, a faster pace of economic integration with the mainland, in particular its pool of human resources, is seen as critical to Hong Kong's future competitiveness. In that respect the arrangement that insulates our way of life from the mainland system until 2047 is holding us back.
Policy thinkers have wrestled with ways around it without coming up with an initiative that would give integration real momentum. Now there is talk of creating a special zone between Hong Kong and Shenzhen to facilitate it. This could present a way for Hong Kong to break out of the straitjacket imposed by "one country, two systems."
As we report today, a study by the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, a policy think-tank close to the government, envisages the industrial development of the Lok Ma Chau Loop on the border as a model for a Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis. A square kilometre of Shenzhen left on the Hong Kong side by the straightening of the Shenzhen River which forms the border, the site lends itself to such an idea. It would still be owned by Shenzhen and managed under Hong Kong laws and systems, but developed by an authority in which the two cities would be equally represented.
The Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis concept recognises that economic co-operation between the two is indispensable to their development. The study says it has the potential, with further economic co-operation, to develop into China's first world-class metropolis. The existing political and legal framework rules out a free two-way flow between Hong Kong and Shenzhen of key resources such as people, capital, goods, information and services. Instead, the study makes a case for relatively satisfactory conditions for a freer flow to complement the two cities' strengths.
The model Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis would set an example. The main development focus would be on the relatively free flow of people into the area from the two sides to work and conduct business, rather than goods. The area would be developed economically according to the principles of high value-added, low pollution and a high land utilisation rate, with the types of industries to be developed determined by the market.
The study argues that such co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen can radiate Hong Kong's influence to other parts of the mainland, and Shenzhen can "go international" via Hong Kong.
From Shenzhen's perspective there might be concerns that Hong Kong could derive the greater benefit. The study has tried to present its proposals as a win-win idea, citing analysis that shows a Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis would have similarly positive economic impacts on each city as well as the two as a whole. This also goes some way towards addressing concerns in Hong Kong's industrial and commercial sectors about whether the city's interests would be adversely affected, or whether Shenzhen would benefit more.
Further integration requires the participation and support of the central and Guangdong governments. It is to be hoped that leaders from both sides would weigh the long-term benefits against short-term concerns. Without the barrier between Hong Kong and the mainland, it would have happened long ago. Integration has to be carefully managed, but history should not be allowed to restrict the development of both cities. (572 words)
The South China Morning Post, August 10, 2007CommentWe cannot see any use of first person "I'. Why? - Because when you are writing an article in a newspaper or magazine you are writing on behalf or for that publication and are expressing views on behalf of the publication (remember in a real-life setting your article needs to be approved by a sub-editor and an editor before it is published).
- You might also notice the absence of other popular student phrases, In my opinion, I believe, etc. When writing an article you need to give the impression of being objective. As soon as you start using ‘I’ you lose the impression of objectivity and your article becomes highly subjective. This then is the second reason - an article that is clearly a rant or just your own personal opinions will not convince anyone that your ideas are the correct ones.
The structure/organization of your article is dependent on the question requirements. However, you must always have a headline/title and an introduction. Your paragraphs should always be clear, with a topic sentence followed by 2 to 3 sentences elaborating that point.
