Writer Guidelines 11111

8/3/2019 Writer Guidelines 11111

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Writer Guidelines A guide to writing perfect articles.

Writer Guidelines, Page 1


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Table of ContentsIntroduction 5

1 - Aspects of Writing 7 Article Clarity 7

Coherent/Cohesive Writing 7

Organization 7

Focus 7

Introductory Paragraph 8

A Good Introduction Should: 8 You can: 8

An Introduction Should Not: 9

Resources 9

Audience 9

Wordiness 10

Awkward Wording 10

Pronouns and Antecedents 10

Comparatives 10

Word Choice and Spelling 10

Grammar 11

Verb Tense Consistency 11

Conditional Tense (Could/Would) 11

Verb/Noun Confusion 11

It's/Its 12

Other Homophones/Homonyms 12

Amount/Number 12



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Punctuation 12

Punctuation 12

Punctuation Resources 12

Commas 13

Oxford Comma 13

Punctuation Marks and Spaces 13

Sentence Structure 14

Sentence Structure Resources 14

Sentence Structure Variation 14

Dangling Modiers 14

Parallelism/Parallel Construction 14

2 - Article Submission 15

Submissions 15

Short Summaries 15

Titles 15

Bad 16

Good 16

Content 16

Useful Information 16

Opinion-Based or Editorial-Style Pieces 16

First-Person POV/Personal Narratives 16

Author Intrusion 18

Web Writing 18

Goals of Articles Submitted to us 18

Blogs 19

Credibility and Professionalism 19



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Final Note 19

Other POVs 19

Creative Writing 19

Lists 20

Series 20

Professionalism 20

Prejudiced Language/Stereotyping 20

Rhetorical Fallacies/Alienation 20

Rights 21

Paragraph Structure 21

Capitalization 21

Brand Names 21

British English/American English 21

Referencing Sources 21

Format 22



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Introduction What We WantProfessionally written, concise articles that are free of all errors

including sentence structure errors, grammar errors, and punctuationerrors.

Professionally written articles include: Introductions and conclusions Useful information

Articles Must Not Include:

Poetry, ction, op-eds, or rst-person POV Promotional content Active linked web addresses - Please follow our protocol if you

must include web addresses by removing the http://www prex. Ex: Google.com (good), www.google.com (bad)

Signature lines, bios, or author contact info Plagiarism*(Using text taken directly from another source and

presenting this information as your own.)

Technical Submission Requirements: 12 pt Arial font A short summary which must be an original description of the

entire article, at least 30 words long

Extended GuidelinesThe following constitutes a list of elements that are important for

articles submitted to us. In general, much of what is included is alsoimportant for high-quality writing that presents information in a clearmanner the only type of writing that we are looking for. Included arelinks to references which help describe and demystify writing conceptsand problems. Some information about the submission process, and

what types of content we accept, is also included.



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If you are looking for an excellent grammar and writing handbook,Hodges' Harbrace Handbook is recommended.

With that said, lets now get started with the extended guidelines.



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1 - Aspects of Writing Article Clarity

Coherent/Cohesive WritingPlease seek to write in a cohesive, coherent manner. Cohesion andcoherence make your writing readable. These concepts concern the ow of ideas and passage unity. If your article lacks cohesiveness andcoherence, it will also lack the quality of readability.

Achieving coherence in writing:http://www.boisestate.edu/wcenter/ww97.htm

More about coherence, including information about using transitionstatements:http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/paragraphs.shtml

Conciseness, Cohesion, and Coherence PowerPoint presentation:http://uwp.duke.edu/wstudio/resources/ppt/StyleCCC.pdf

Organization Articles, and paragraphs within articles, must be well organized.The following may help clarify what organization is and whattechniques you can use to organize your writing:http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/processes/organize/ andhttp://mendota.english.wisc.edu/~WAC/page.jsp?id=48&c_type=category&c_id=32

FocusPlease make sure your article is well focused and contains a clear mainidea that is supported throughout the article. Exclude irrelevantinformation.



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The following denes focus and offers some suggestions for creating well-focused pieces:http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/processes/focus/index.cfm

Introductory Paragraph An introductory paragraph is essential for every article that you write. Without an introduction, you can leave your reader feeling disorientedand confused, which means that they will, in turn, leave you and yourarticle in order to go read something else that doesnt make them feelthat way. So what is a good introductory paragraph and what should itdo?

A Good Introduction Should:

Prepare the reader for the information theyll gain from thearticle.

Hook the reader into reading the article or convince the readerthey want to read the article.

Make a statement that summarizes what the article is about(some call this a thesis statement).

Now, this isnt high school composition, so youve got someleeway.

You can:

Build the reader up by starting with a broad generalization,drilling down with more specic information, and ending withthe statement that tells the reader what your article, inparticular, is about.

Ask a question that gets your article going when you begin toanswer that question.

Use an example from a real life situation to prepare thereader for the salient points you will make in your article.



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Make an absurd statement to shock the reader then proceed toexplain why that statement is incorrect in the context of yourarticle.

There are other ways, of course, to formulate your

introduction . . . as long as it does its job. An Introduction Should Not:

Answer a question you have posed in your title withoutrestating the question.

Begin with step number one of a process that you will outline in your article (such as in a how to type article).

Contain only one sentencethat being your thesis statement.

Consist of the words In this article, I will tell you about suchand such, and convince you why you should do such and such.This heavy-handed approach will turn most readers off.

Be completely absent from your article!

Resources

There are many resources available that describe how to write anintroductory paragraph. Most are geared towards students and essay

writing, but the principles are the same and can be adapted for non-academic writing.Consider the following resources:http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm andhttp://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/introductions.html

Audience

Please write with an intended audience in mind:http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/audience.html



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Wordiness Articles must be written in a concise manner. Please do not use more words than necessary to convey your message.More information about reducing wordiness and writing in a concisemanner:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/01/

Awkward Wording Awkward wording can include awkward word order, unclear/wordy phrasing, and phrasing that does not sound natural to a native Englishspeaker's ear. Please try to make your point in a concise, grammatically correct manner.

Pronouns and AntecedentsPlease make sure all pronouns clearly refer to their respectiveantecedents and agree with them in number.The following gives examples of (and solutions to) this problem:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/595/01/

ComparativesPlease use comparative adjectives (cheaper, faster, bigger,

brighter) only when things are being compared:http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm

Word Choice and SpellingIf you are unsure about the meaning of a word or how it is used, look it

up in a reputable dictionary or choose another word. In addition, pleaseuse your spellchecker or look up words you do not know how to spell.



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Grammar All basic grammar rules must be followed. The following list is notcomprehensive and outlines only frequently seen grammar problems.

Verb Tense Consistency Be consistent with verb tense and avoid awkward/ungrammatical tenseshift:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/08Observe rules for use of the literary tense (http://

writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/litpres.html) where necessary.Examples include book plot descriptions or movie synopses.

Conditional Tense (Could/Would)The conditional tense may only be used under certain circumstances.Incorrect use of the conditional tense can be awkward and confusing for

your reader.The following illustrates when the conditional tense should be used:http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/conditionalintro.html

Verb/Noun ConfusionPlease avoid confusing the verb- and noun-forms of words like thefollowing:

breakout/break out breakdown/break downcleanup/clean upSetup/set up

hangout/hang outPayoff/pay off The words on the left are nouns. The words on the right are verbs.The teens hang out at their hangout.



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It's/ItsThese words are not interchangeable. Please do not confuse them. If youaren't sure when either word is appropriate, please see the following reference:http://esl.about.com/od/grammarintermediate/a/cm_its.htm

Other Homophones/Homonyms Articles with incorrect use of words like their/they're/there, your/ you're, who's/whose and other homophones will be rejected.

Amount/Number

Please use the correct words to describe amount or number of something:http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/amount.htmlEx: Fewer books, not less books

Punctuation

PunctuationPlease properly punctuate sentences. Questions require questionmarks. Exclamation points should be used sparingly.Semicolons, colons, apostrophes, commas, dashes, hyphens, andquotation marks must be used properly.

Punctuation ResourcesSemicolons: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Semicolons.htmlColons:http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/colons.asp andhttp://lilt.ilstu.edu/golson/punctuation/colon.html

Apostrophes: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/Hyphens: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/576/1



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Dashes and m-dashes: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/dashes.aspParentheses: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/parentheses.htmlQuotation marks : http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/(scroll down for links to more rules)Ellipses: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ellipsis.aspx

CommasPlease observe rules for comma usage and apply these rulesconsistently.

Comma Use:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/01/

Commas and Subordinate Clauses:http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/subordinateclause.htm

PowerPoint Presentation for Comma Use:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/692/1

Oxford CommaUse it or remove it. Either is acceptable, but please be consistent.

Punctuation Marks and Spaces A space should not appear before a period, question mark, exclamationmark, or comma. Please observe standard spacing rules forpunctuation.



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Sentence Structure We do not accept content with run-on sentences or unnecessary/confusing use of sentence fragments.

Sentence Structure Resources

Run-on sentences:http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/run-on-sentences.aspxRules for xing comma splices and fused sentences:http://www.chompchomp.com/rules/csfsrules.htmRules for xing sentence fragments:http://www.chompchomp.com/rules/fragrules.htm

Sentence Structure Variation We cannot consider articles that contain no variation in sentencestructure. Please vary your sentence structure to give your writing rhythm and to avoid sounding monotonous:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/573/01/

Dangling ModiersMake sure your articles contain no dangling modiers. A dangling modier describes a word or phrase not clearly stated in the sentence.The following describes dangling modiers in greater detail:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/597/01/

Parallelism/Parallel ConstructionParallelism helps to convey ideas in a concise and clear manner using similar grammatical forms. Parallel construction also enables thecreation of grammatically correct sentences.Please seek to create parallel sentence structures in your writing:http://writingcenter.unlv.edu/writing/parallel.html andhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/623/01/



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2 - Article SubmissionSubmissions

Short SummariesPlease keep the following in mind when you are composing your shortsummaries:

Short summaries must be free of the rst-person POV and allautobiographical information. This section of the submission form mustdescribe only the article being submitted. Please do not share

information about yourself on the short summary.

Short summaries must be free of errors and follow all writing rules andstandards. Please proofread your short summaries for punctuation,capitalization, spelling, and grammar before you submit your article.

Short summaries must be free of promotional language. In addition, donot include information about how your article is original, or

unique. Our checks determine if an article is original. If your articleisn't original, then we don't want it.

Short summaries must describe the article being submitted in a manner that is useful to the reader and must be at least 30 words inlength. This is the rst thing after your title that the reader sees. Makeit count.

TitlesTitles must be properly capitalized and punctuated, and they must befree of spelling and grammar errors. Do not include your byline in thetitle. We cannot accept submissions with titles in all caps. Consider thefollowing examples:



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Bad

TITLES: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY Titles; the Good, the Bad, the Ugly Titles the Good the Bad the Ugly Titles: the good, the bad, the ugly

Titles: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly!!

Good

Titles: T/the Good, the Bad, the Ugly Titles The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Content

Useful Information Articles submitted to us must always contain information that is usefulto the reader and present that information in a useful way.

Opinion-Based or Editorial-Style Pieces

We do not accept opinion-based or editorial-style pieces.

First-Person POV/Personal Narratives We do not accept these for various reasons. Please avoid use of the rst-person POV and do not submit personal narratives/accounts.Please note that we do not accept content that uses the rst-personplural when it refers to the author.

You can read more about why we do not accept these below:

1. We use this content on an as-needed basis. There is no opportunity for the author to build a relationship with readers, as would a writerof a weekly column. Therefore, the reader is not invested in thepersonal life of the author because the author is a stranger; they willnot empathize with the writer and may nd the emotions/opinions of



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a stranger to be irrelevant.

2. Web customers or people who search for information on the internetare searching for just that information. They are less interested inexperiences that may be unique to the author and are moreinterested in information that will be immediately useful to them how to care for a burn, what to do if their cus is looking a little

brown, how they can lose ten pounds before the wedding next month.

3. We want content that will be found by search engines and rankedhigh so that customers will visit our pages. Pages that are relevant toa wide group of people that is, articles that address the audience,rather than use introspection - will rank more highly because they

will be more likely to get link backs, will more likely be visited by people looking for information, and will more likely be given morecredit by those who use internet search tools like Stumbleupon orDigg.

4. Personal narratives have a difcult time balancing information andstyle with sentimentality and emotion. First-person accounts areoften so subjective that the reader will be turned off by showsof emotion (especially if it is negative) because there is no commonground between the reader and the writer. Successfulautobiographical authors use objectivity to help others see the worldthrough their eyes and show rather than tell about situations.However, our platform is not a good place for narratives ction ornonction.

Please avoid using the rst-person point-of-view (either a single timeor multiple times) in your articles, except when a requester hasspecically asked for personal accounts.

You may have had one or more of your articles rejected for use of therst person point-of-view (POV), and you may be wondering in whatcases the I voice is unacceptable. Ill explain.



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Author Intrusion

In most cases, the I slips into articles even if the article begins by addressing the reader as you. When the reader is suddenly hit with

the authors opinion or experience, this is uncomfortable and is knownas author intrusion. When a reader has been set up to absorbinformation directed at them, it can be awkward to suddenly hear the

voice of the author. Voice or POV should stay consistent throughout a piece, whether it is rst-, second-, or third-person.

Web Writing

However, for web writing, I should rarely be used. We will, of course,accept articles that are submitted for requests that require theinclusion of personal experience, narratives, or anecdotes. For other

writing, I is hardly ideal. Why? Because readers want to know what istrue for them if they are seeking information. The experience of the

writer is usually irrelevant, as the writer is only one person. Authors of articles should seek to explain what is generally true in a broad sense.This will not only make your article more useful to readers, but it willmake it more useful to us.Ex. You write an article about poison ivy. However, you happen to beimmune to poison ivys toxins. Instead of saying, Poison ivy will make

you itch, but I am immune to it, it would be better to say, Poison ivy will make most people itch, however, there are a few people who happento be immune to this plants toxins.

Goals of Articles Submitted to us

Articles submitted to us should, above all, offer something to the reader.Personal narratives rarely do this. Most people reading web writing are

seeking information. A personal narrative that does not connect to thereader does not offer the reader anything. Articles that fall into thiscategory may be perceived as a waste of the readers time. In addition, a reader who does not suspect that the article will provide them whatthey are looking for after the rst few sentences will cease to keepreading.



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Blogs

Even blog authors are straying from the use of the word I. Personal blogs are still in the styles of diaries. However, blogs more often offerinformation that is up-to-date and informative. In this case, the rst-person is once again rendered irrelevant.

Credibility and Professionalism

In addition, because writers rarely have connections with thepublications in which their work is featured, the I can become evenmore problematic. The reader is not familiar with the writer or the

writers work. The I is a stranger, and the stranger may not be able to be trusted in the readers eyes. Removing the I from articlessubmitted to us will lend more credibility and professionalism to theinformation.

Final Note

The reader doesnt care about the process it takes to write an article. If you give them a step-by-step about what you went through to gather theinformation you present, they will quickly grow bored and stop reading.Present the result of your research, not the process. Cite crediblesources (The FDA reports . . . not My mother says . . . ) that inspirecondence in the information.

Other POVsUsing the second person, or you, to address the reader is acceptable.Using we when it refers to the reader and writer, or humanity ingeneral, is acceptable.Using the pronoun one throughout a piece is not acceptable. Why? A discussion about how using the pronoun "one" sounds to the reader can

be found here:http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-versus-you.aspx

Creative Writing We do not accept ction (including novels, novel chapters, or shortstories), poetry of any kind, or memoirs.



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ListsIf you wish to create a list of tips, steps, or items, each list item must beaccompanied by an explanation. We cannot accept submissions that are

simply lists.

Series Articles must be able to stand alone and may not reference otherarticles, published or unpublished, by the author. We cannot acceptseries of articles.

Professionalism Articles that contain unprofessional use of language, punctuation, orfont will be rejected. We do not accept content with smileys.Please exhibit tactfulness in your writing. Treat your subjects and yourreaders with respect.

Prejudiced Language/StereotypingUse inclusive language and avoid the use of prejudiced language andpejoratives. We will not accept content that includes racist, sexist,homophobic, or other prejudiced language. The use of class-basedreferences and stereotyping will also result in rejection, as willlanguage that is denigrating to any religious or ethnic group.

Rhetorical Fallacies/AlienationUsing rhetorical fallacies or alienating a set of readers will result inarticle rejection. Avoid judging a set of readers or taking a negativestance against them.Ex: Parents who allow their children to watch TV on the weekends arelazy.



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RightsDo not include language anywhere in your article about licensing orrights.

Paragraph Structure Articles must be organized and formatted into properly structuredparagraphs. Articles submitted in a single paragraph, or articles thatare made up of mostly single-sentence paragraphs, will be rejected.Strong paragraphs help create strong articles. If your paragraph-creating skills need polishing, please review the following reference:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/01/

CapitalizationPlease observe all capitalization rules, avoiding erroneous use of capitalization, and using proper capitalization where necessary. Notsure if a word is capitalized? Look it up! The following resources may beof help:http://www.libraryonline.com/default.asp?pID=48 andhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/592/01/

Brand NamesPlease properly spell and capitalize names of brands, or use the genericterm for the product. If you are unsure how a product name should bespelled or capitalized, please refer to the company's website forclarication.

British English/American English We accept either, but please be consistent throughout the piece.

Referencing Sources



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We do not accept content with links or website addresses. However, if you want to reference websites, you may do so by dropping the http:// www. prex from the address and removing hyperlinks. You may use your preferred style for referencing print sources.

FormatPlease professionally format your articles in 12 pt. Arial font withsingle spaced paragraphs and a double space between paragraphs. A full space between paragraphs helps the reader to determine where oneparagraph ends and another begins.

Writer Guidelines 11111

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