Article Surfing Archive

Many people fear having to write papers or articles. You might feel like writing one seems to be too much work, or that it just goes to waste because nobody reads it. To some people, reading articles can also seem like work, especially if the article is boring or bland. It's true, though, that articles are at least intended to impart information that the writer deems beneficial to the reader. Whether or not this is true on a case-by-case basis, if you want your particular article to be read, it helps if you write a good one in the first place. How do you do this?

For starters, let's get a myth out of the way here. It's a myth that writing a good article is strenuous. It doesn't have to be. There are some pointers that may help you write a good one, though. Once you get the hang of writing articles, you might find it fun and even profitable for you and your website.

First of all, you have to write articles about subjects you know something about. Leave the topics you don't know anything about to someone who does. Focus on what you know and enjoy. If you do this, you'll have all of the information you need at your fingertips, or at least you'll know where to get it. And if you've taken the time to know something about your topic, then you probably enjoy talking about it, too.

Second of all, there are a couple of pointers that will help your articles be read by readers who will enjoy them. Here are six tips to keep in mind when you're writing, to keep your articles interesting.

1. Use short paragraphs. Especially for Internet reading, paragraphs have to be short and punchy. They should get to the point, say what they're going to say, and be done. This isn't the time for long-winded philosophizing or long rambling sentences. Save that for your novel. Keep sentences short, too.

2. Use numbers or bullets, as is being done here. Numbered lists help readers keep individual points straight, so that they can easily remember and digest them. Make sure as well that you indent them, so that they stand out from the rest of the text.

3. Use subheadings to subdivide your paragraphs on the page. This will not only break each point down into an easy-to-read section, but it will make it easy for the reader to move from one point to the next. This will help ensure that your readers will continue to pay attention to your article, because you've made it easier to read.

4. If you can, provide an attention grabbing title or header. Try to ensure that your title will entice a person's curiosity so that he or she will continue to read your article. Use statements or questions that utilize keywords people are already looking for. Provide titles or headers that describe the article's content, but that nevertheless are short and concise.

It helps to use titles that are catchy and attention grabbing but intelligent. Don't use over-the-top superlatives or tabloid-esque techniques. Although you can use titles that command people to do certain things, for example, do so subtly. If you try too hard to "make" the person read your article, he or she will simply be turned off and will go elsewhere to get the needed information. You want to draw the person in, without making it seem like you're simply selling to them. Although this may have been a good technique in years past, most of today's readers are too savvy to fall for such things and will simply be turned off.

5. To hold readers' attention from start to finish, utilize real-life examples whenever you can to support your statements. Not only will this lend your article authenticity, but readers like to read about people like themselves. Therefore, real-life stories can be more interesting than fictional ones. Indeed, fictional stories may simply seem as though they're made up just to sell whatever you're trying to sell with your article, even if that's only your own point of view.

6. Used sparingly and to effect, figures can help you support your statements. However, don't make your article one long list of statistics. Again, this is something that must be used prudently to be effective as a selling or attention-grabbing technique. If you use figures sparingly, however, doing so can make your article seem more authoritative and can help you back up the information you are using in your article.