How to Write an Article on Issues

An issue is an idea or topic that can be debated, such as government spending, pollution from fossil fuels or bias in news coverage. College writing assignments often ask you to analyze an issue and offer your own stance, based on logical reasoning and supported by appropriate types of evidence.

The first step in drafting an article on an issue is to decide which audience to target, such as children, teenagers, adults or business people. Identifying which group you want to reach will help you choose an article topic and select the right tone and language for your readers.

When you’ve settled on an audience, start by creating a basic outline of your article. This will help you keep your ideas in order and avoid letting your article become too long or confusing. Use a tool like Google Docs or Workflowy to create your outline, and don’t hesitate to revise it as you go along.

Whether you’re writing an editorial or an informational article, you’ll need to present your arguments clearly and concisely. To help you do this, you can use various rhetorical techniques such as stating your argument in one sentence and using direct quotes from experts or other sources to support it.

A few key words to remember when working with the verb issue are spring, rise, arise, originate, flow, emanate and proceed. Each of these verbs has its own connotations, which are useful in describing how something comes into being. For example, spring suggests a rapid or sudden coming into being, while rise stresses gradual growth and ascent.