Writing Style Guide for Article Proposals

Welcome to Progressiva, where your voice matters. These guidelines will help you align your writing with our publication's ethos. While there's room for your personal style and voice, following this outline will streamline the editing process. Of course, there is plenty of wiggle-room for personal style and to express your own voice, but the editing process will be quicker if you try to follow this basic outline.

• LENGTH:

  • Articles should be Between 900 and 1500 words. Less is more!

  • This is not too rigid, but keep in mind that anything shorter will generally not allow you to get your argument across, and anything longer may cause the reader to lose interest.

  • Try to keep paragraphs roughly the same length as one another. We do not want massive paragraphs, nor do we want one or two lines. Use your best judgment and if there is an issue, we will advise.

  • We will also be writing longer, editorial length pieces between 1500 and 2500 words.

• TARGET AUDIENCE:

  • This may vary from article to article, but keep in mind that the goal of Progressiva is to communicate with everyone so keep things simple.

  • Keep in mind that this is a political magazine. While we like all kinds of analysis, a bit of political commentary is always appreciated. 

  • We do not simply want to report reality, but to give our own opinions on what's happening and suggest ways to make our vision a reality. 

• STRUCTURE OF ARTICLE (ROUGH SUGGESTION):

  • Title and subtitle: 

    • The title should be short. The subtitle should be one line/sentence to grab the reader's attention and introduce the article

  • Introduction:

    • First, hold the reader’s attention with an interesting fact or observation

    • Then, provide background on the topic to set the scene 

  • Main body:

    • How things are currently (data, facts and/or recent history)

    • How things should/could be (how things would look in an ideal world)

    • How we get there (recommendations to bring about positive change)

    • Consider using subtitles to break up the main body of the article and help the reader navigate your article

  • Conclusion:

    • Wrap your article up, while also leaving the reader thinking about future

    • Ideally, they will search for the response to unanswered questions in the rest of our collection.

• LANGUAGE AND TONE

  • Always use the ACTIVE VOICE, as opposed to the passive voice. For anyone who is unsure about what this means, there is a helpful link here.

  • Be concise: try and get to the point as quickly as possible. LESS IS MORE!

  • We must not use language that is too academic. Remember, most readers will not be experts on the topic. We do not want our readers to ever feel inferior or uneducated.

  • Here, you can also find six quick tips from the legendary George Orwell

• SOURCES

• While we want to hear your opinion expressed, everything in the article must be well supported by arguments and sources.

• Sources can include articles in other online newspapers and magazines, published reports or online databases

• Try to use sources that are for a general audience, that our readers can understand (but open access academic articles may be referenced if necessary)

• Wherever possible, use hyperlinks to other Progressiva articles that relate to the topic!

• Sources should not contain information that the reader needs to understand your article. They should be used to back up your claims, or for additional information which is not absolutely necessary for understanding your article.

WeDO NOT use academic style referencing! No references in brackets or footnotes - only hyperlinks please!