Types of Articles for School Newspapers

This article details the various types of school newspaper articles you can write. For ideas on what to write about, click here.

These articles are all about the news. Specifically, you want to write about school news. You can write about local, national, or world news—but we recommend only doing so where they are relevant to the student body.

You have the opportunity to go so much further than what is posted on social media sites. Social media reports rumor, gossip, and assumptions. You will report the truth, having done all the relevant research and fact checking. You want your article to be the definitive source on the issue—the source others will point to and say, “But that’s not what so-and-so said.”

To learn how to write a school news article, click here.

These articles are about influencing popular opinion and represents the consensus view of the newspaper editorial staff. It can also be about entertainment. People need to read your article and become engaged with it, even if they completely disagree with you. Some may read your piece because they completely agree. Others will read it because they just like the way you say it. Still others will read it because they feel a need to respond and disagree with you. Regardless of the reason, you have engaged the reader in such a way that your opinion has an impact. This is the main purpose of an editorial.

To see tips on writing editorial pieces, click here.

A feature story is probably the longest article you will write. It takes a news article and expands upon it, trying to explore reasons as to why the particular news story happened. To some degree, your opinion is inserted into the article, but in general, your opinion is based on the facts you have been able to gather, not on a personal bias.

A feature story will also make predictions on the consequences or ramifications of the news story. Likely scenarios are presented that might in some way effect the student body you are writing to. In general, a school newspaper will have one, maybe two, of these types of articles.

To learn how to write a feature story, click here.

A column can be written by the same author each issue of the newspaper. It will reflect the personal opinion of a single individual and can follow a similar theme through each issue. In general they are editorials, but written from one person’s perspective and opinion, and it may be laser-focused on one particular area: advice, polls (and responses to), school announcements, school policy, question and answers, rival school news, and so on.

For more tips on writing columns, click here.

A review article is a first-hand experience (good or bad) of a product, service, person, group, or idea. Your job here is to give as an unbiased experience of the good and negative aspects of your experience. You want to inform readers of what to expect. You also want to be thorough and honest about aspects you did not experience.

To learn how to write a review article, click here.

The idea here is to encourage your readers to join in, engage in, participate in, purchase, or otherwise become involved with an activity, a group, a product, or an opportunity. For instance, the Newspaper Club can write an article about why joining them would provide members with an expanded resume that could help them land a job someday. An upcoming school activity might also be written about to encourage students to participate.

For tips on writing a promotional article, click here.

These types of articles have become much more popular in recent years. For a school newspaper, writing about how to study, how to memorize better, how to utilize certain school resources, or how to best take advantage of the school cafeteria. All of these ideas, and many more, might be of interest to the student body and are potential articles for your newspaper.

To learn how to write a how-to article, click here.