How to Write an Article

One need not write using colons and semicolons, but correct grammar is essential to the writer’s credibility.  Poorly constructed sentences, or use of only simple sentences, will result in an assumption that the writer’s ability is lacking.  This assumption will transfer to a belief that the writer is not knowledgeable in the subject matter of the article.  One might get away with a lone typo, but poor grammar will be treated with disdain, and the readers will go elsewhere. 

Write to your audience.  If the audience consists of experts in a field, it is acceptable to write in an advanced level.  But, in general, as a writer you must select from three possible levels.  The selection should favor the second of the three.

The lowest level, using simple sentences and small words, does not indicate adequate intelligence to write formally, and brings one’s credentials into question.  There is an assumption that if one is not proficient in English one is also lacking in proficiency in the subject matter of the article.  People want to read the work of someone qualified to write in the field.

The proper level of an article is to use words that are carefully chosen for connotations as well as definitions.  Choose words that are well known, but beyond the elementary school level.  Avoid, as much as possible, obscure words, unless needed for a specific purpose.  In addition, sentences should have phrases that clarify ideas where needed.  Simple sentences with few adjectives and adverbs, and devoid of dependent phrases, gives too little credibility to the author.

The other extreme is to write in a pompous manner, using large words as often as possible.  If the reader must grab a dictionary multiple times during a reading of an article, the work is not reaching the audience as it should.  Writing is not to be taken as an opportunity for an author to show the extent of the author’s vocabulary.  Writing is communication, and when one gets to a level where communication ceases the problem is with the author, not the reader.

Idioms are fine if the audience understands them.  The problem comes from readers being unfamiliar with an idiom, and trying to take that idiom literally.  Always know your audience.  If the article is being written for a local audience, use of idioms are fine, but if there is any question as to whether all potential readers will understand an idiom it should not be used.  This is especially true if the audience is international.   A reader might be able to get past a few words not in use in the reader’s country, but compounding this with idioms that confound that same reader will result in a lost reader.

Similar sounds can be confusing, even if read, and certainly if heard.  Use different words with the same meaning to avoid this problem.  For example, suppose a zoo just acquired a gnu.  If you were to write, “The zoo got a new gnu,” the repetition of words with the same sound in juxtaposition sounds awkward.  Another example is a person writing about an experience of looking for furniture and including a sentence like, “Wood would make a fine table.” 

Using the same sound is the extreme, but other words that have sounds close to each other also cause a problem.

The problem is avoided by using a thesaurus.

But why is this a problem?  Think about music as an analogy.  Notes are not discrete, but drop off over a short time, making a harmonious flow of sound.  Words are not dissimilar to music in this sense.  While the uttered word might end, the neurons in the brain are dropping the word more gradually than the sound as the word is being processed, and to impact those neurons with a similar sound too soon after the first sound is heard can cause the person hearing the sounds to pause and think what was actually heard.  This disruption allows several more words to pass with less attention than needed. 

If pronouns are used, make certain it is clear to what each of them refers.  Consider the sentence, “Six astronomers gazed at several stars, and they were brilliant.”  Does “they” refer to the astronomer, or to the stars?  The reference is too vague.  Pronouns are too often used with indefinite nouns to which they refer. 

If pronouns are used, make certain it is clear to what each of them refers.  Consider the sentence, “Six astronomers gazed at several stars, and they were brilliant.”  Does “they” refer to the astronomer, or to the stars?  The reference is too vague.  Pronouns are too often used with indefinite nouns to which they refer. 

Often we think faster than we can write, so we might easily make an error by deleting an entire phrase.  This happens no matter how careful we are, so check your work.  A poor sentence results in something not being gotten across to the reader.  If it is important enough to have in the article, its omission will cause a loss of information.  And, if this happens early on the article, many readers might leave.

There are many articles on SEO, so repeating them here is to serve no purpose.  Just remember to choose good keywords or phrases, have adequate placement of those keywords and phrases without overdoing them, and have an article of good length.  Search engines prefer longer articles.

Keyword packing is to be avoided.   When I wrote on Squidoo, there were articles written by would-be authors that advertised a product.  And, in one sentence the product, say pillows, was mentioned many times, each following the name of a different color.  If you do not want a penalty from the search engines, avoid this. 

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