Article Types and Identification: Magazines

Magazine articles are considered popular literature. That is, magazine articles are written for and read by the general public.

They are good sources of information if you are not familiar with the discipline but are far from scholarly articles.

• Time
• Newsweek
• US News and World Report
• Glamour
• Vogue
• Maxim
• People
• Psychology Today

The important thing to remember about magazine articles is they are considered popular periodicals, meaning they are written for the general public. Magazine articles are something you have likely come across in your daily life. You may subscribe to a magazine that you enjoy reading. Magazines are a form of entertainment. TV Guide is a magazine, as are Glamour and Sports Illustrated and Time and Vogue.

Some characteristics:

• Where? - You can find magazine articles everywhere (newsstands, book stores, grocery stores, etc.)
• Authors - Magazine articles are written by a diverse group of people. In many cases, magazine articles are written by journalists. Journalists generally attend college and earn an undergraduate degree in some form of writing. They are not experts in their field, generally speaking. They write an article every week or month, depending on what their editor has required of them.
• Magazine Article Title - Generally, magazine article titles are short and catchy. They are titled to attract attention or be noticed while you flip through the issue.
• Appearance - Glossy pages with color photos are normal.
• Frequency - usually weekly or monthly
• Contents - current events, general interest
• Advertising - Magazines sell advertising space.
• Length of Articles - Magazine articles are not particularly long; 2-3 pages in length is the norm. Remember, magazines are written for the general public, they won't go in depth on their topics.
• Language - Magazine articles are written in easy-to-understand language, avoiding jargon and technical terms. Remember, magazine articles are written for the general public.
• Sources - Magazine articles seldom contain bibliographies. In fact, in most magazine articles it isn't really clear how they learned what they wrote about beyond sometimes cryptic notes of "industry sources" or "unnamed White House officials."
• Purpose - Magazine articles are trying to entertain the reader, sell a product (their own or their advertiser's), or promote a viewpoint.