HiPakistan Articles advice on how to write an effective article, including information on layout, style, and how to make an article clear, precise and relevant to the reader.



Layout A good article start with introduction, continue with a clear structure, and end with standard appendices such as references and related articles. So layout matters for a good article.

Paragraphs Paragraphs should be short enough for readability, but long enough to develop an idea. Overly long paragraphs should be split up, as long as the cousin paragraphs keep the idea in focus. Beginning with a "bridge" or "transition" statement such as "Other examples abound" may be helpful.

One-sentence paragraphs are unusually emphatic, and should be used sparingly. Articles should rarely, if ever, consist solely of such paragraphs.

Headings Headings help clarify articles and create a structure shown in the table of contents. Headers should not be blue linked. This is because headers in themselves introduce information and let the reader know what will be talked about, similar to signposting in argumentation theory; blue links should be incorporated in the text of the section.

Size Articles themselves should be kept relatively short. Say what needs saying, but do not overdo it. Articles should aim to be less than 30KB worth of prose. When articles grow past this amount of readable text, they can be broken up into smaller articles to improve readability and ease of editing. The headed sub-section should be retained, with a concise version of what has been removed under an italicized header.

When an article is long and has many sub articles, try to balance the main page. Do not put overdue weight into one part of an article at the cost of other parts. In shorter articles, if one subtopic has much more text than another subtopic, that may be an indication that that subtopic should have its own page, with only a summary presented on the main page.

Summary style Summary style is an organizational style that is similar to news style except that it applies to topics instead of articles and mostly lead sections instead of lead sentences.

There are two main reasons for using Summary style in HiPakistan articles. One is that different readers desire different levels of details: some readers need just a quick summary and are satisfied by the lead section; more people need a moderate amount of info, and will find the article suitable to their needs; yet others need a lot of detail, and will be interested in reading the sub articles. The other reason is simply that an article that is too long becomes tedious to read, and might repeat itself or represent writing that could be more concise.

Write every day Forming a daily writing habit is essential in being able to write as freely as you sleep and breathe. Start with just 15 minutes set aside each day to write, and extend this as you strengthen the habit. It really is the single most powerful habit you can adopt for your creative writing.

Recognise your strengths It's easy for us to overlook our own abilities and strengths, simply because we live with ourselves day in and day out. Make a list of all your creative strengths, and then ask what a close friend of yours would say if they were asked what your creative strengths were. You'll be amazed at how much you can come up with.

The Trend Trends aren't just for fashion! Whenever a trend sweeps a certain profession, you'll suddenly see dozens of articles covering the topic. From the latest hairstyle to the latest tax shelter, people want to know all about these trends - their origins, benefits, and drawbacks.

Here are some more tips for writing a good article.

1. Use the occasional exclamation mark (!) to get your readers attention. But please do not over use this as many people now appear to be doing.

2. Use bullets to quickly outline a number of points that may be important in your article. Readers can scan through these.

3. Outline the benefits to your reader. They want to know what they can get out of reading the article so portray the benefits of what you are writing about.

4. Target your article. Make it on one topic only and stick to the topic. Do not try to write about 2 or 3 things in the same article. Keep your focus on one topic to keep the interest of your reader.

5. Use lots of white space. People like to read in 'chunks' of information so have lots of space in your background.

6. Do not waffle. This is never more important than on the internet. People get bored quickly and there are a million other articles they could be reading instead of yours. Get to the point quickly - in the very 1ST line!

7. Be humble. People admire people who are humble. Do not talk down to your readers.