The Coe Times 🗞️

Guidelines for Articles & Artwork

The Coe Times is our newspaper, created by Coe students for the Coe community! We want your personality, creativity, interests, ideas, and sense of humor to come through.

Articles ✏️

There is no perfect length! Write enough to tell your story or share your idea clearly.

A good general guide:

  • Short pieces: 100–200 words

  • Regular articles: 200–400 words

  • Feature stories or interviews: up to about 500 words

Your article should:

  • Be written in your own words

  • Have a clear topic and a title

  • Be appropriate for elementary-school readers

  • Be respectful and kind toward other students, teachers, staff, and our community

  • Use facts from reliable sources when you're writing about something factual

  • Give credit when you use information, quotes, or ideas from another source

And remember: fun counts! Reviews, interviews, sports, school news, opinion pieces, how-tos, book recommendations, recipes, rankings, puzzles, and other creative ideas are all welcome.

Art, Comics & Illustrations 🎨

We LOVE original student artwork!

Artwork can be:

  • A drawing or illustration for your own article

  • A comic or cartoon

  • A standalone piece of art

  • An infographic or diagram

  • A hand-drawn puzzle, maze, or activity

  • Artwork created for another reporter's story

Please make artwork clear, school-appropriate, and original. Avoid copying characters, logos, or artwork directly from the internet. It's okay to be inspired by something—just make your version your own!

If you're drawing on paper, use dark, clear lines when possible so your artwork will reproduce well in print.

Our Golden Rule 💛

Before submitting something, ask yourself:

Is it interesting? Is it kind? Is it appropriate for Coe? Does it feel like my own work?

If yes, you're probably ready to submit!

And don't worry about making everything perfect. Editors can help with spelling, grammar, formatting, and getting your piece ready for publication.