Scribd
Upload
68 views

Module 4: How To Write An Engaging Sports Article What Is Plain Language?

This document provides guidance on writing engaging sports articles. It discusses writing both hard news articles that inform readers and soft news articles that entertain or provide advice. For hard news, the most important facts should come first in short paragraphs with the "inverted pyramid" structure. Soft news has more flexibility and can inspire readers through profiles and examining larger issues. Both types of articles should use plain language and consider the audience.

Uploaded by

Ma Crimeldy Portunova-Gapor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
68 views

Module 4: How To Write An Engaging Sports Article What Is Plain Language?

This document provides guidance on writing engaging sports articles. It discusses writing both hard news articles that inform readers and soft news articles that entertain or provide advice. For hard news, the most important facts should come first in short paragraphs with the "inverted pyramid" structure. Soft news has more flexibility and can inspire readers through profiles and examining larger issues. Both types of articles should use plain language and consider the audience.

Uploaded by

Ma Crimeldy Portunova-Gapor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Module 4: How to write an engaging sports article

What is plain language?


According to communications scholar Richard Wydick, plain language is “clear, concise and correct”
communication. It avoids jargon and delivers its message simply but effectively so that the reader
gets the message as quickly as possible.

Above all, however, plain language is about meeting your readers’ needs, so you need to identify
what you know about them. How much detail do they want? Are they busy or will they be browsing
your article for pleasure? How much knowledge do they have about your sport and/or your subject
matter?

Once you know your audience, use both the content of your article and its structure to deliver your
message. Here are some simple ways to make your writing meet plain language standards:

Use headings, short sections and short sentences to make your writing easy to digest.
Use active voice whenever possible. (Example: “Bob walked the dog” not “The dog was walked
by Bob.”)
Edit each sentence to get rid of excess words. Sometimes it helps to set a goal of cutting 25 or
50 words or staying under a certain word count.
Use precise, specific language. Concrete words are better than abstract ones. For example,
say “Jane has a 41% shooting percentage” instead of “Jane is a great shooter.”
Get rid of jargon. In some sports this is unavoidable, so if you must use jargon try to convey its
meaning through the context.
Use bullet points to highlight information.
Get rid of sports clichés.
Try reading your piece out loud. If you stumble over a sentence or find yourself out of breath
at the end of a paragraph, some editing is likely needed.
The two types of articles

Every journalism student quickly learns the difference between hard


news and soft news. Hard news is factual and relies on timeliness. Its purpose is to inform the
reader. Soft news, however, does not need to be timely. Its purpose is to entertain the reader or give
advice. For example, an article about the Chesterville Cheetahs winning the high school
championships would be a hard news story. A profile about the Chesterville Cheetahs’ star player,
whose mother and grandmother also won the same title, would be a soft news story.

Writing hard news articles


Hard news is read quickly, so the most important facts must come first. In journalism school, they
call this the “inverted pyramid”. The first paragraph contains the most important information (who,
what, where, when, why, how) and the following paragraphs add an increasing level of detail. The
reader could read just the first paragraph and come away with a good idea of what happened.

The lede, or first sentence, is the most crucial part of the article. Your lede should concisely tell the
reader who, what, where, when, why and how. For example, “The Chesterville Cheetahs beat the
Brownville Bruins 54-52 to win the 2015 Bob Smith Memorial Basketball Championship yesterday.”
Your lede should feel complete but not crowded, so it’s okay to split your lede into two sentences to
ensure that it flows nicely.

If your lede is effective, writing the rest of the article will come easily. Keep building details and
background information, including quotes, until you have succinctly summarized the event. Make
sure to keep your paragraphs short for maximum readability.
Writing soft news articles

In the soft news article, you are not bound by the traditional rules of journalism. While a hard news
story is meant to be read quickly, a soft news story is in no such hurry. Many sports writers use the
form to step back and examine a trend or a larger issue within the sport or delve deep into an
interesting person’s life. When done well, soft news articles can inspire, motivate and teach.

Soft stories are usually longer and sometimes even use techniques found in fiction. If creative
writing isn’t one of your skills, however, don’t worry. In the sports world, a soft news piece could be
a simple interview with an athlete, an opinion piece about a rule change, or a how-to article on how
to select the best piece of equipment. It could even be a Buzzfeed-style list.

Often, the success of the soft news article rests on how interesting your “characters” are, so a good
story starts with a good interview. For tips on how to conduct an interview, read our toolkit module
on sports interviews. For an example of a good use of quotes, check out this article on wheelchair
rugby’s Zak Madell by Vancouver Sun journalist Gary Kingston. He uses Madell and his mother’s
own words to tell the story, but shapes the narrative with his personal insights.

Here are some tips to help you write a strong soft article:

Identify the “so what” of the piece. Why is this person or topic interesting to the reader?
Make sure to do your research. The more you know about the subject, the richer the story will
be.
Soft news is a great way to get out your organization’s key messages. Does an athlete, coach
or volunteer have a story that illustrates the good work your organization is doing?
Read newspapers and magazines to find examples of great soft news writing.
While it’s okay to use some stylistic flourishes in certain types of soft news articles, make sure
to use good plain language techniques.
If you’re having trouble finding a structure for your article, try pretending that you are telling
it to a friend.
As with a hard news article, remember to consider your audience. If your audience includes
people outside of your community, consider how much these readers might know about your
sport.

By following a few simple writing techniques, you can write articles that will engage your audience
and deliver your organization’s message more effectively. In the next module, we’ll build on the
skills we’ve learned and apply them to writing for the web. Do you have a question about writing
articles? Do you have a best practice we didn’t mention? Get in the conversation by emailing
info@viasport.ca or tweeting @ViaSportBC.

Download as a PDF:

Download PDF

Sources

http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/journalism1/journalism-writing-the-hard-news-story

https://collegejournalism.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/hard-news-vs-soft-news

http://grammarist.com/usage/lead-lede/

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/quickreference/checklist.cfm

http://www.komarketingassociates.com/images/2014/09/news_writing_inverted_pyramid.jpg

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Madell+used+rough+tumble+with+video/6821458/story.html

http://senateshj.com/news/top-tips-soft-news-tv#.VcAtyZNViko

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules-and-tips/tips-on-writing-a-news-report.html

Source URL: https://www.viasport.ca/module-4-how-write-engaging-sports-article

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy