How to Write an Article: Basic Guidelines for Structure and Readability

Having a basic understanding of the English language and it's written form is very different from being able to formulate a quality article or written piece of any sort. Especially for people who know English as a second language, learning the intricacies of English structure, wording, and punctuation that are all required in unison to create any written work that flows seamlessly along for the reader will definitely take some time and effort on your part. Even if you already consider yourself to be a skilled or experienced writer or journalist, taking the time to read over some sentence and article structuring tips can really help you to produce better work.

Basic Article Structure and Preference

Article format will generally not include the use of indentations in the first or any following paragraph. Instead, leave an empty line after each paragraph and begin the next. Although this will be the expected format if you are completing any online article assignment or applying for a writing job online, proper educational writing will often require a slightly different format unless you are specifically being taught journalism or article writing.

Every piece of work you complete should always have a title, and knowing how to properly word and capitalize your title is extremely important if you expect to impress even the most relaxed of critics.

Capitalizing a Title

• The first and last word of your title should always be capitalized, along with all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives and conjunctions or prepositions that are at least five letters long.
• Avoid capitalizing the, a, and, if, or any other preposition, conjunction or article. This means that the proper capitalization of the following title would be as follows:

"The Eagle Flies from the Darkened Sky"

*Note: The word "from" is functioning as a preposition in this sentence and should remain in lowercase.

Avoiding Cliche Statements and Other Excessive or Unnecessary Writing Habits

Cliche statements can cause quite a bit of harm to an otherwise good article. Refusing to take the time to develop your own phrases and statements based on the topic you are writing about and always referring back to a familiar catch phrase will make your article dull and robotic, especially if you actually use the same cliche twice in the same article.

If you find that cliches sometimes find their way into your writing without you intending for them to, regular proofreading is really the only way to prevent this. Keep in mind that just because a phrase is commonly used does not mean that you should avoid it at all costs: well placed and monitored cliche statements can sometimes add a little bit of familiarity or friendliness to an article if needed, and many persuasive or sales oriented writing will likely accept or even promote this type of writing.