Their goal is to inform or entertain (often both) and help the magazine make a profit. Their readers don’t need to be experts in the field.
They’re written in a way that is meant to keep the reader interested.
The layout is also designed to capture the reader's interest: there may be a few catchy sentences from the article repeated in larger size so they stand out, colourful page backgrounds, or attractive, glossy photos.
Their authors are usually professional writers who are not experts on what they’re writing about.
Here's the typical pattern:
- Title
- Introduction
- Grabber (often called a Hook)
- Question to be explored
- Development paragraphs
- Conclusion
Useful links:
- Sample popular magazine article
- For a comparison of academic articles and articles from popular magazines, see What’s the difference between scholarly journals and popular magazines?