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Newspaper Article
A newspaper article gives facts and information. It answers the questions
Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? It tells what happened,
when it happened, where it happened, who it happened to, why it
happened, and how it happened.
Newspaper writers find out all of the facts that they can about something.
Then they write an article. For this Unit Project, you will write a newspaper
article about a Civil War battle.
Writing Process
Part I: Prewriting
Ideas Unit 3 tells about the Civil War. It mentions that Mississippi’s
location was important during the war. Both sides wanted to control the
Mississippi River to move their troops and supplies. They also wanted to
block the enemy’s troops and supplies.
A battle is always a big news story. You can learn about a battle that
happened in the past and write a newspaper article about it. What do you
think your readers would like to know about a Civil War battle? Brainstorm
ideas and write them in the chart.
What will my readers want to know?
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Voice In a newspaper article, the “voice” states the facts, without giving
opinions. A newspaper article should not show the emotions of the writer.
It tells the facts without drawing conclusions about them. Readers want
the information, but they do not want to be told what to think.
Organization Now think about the information you will want to find out
about the battle. You can use a table like this one to organize your
information. Your newspaper article will tell who, what, where, when, why,
and how about the battle.
Battle Name
Where did the battle take place?
When did the battle occur?
Who was involved in the battle?
What damage did the battle cause?
Who was harmed by the battle?
How did the opposing sides fight
in the battle?
What was the outcome of the battle?
Why was the battle important?
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Research Start by researching different battles you may want to write
about. Two Civil War battles that were fought in the South were the Battle
of Vicksburg and the Battle of Shiloh.
• A good place to find out about Civil War battles is on the Internet.
Use www.yahooligans.com to help you find facts to include in
your newspaper article.
• On a computer that is connected to the Internet, enter the website
address: www.yahooligans.com.
• In the search box, enter Civil War battles. A number of different
resources will show up. These are links you can follow to learn
more about specific battles. Some show images of battlefields.
Others give information about the Civil War.
• Click on a link to a battle you would like to research, such as the
Battle of Vicksburg. Or enter the name of a battle, such as Antietam
or Shiloh into the search box.
• Use the information you find to complete your table of facts.
• Take notes as you look for information. Write down where you found
the information so you can find it again. Include the website
address.
• Some battle listings also include links to maps and images. If you
want to include an image in your story, follow the links to find one
you like.
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Part II: Drafting
Congratulations! Like a good newspaper reporter, you have learned all of
the facts about your story before you begin to write. You know what
happened (the battle), and you know when, and where the battle
happened. You know who was harmed, how the battle occurred, and why
the battle occurred. Now it is time to write a first draft. Don’t worry about
spelling, punctuation, or grammar in your first draft. You can fix any
mistakes you make when you revise the story. The purpose of a first draft
is to get all of your ideas for the story down on paper.
• Many newspaper articles begin with a “dateline,” such as
VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI. This tells the reader where the story
was written. Write a dateline that tells where your story takes place.
• The first paragraph of a newspaper article is called the “lead.” This
means the first paragraph “leads” the reader into the story. A
newspaper article’s lead quickly tells who, what, where, when, why,
and how. Here is an example about Battle of Vicksburg:
VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI – On July 4, 1863 [when], the long
battle over the city of Vicksburg [what] [where] finally ended. Union
troops overcame Confederate troops [how] and took control of the
city. With this victory, the Union now controls the Mississippi River
[why].
• Use information you have found in your research to help readers
feel as though they were there during and after the battle.
• Be sure your writing gives facts without being emotional or giving
your opinion.
• Use details with descriptive words to help readers see the damage
caused by the battle.
• Follow your table of facts. If your draft does not tell the story in
exactly the right order, don’t worry about it. That’s why you’re writing
a first draft—you can change what you have written to make it read
more smoothly.
• Finally, write a short, attention-getting headline.
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Part III: Revising
The next step is to revise your newspaper article. Reread your first draft.
Are all of the important facts included? Does the article tell the reader
where, when, what, who, how, and why about the battle? Have you
included information that the reader does not need? Did you write your
opinion, which should be deleted?
Word Choice Did you use any words that a reader might not know? If so,
did you explain the meaning of the words? Can you add descriptive words
or more details to help the reader know exactly what happened or what
the damage looked like?
Without Descriptive Words
With Descriptive Words
Union forces took control of Vicksburg,
Mississippi today.
Union forces seized control of Vicksburg,
Mississippi today.
Without Details
With Details
The battle for the city lasted many days.
The people had no food and water. Finally
the Confederates surrendered.
The siege of Vicksburg lasted forty-seven
days. Union forces bombarded the
Confederates every day and night. The
Confederate forces fought back but
could not defeat the Union troops. Faced
with starvation, the Confederates
surrendered on July 4, 1863.
Sentence Fluency Make your writing interesting to your readers by
varying the lengths of your sentences.
All the Same Length
Different Lengths
Vicksburg sat high on a hill. It overlooked
the Mississippi River. The city was on a
bend in the river. The Union victory
gave them control of the river.
Vicksburg sat high on a hill overlooking
a bend in the Mississippi River. The Union
victory gave them control of the river.
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Part IV: Proofreading and Publishing
Conventions After you revise your story, proofread it. Read each word
carefully to make sure it is spelled correctly. Read each sentence to be
sure you have used correct punctuation and grammar.
• Are all the words spelled correctly?
• Did you capitalize all proper nouns?
• Did you indent every paragraph?
• Did you use commas and other punctuation correctly?
• Are all of your sentences complete sentences?
• Did you write a headline?
Fix any mistakes you find. Then publish your story by writing a final copy.
Checklist
Writing a Newspaper Article
I wrote a strong lead paragraph.
My newspaper article tells who, what, where,
when, how, and why about the Civil War battle
I researched.
My details and descriptive words make readers
feel as though they are there.
I have not included unnecessary information.
I did not give my opinion.
I varied the length of my sentences.
I made very few mistakes in capitalization,
grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
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I did great!
I could do better