Informative, engaging, persuasive—these are just a few adjectives describing what every article should aspire to be.

Anyone can write, but not everyone can write great articles. To be considered “great,” the content must not be made up of nonsensical ramblings that mislead readers. Rather, it should be of extreme value from which readers can eventually draw something worthwhile, inciting them to take action.

Several components and structural elements are required to compose a well-written and smooth-flowing article. An article needs to be arranged into different parts to form a sequential flow that helps readers understand the topic more easily. The four main parts that normally make up an article (both print and online) include the title, introduction, body, and conclusion.

Structure

Title

Your very first opportunity at grabbing the readers’ attention is through your title. It must be carefully crafted so that it is incentive enough for them to ultimately want to read the article itself.

The idea is to lure in the readers with a casual glance and simultaneously let them in on what the article is about, a preview if you will. In print media, the more eye-catching and creative the title is, the better. However, the same can’t be said for online articles. Your title should be written not only for the readers, but also for the search engines. “The search engine has to get a straightforward, factual headline so it can understand it,” BBC News Interactive’s Nic Newman, head of product development and technology, has said. This means that for online articles to generate traffic, titles must sacrifice creativity. Fun and intriguing titles (e.g., “To Infinitives and Beyond”) are disregarded by search engines, whereas clear, searchable, and easy-to-understand keywords increase search engine traffic. Such titles may be considered dull (as this is). But you’ll find that dull titles, ironically, appear at the top of most search result pages.

Introduction

Congratulations, you’ve passed the hurdle of creating the right title. Now you must come up with a brilliant intro. The very first sentence must hook the readers into reading the remaining text. Do note, however, that a mere thirty seconds is all you’re given for the average reader to be exposed to your writing and decide whether he/she will continue reading the rest. Basically, they’ll read the first paragraph. If it’s not to their liking, they’ll scrap your article and look elsewhere.

The introduction is where you share what your article is all about, why it is important, and what the readers could learn from reading it. It will give your readers an idea of what to expect from reading the rest of the text.

Body

Now you must keep the readers’ attention and provide them with the information they were looking for in the first place. The real meat of the article is the body, usually three to four paragraphs in length. While the introduction covers the basics, the body will delve further into the facts of your article. This portion should include all the supporting facts, which should be presented in a logical and comprehensible manner. Do not digress or stray from the topic at hand or throw in information just to increase the word count. Ensure that whatever points you add help maintain the focus of the entire article.

Conclusion

Wrap up the points you’ve already discussed by writing the conclusion. Essentially, the conclusion serves as a reminder to the reader of the information you’ve just given them. An easy way to go about this is to summarize the body or to simply rephrase your introduction. Make it brief and snappy—a paragraph will do. Lastly, never introduce a new idea in the conclusion.