Writing Articles

When you write an article, be it for the web or for print, you should always make sure you are using correct grammar and spelling. It goes without saying that if you want to be taken seriously and retain credibility, then you should make sure that you know what you're talking about. I recently read through some articles on website design and SEO, and after reading them I've found that the source didn't do their job. It inspired this article on things you should definitely do before releasing what you've written.

Spelling and Grammar

The two biggest key components of writing are always spelling and grammar. To be a writer, you need to know how to form sentences the right way, and spell correctly. When spell check is readily available in most document writing software (ex. Microsoft Word, Works, and Open Office Writer), there really isn't any reason to pop off with an article that has bad spelling. I'm certainly not one to say I spell everything right all the time, but I do check my spelling.

Grammar is one thing that is harder to check. Microsoft Word will make suggestions to your writing (it suggested putting "and Open Office" instead of just "Open Office"), but it won't catch everything. It certainly will not catch the overuse of words that make things more irritating to read than anything else. In one of the articles I read, the author was writing about things every web designer should know. Besides not covering the topic well at all, she also called her subjects "One" over and over again. "One should do this, One should not do that, One should not be two or else two shall be One"...ok, that last one was made up. Using a specific word repeatedly can make the reader annoyed, and not able to pay attention to what you're trying to say.

Proofreading is a must

It is very vital to have someone proof read your work. I recently wrote an article called "How to Choose a Web Designer". I was trying to cut it down to two pages, and still cover all of the information I thought was key to the article. In doing so, I ended up with a few things written incorrectly and didn't notice. However, my wife did.

I let my wife read all of my work so she can catch my mistakes. Because I wrote the article, I won't see them. I know what I'm trying to say and what something is supposed to say. Since she didn't, her objectiveness to the article was very neutral which gave her the ability to see all of my mistakes. This includes spelling mistakes that weren't misspelled words, but rather the wrong words. When I wrote about how you should "Qualify your Web Designer", I actually wrote how you should "Quality your Web Designer". It didn't make any sense to her, so she flagged it. I didn't see it because I knew what it was supposed to say, and overlooked the fact that I actually wrote the wrong word.

Research and make sure you know what you're talking about

As much as this shouldn't need to be said, it clearly does need to be said. If you're going to write about anything, please make sure you know what you're talking about. If you're writing for a business, it's crucial to make sure you are writing correctly. Twitter does not have a 165 character count; it has a 140 character count. On April 24th, we weren't waiting for Internet Explorer 8 to come out; it had already been out for a month.

Make sure you research your topics and elements of your article before you release it. You must always remember that your audience isn't always the people who you're trying to teach, but those who know and may be looking for a different point of view.

Your credibility is on the line with everything you release, so make sure it's well written and researched. My wife is about to take a look at this article for me to check the spelling and grammar. It's best that you do something similar with your work to help keep mistakes to a minimum.

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About Dave

I am the founder of Asheboro Creative. I'm a PHP and MySQL developer that thinks CSS is the greatest thing since the knife that sliced bread. I am a stickler for validating our websites and love to check out design galleries.

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