Writing Guide – News articles

The latest news emerging from the world of maths as reported by the Maths Society.

If you are interested in writing a news article for our blog, we recommend you read this page in full.

The process of writing a news article, from beginning research to finishing writing, should take 1-3 hours.

Summary

Our news articles keep our members up to date with the latest news from the world of maths and offer high-quality maths journalism. We aim to cover new and breaking stories in good detail, an easy-to-understand manner, and from an enthusiastic and unique student perspective. We also attempt to cover a number of occurring maths events.

Topic

For your news article, we recommend you research new and breaking maths stories online and in print. These can be mathematical breakthroughs, the results of maths competitions, hot topics of discussion amongst mathematicians, news about the teaching of mathematics, or the awarding of prestigious prizes.

Structure

Can be of any appropriate length.

They should be written in a pyramid structure, beginning with the summary and important details of the article before elaborating in more and more detail.

Writing

Good news articles:

  • Are interesting, engaging, and informative
  • Are clear and detailed to avoid the reader asking how and why questions
  • Find an interesting and unique angle to tell the story from, possibly reflecting on the student perspective
  • Explain at a level that can be understood by an intelligent 12-year-old (it is assumed the reader has secure knowledge of primary/elementary school level mathematics)
  • Attempt to explain concepts in the first sentence (or paragraph if necessary) before going into further detail
  • Are written in the third person and scientific voice
  • Have engaging and relevant images and diagrams
  • Have opportunities to link to other articles and features on the Maths Society website
  • Have good use of different levels of headings, quotations, and paragraphing to make the article more readable

References and Accuracy

  • All statements, assertions and formulae should be thoroughly checked to be accurate
  • British terms used by the United Kingdom’s National Curriculum should be used by default but where alternative terms are used internationally they should be made clear
  • A list of sources is not necessary but may improve the chance of an article being published

Please note that we advise against extensive use of AI chatbots in the writing of articles. There are many reputable sources and resources both online and in print for your research and inspiration.

If after reading this guide you still have any questions, or want to get in touch with suggestions to improve this guide, please contact us.

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