Do you want to start writing information and advice articles either for your blog, magazines or newspapers? Are you wondering how you can go about doing so? If so, this article will help you. Read on to learn about 5 tips for article writing:
1. Have a Topic in Mind
The initial step with writing an article begins with a topic. If you’re starting a blog for instance, then most likely you have chosen an area to write about; either one in which you’re a specialist, or in an area which you want to develop in. On the other hand, you might be writing an article as a part of a freelancing contract you’ve just won, and hence the topic of the article will most likely be given by your client.
2. Have a Title to Help You Focus
Once you have a topic in mind, it’s time to think up a title. For example if you’re writing a topic about teaching readers how they can reduce stress, then your title might be ‘How to Reduce Stress’. Don’t be too concerned with the final details of the title at this point. You can always amend it, or improve it once you have written your article. The purpose of the title at this point, is simply to provide you with focus to plan and prepare your article.
3. Have a General Outline
Having an outline can help you in focusing down even further, what it is that you will write about in your article. For instance, if your article is about providing readers with advice on how they can reduce stress, think of 5-6 ways that can help people to reduce stress. For example, one way you might think of that would help people reduce stress is to meditate daily. This subtopic would then form one of the sections in your article. You might also have sections for other subtopics such as ‘listen to calming music’ and ‘take a vacation’.
4. Research Properly
How much research you’ll need to do for your article will be dependent on how much you already know about the topic. If you’re already an expert in the area, then you can just get on with writing the article. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, then there are various sources you can use to research to help you write. Just about every topic there is, is already well-published on the Internet, so you might find all you need by browsing reputable websites and blogs.
If your topic is more specialised, then you’ll need to refer to sector specific literature such as journals, technical papers, industry magazines and books.
5. Write!
Once you know your subtopics and have an idea of what you’re going to write about for each, you can get on with the task at hand. Split your article into headings, using the names of the subtopics as titles for these. Unless your audience expects writing that is used in particular industries, keep your words simple and easy to understand. Write in sentences that even young children would be able read and to comprehend. This will help in ensuring you maximise the opportunity to reach out to as many people as possible, and keep then engaged.
Image credit: Desi on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hv1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of eBooks India. He is also a prolific eBook writer with over 25 titles to his name.[/author_info] [/author]