READ: Newspaper Article Tutorial

Tutorial Introduction

This week you will need to write a newspaper article covering the story of a major battle of the Revolutionary War.  Here are some tips to help prepare you to write an article that is interesting and thorough.

Tip 1: Know your stuff

It is important that you know the details of your event very well.  Study the lesson this week and make sure you understand the material.  Also, you can do a simple online search to learn more about your battle from credible websites.  The majority of the videos from this week are taken from www.history.com, and this site has excellent articles about the Battles of the Revolutionary War as well.  

Click here for an article on The Battle of Saratoga.  

Click here for an article on The Battle of Trenton and George Washington's Crossing the Delaware

Tip 2: Use Quotes

Quotes add accuracy to the article and they help add an "at the scene" feeling. 

As you conduct your research, look for quotes you can use.  Or, for the purposes of this assignment, you can make up a quote that you believe a soldier, commander or civilian would say.  

Example of using a quote: Before entering the battle of Long Island, George Washington  rallied his troops by making an inspiring address in which he stated, "The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die." (this is an actual quote)

Tip 3: Use Interesting Verbs

Verbs convey action and give a story a sense of movement and momentum.Using interesting verbs helps you show the audience what you mean rather tell them. It is important to not use tired, over used verbs like the ones in the sentences below:

They ate the dessert.

She hit the ball.

They walked down the street.

The verbs used in the sentences above are ate, hit and walked.  These are examples of boring and over used verbs.  They don't really paint a picture for the reader.  These verbs tell what is happening, they don't show what is happening.

Compare the sentences above to the following sentences:

They gobbled the dessert

She swatted the ball.

They scampered down the street.

These sentences switched out boring verbs for interesting verbs and these sentences are much better at showing the reader the action.

When you write your article, try to use interesting verbs.