Magazine Conventions - Contents Page

To make a good contents page, it must have:

At least 50% of the page should be covered in images revealing the inside of the magazine to make people more interested. Some magazines don't follow this rule but generally, this is the amount which should be covered in images.

A masthead stating that the page is a contents page. This way people are able to find which page they are looking for or would like to read with ease.

The page numbers should stand out so people are sure what page is what article and can see the page they want to read without having to search the whole magazine to find the article they found appealing to read.

The logo or information of the company the magazine is made for (for example a school magazine would have their name and logo) in the bottom left hand corner of the page. This is to allow people to know the company they're reading from.

In the bottom right, it will usually say 'Page 1' or simply just '1', so most articles or information will start from page 2.

A contents page will also have a colour scheme (as does the magazine cover) so colours don't clash and there isn't too much to look at. There would usually only be around three different colours in a colour scheme.

To keep order in a contents page, there will be columns. This is to ensure that the contents page is neat and understandable without any confusion for which page number goes with which article.

On a contents page there will be a part showing the regulars, the special features and the articles in the magazines. Regulars are the things which are in the magazine week by week, special features are things which are in the magazine this week or month which aren't usually in there, and articles are just the articles which are in the magazine this week.

Social media is often included on the contents page. This is so regular buyers of the magazine can follow them on websites such as Twitter and Facebook (as they are the most commonly used websites). This allows people to know what's coming up in each edition of the magazine and keep up to date on anything which might not be in the magazine.

Anchor text is usually underneath an image which is in the magazine, explaining what is going on in the image and who is in it. This is so people know more about the picture and why it might be there or is relevant to the article.

The editors letter is just when the editor writes a review about what is in the magazine and describes it. They explain what is inside the magazine and reviews it, also giving information about the inside of the magazine

The colour throughout the whole of the magazine should remain the same, as well as the style of the text throughout.