Monday, November 24, 2008

How To Write An Effective Article

By Theo McLanahan

Article writing is a useful means to express your ideas on paper so as to become professional writer.

Remember that "Content is King". The better way you organize your ideas, the more publicity you get. Two basic points to be kept in mind while writing an article are:-

1. Use the simplest language possible You want your writing to reach the most reader possible. For this reason, it should be written in the simplest language possible that can still get your point across. Writers in magazines and newspapers generally write to a 4th grade level.

In other words, they use language that a fourth grade reader would be able to understand.

This does not mean that they don't possess the capabilities to write in hi-fi language, they just wish that the news should reach to more and more people. But surely, using simple language is not possible for all types of publications. Many of the magazines related to technical issues, social commentary or politics will use such complex language to put the audience away from the actual facts. But for such kind of writing, appropriate level of complexity is needed. Apart from such magazines, it's always preferred to use simplest and straightforward writing style.

2. Make you article state its case in an interesting way You want to express your ideas in a way that's useful to your readers. The better you can explain your ideas, the more readers you're going to attract. Try to entertain your readers while getting your ideas across. Don't go on and on, boring them in the process. Many articles written for magazines or the internet use the classic "five paragraph essay" format.

Five paragraph essay " Step by step guide

1. First paragraph - A brief introduction to the topic of the article and related ideas.

2. Second, third and fourth paragraphs - Support and expand on the introduction, giving more information about the topic.

3. Fifth paragraph - Conclusion, including a summary of the points in the article.

If you can use the 5 paragraph essay format effectively, you can write for the internet or magazines. Use the simplest language you can, organize your ideas effectively and you'll be a successful writer before you know it!

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