The Basics of Writing

byAHunsinger1

192 followers

6 years ago

Most people in the modern world writes or types almost daily. Anything from writing reports, to emails, and even texting. It is almost impossible to not write about something. When it comes to writing an article, it is important to know the effort that must go into writing an article and how to set it up. When writing an article, it takes planning, research, organization, and finally reviewing and submitting your article.

Planning is Key

Anyone can write an article about anything. But, what really goes into writing an article? First, you need to know what it is you are writing about. For example, you cannot write an article about welding to a group that wants to learn about baking. It is necessary to research the topic. This requires finding and reading as much information about it, note taking, asking questions, and then finding those answers. It is important to be the most knowledgeable person about the topic you are writing about.

Probably the best way to start the research process is to write out what the topic is. Next, write down as much information about the topic that you may know without looking it up. Once you do this, it may bring up questions that you can add to your research. This will give you a good starting point for your research.

Fact or Fiction

If you have ever taken any college class then you know the importance of making sure the information you find is credible. This is especially true when finding articles on the internet. Since close to 4-billion people have access to the internet, you may find information that is someone's opinion and not necessarily true information. Therefore, back researching information is important and researching the author of an article as equally important.

Nothing worse than writing down a whole bunch of information just to find out later to be false.

So, we got the research part done, now what? I'll show you!

Organization is Everything

When writing any article, blog, or even a letter/email, you need to write it in a way that makes it flow. Nothing worse than having your reader become confused about what you are talking about because what you wrote did not have some type of organized structure. This means having an introduction, body, and a conclusion.

Introduction

Your introduction is the opening of your topic. This is where you introduce what you are going to discuss (thesis statement) and an attention getter. Attention getter is what draws the reader in making them want to learn more about your topic. The introduction is typically 1 to 2 paragraphs.

Body

The body is the meat of your article. This is where you take your thesis statement and expand upon it. Depending on how long your article is, the body can be 3 to 5 or more paragraphs.

Remember when I said what you write needs to flow? This is where it is most important. Let’s say your thesis statement stated 3 main points you want to discuss. Typically, you should talk about those points in the same order you originally placed them. Next, you want to transition from one point to the next. This is done by ending the last sentence of a point with wording that leads to the next point and so on.

Stay focused on your topic and don't get side tract.

Conclusion

The conclusion is where you summarize and wrap up your article. It is important not to talk about new information in the conclusion. Remember, you are simply summarizing what you have already written about. Also, it doesn't hurt to leave your reader pondering what you stated in your article and this can be done in the conclusion. Basically, write a statement or question at the end of the article that engages your reader. This may lead to comments being left.

Now it is time for the final touch!

Review What You Wrote Before the World Does

So, you have done your research, found all the facts, organized your topic, and wrote it so that it flows as smooth as butter. Great! But, did you proofread it? How about letting someone else proofread it for you. Four eyes are better than two.

Nothing will hurt your reputation more, except for giving false information, than having grammatical and punctuation errors. Luckily there are many tools out there that are free to use to check for you. Here at Wealthy Affiliate, you have access to such a feature. Another one is Grammarly. Grammarly works great and will annotate your article for you pointing out the errors, why it is wrong, and give suggestions to correct those errors. I have used it on several papers in college and without it would have done poorly in school.

Conclusion

Writing articles or blogs can be a ton of fun and provides a humanistic value to peoples lives. How people interpret what you write all depends on how well you write it. The internet is full of information so, why not be a source of that information, accurate information that is.