tips for article writing

The points are a summary of some of the main points to remember when article writing.

1. All of the stages of article writing are important.

2. Stage one of article writing is preparation. This includes analysing the topic, planning and research.

1. Using plans will help you construct articles in a logical, balanced and coherent manner.

2. A plan might evolve as you do research, and even as you write.

3. Research involves finding, reading and organising relevant information.

4. Start your research early: obtaining reference materials can sometimes take time. If you need to do interviews (which can be done by email these days), leave enough time for this.

5. Assess the relevance and quality of  resources (web based, print or whatever) by reading introductions, summaries and conclusions. Skim text and look at contents pages and indexes. Who is the author?

6. Work on writing your article one section at a time, combining research with writing. Record the references you use as you go along. You might need to identify and fully reference all your sources, depending on what sort of article you are writing. You might be expected to produce something much more general where the information is all in the public domain and doesn't need referencing, but if you mention someones specific work or words say who they are.

3. An article should have a compelling introduction: it has to immediately grab the readers attention. It should be remarkable in some way: fascinating, identifying with the reader, upbeat, controversial or even outrageous, depending on the article itself.

4. Articles usually have sub-titles: editors like to see the text broken into easily digestible "chunks"! Each should convey a main idea, perhaps with examples.

5. Conclusions - if one is required - should summarise the main points. No new material should be included and examples shouldn’t be given.

6. For “journalistic pieces” you’ll probably need to be able to seem chatty and not too heavy or technical, even if it's about a technical subject (that is possible!).

7. Reword anything that’s not clear. If part of your article is muddled you might need to reread some reference material first.

8. Check that the paragraphs, and the sentences within them, are arranged in a logical sequence. Use your plan to help you.

9. Keep to the word limits set by the editor.

10. Check if there are word-processing guidelines.

11. Never, but never ever, submit the first draft of an article. Any article should always be revised and edited at least once. Better still you should polish it until it shines! If like me you edit on screen always do a final edit on paper - it's surprising that you can always find something to change! This has to be one of the number one tips for article writing!

12. The more you practice article writing the better your articles will become, and the more you will enjoy writing them!

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