A good analysis article puts the news in context
The ABSW Analysis Writing workshop took place on November 29, 2024. It was led by Tom Whipple, Science Editor at The Times.
Picture credit: Vlada Karpovich/Pexel
There is always a news story behind an analysis article because the goal is to put the news in context. It allows the reader to delve deeper into the issuesee where the story came from and where it might go next. However, writers should never forget they are part of the entertainment industry, so articles have to be interesting and colourful, not full of dense academic content.
Writing analysis articles was the topic of the workshop led by Tom Whipple, Science Editor at The Times, on November 29, 2024.
“Journalism can do a lot of things. It can probe, it can explore, it can expose. But sometimes, especially in science journalism, the most important thing it can do is explain.” – Tom Whipple, Science Editor at The Times
The session started with the definition of an analysis article and the outline of basic concepts. “These were illustrated with examples, explaining what he [Tom] wants his readers to gain from reading analysis, with advice on how to start and end an analysis piece,” explained Hugh Wilkins, freelance and one of the workshop participants. “[Tom] gave supportive feedback on the small amount of preliminary work we had been invited to undertake in preparation for the workshop and got us working together successfully in small groups to critique topical examples of analytical writing.”
Steps to writing an analysis piece were collected by Zainab Hussain, a freelance health writer and ABSW member, who also took part in the workshop. Her key points guide is available on the ABSW Resources page.
