Introduction to my project

For the first section and bulk of my negotiated portfolio I have decided to research and write articles aimed at the publication Cosmopolitan. I have a strong interest in women’s lifestyle journalism and wanted to use my portfolio to display this. I will be looking at writing articles that would fit with the current format of the magazine in a similar writing style as well as using ‘Adobe InDesign’ to create some sample layout examples to show how the articles will work with images.

Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s. Also known as Cosmo, its current content includes articles on relationships and sex, health, careers, self-improvement, celebrities, as well as fashion and beauty.Published by Hearst Magazines, Cosmopolitan has 63 international editions, is printed in 36 languages and is distributed in more than 100 countries.

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Their writing style is colloquial and easy to read. It is almost as if a friend is speaking to you in the way it is so relaxed. Using slang and popular expressions is common and accepted. The magazine mainly consists of features and very little news stories.

The main audience of Cosmopolitan magazine is young women aged 17-28.

The main sections within the magazine include ‘Love, Life and Success’, ‘Men and Sex’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Beauty’, ‘Advice’, ‘Column’ and ‘Celebrity Interviews’. They also have a successful website which runs articles of the same themes. The UK version of this website can be found at http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/

The areas of the magazine that I will be looking at writing articles for will include:
• Profiles and Interviews
• Fashion
• Beauty
• Online

I would also like to write a selection of music reviews and create a Cosmo style reviews section.

All the articles will be themed towards summer so they are relevant to any trends and to make sure the pegs are relevant.

The following blog posts will include my research and inspiration for each of the individual sections and my article ideas in brief, followed by a more in-depth plan of each article. Next will be more detailed research into my articles such as interviews and background research or photographs that could work with the piece.