The first section of a newspaper has the major news, world news and the editorials (where the newspaper editors and others offer their opinions on various topics). The most important news articles are on the first page; the top half of the first page is referred to as "above the fold."

Other newspaper sections include local news, sports, lifestyle (often containing feature articles (non-news general interest pieces, for example, an article on stamp collecting), entertainment and fashion information, cooking, useful household hints, movie and book reviews, the comics and puzzles) and the classified ads (where people advertise things they want to sell, jobs that are available, and places to rent).

Each newspaper article has a title (called the headline) that is set in large type. The writer of a newspaper article is often not credited; if the author is mentioned, this credit is called the author's byline.

The beginning of each newspaper article (the first paragraph) is called the lead (one or two sentences long); the lead should summarize the main facts of the article, telling the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, and why) and how. The first paragraph should also contain a hook, something that grabs the reader's attention and makes the reader want to continue to read the article.

The remainder of the article contains supporting paragraphs that go into more detail about the topic, often including quotes and interesting facts. The less important information should appear later in the article, since the article may be cropped (shortened) by the editor (the person who puts the newspaper together) to make the article fit on the newspaper page.

When you are writing a newspaper article, your opinions should not appear in the article - only the facts. Use clear and simple language. Keep the article short and to the point. Use active verbs (for example: Man bites dog) and not passive verbs (for example: Dog bitten by man).

Each picture, graph or illustration should have a caption describing or explaining it.