Below is the list of general conventions that occurs in a national or a local newspaper:
- - A masthead is the title block which includes the name of the newspaper; this is important part of branding for the newspaper, to get the name across to the readers and to establish their identity.

A banner headline is the main statement which spans the full width of the page; this is to attract the attention of the readers to a specific article.
- There is normally a by line in a newspaper which states the name of the writer/journalist of the article. This is usually beneath the article.

Newspapers employ images and photograogh which are used to grab and attract the attention of the readers and to set the tone of the accompanying article. It may or may not be linked to the main article and is usually in colour.

There are always captions in newspaper, the words below a photograph which offers meaning or defines the photograph in some way. -

A strap line is an introductory statement which is positioned below the main headline. The strap line gives the readers a summary or a general insight to what the article is about. This then encourages the readers to read the rest of the article.

A stand first is the first paragraph of an article. It may be in bold print (font) and / or the first words may be capitalized. This is to show the importance of the opening words and paragraph of the article.

Finally there is a splash in most newspapers, which is the main story on the front page; this is the big and main news printed in that paper. A splash continues on a few pages into the newspaper.

There are always pugs in newspapers which is placed in the primary optical area which are very important to catch the eye of the reader at the top left and top right of the page. They are used to show the date and price of the newspaper, and therefore are important so the readers know how much to pay to purchase the paper.