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Writing is one of life’s pleasurable past times, whatever ones profession may be; everyone has something to write about, either creatively or otherwise whether one is writing creatively or just merely putting facts and information on paper or on a computer system.
Writing on the whole, requires some degree of originality, thinking and purpose. It also requires constant practice. A common proverb says “practice makes for perfection”. As with anything that must succeed, writing needs constant practice in order that the writer might become prolific.
As enjoyable as writing may be, therefore, it is also stress taking and sometimes complex yet it something no one can do without. It therefore is our responsibility to stand up to the challenges presented by “Content writing/Article writing” , for that is where the crux of the matter is. As a hobby, article writing can be very interesting because it affords the writer the opportunity to be bold and creative by penning down his/her ideas on paper or on screen. It also helps to enrich our language and social development as we write on different subjects, topics of interests, as a writer we are bound to come across new words and adopt them in our writing. I could say, in the process of writing I’ve came across different innovation, technology, cultures and many more. It therefore also widens our scope and knowledge. Another important aspect of writing as a hobby is that it satisfies some deep part of our inner being that longs and thirsts for creative expression thereby making us balanced people. Again, since hobbies have a way of bringing fulfillment, it gives us joy and fulfillment as well as a sense of accomplishment, especially, exceptional articles on steemit have been known to have win huge upvotes resulting to some amount of SBD and STEEM as a reward.
Furthermore, as we bring back our life’s experiences and put it into writing, we enjoy a belated re-exploration of scenes already visited and seen, and we concretise them in our memories, making them almost tangible to the sense. Somehow old experience become more real, and when seen from different angles, they come to have more value and purpose. For instance,a visit to an ancient town, when re-lived and re-visited on the pages of computer screen or on paper, become not just an abstract visit or the writer’s life and experience. Writing therefore gives a wholesome view and interpretation to otherwise trivial and inconsequential events.
As a useful tool of communication
As we have already said, everybody in every walk of life, sometime or the other, has reason to write. Writing serves a major purpose which is communication.
One major means of communication especially amongst scholars and professionals is writing. it therefore serves as a major tool we cannot afford to ignore. Article writing therefore helps to foster and open up otherwise closed avenues for different types of writing. preparing the individual for future incidents, it serves as a vehicle for the transfer of information at every level, as well as protect the information transferred from distortion.
It is therefore a very reliable means of communication. The individual is therefore advised and encouraged to learn its skills to adequately use them in the transfer of information.
For Academic
Writing for academic purposes therefore is just like putting the icing on the cake, so to speak. For without proper and effective writing skills to put across information learned. Since speaking and writing are the basic vehicles of communication within the academic environment, it therefore behoove the serious student to garner as much of the skills of a writer as is possible in order to help him “deliver the goods” of whatever profession he might choose. In this way therefore writing offers extra prospects for development in academics and can serve as a vehicle for transporting learner to greater heights in other areas of life’s endeavor.
Basic Steps in Writing an Article
There are some basic steps in writing an article which I will discuss about:
- Deciding on a topic for your content
- Considering the subject to be discussed
- The audience for the content
- Thinking of the purpose for writing
- Making an outline
- Writing the article
- Proofreading
The basic steps listed above are very important for a writer to be able to write a good and quality article. These steps are not given for the fun of it but serve as a serious measure for determining how good an article a writer can write. They also serve as a comprehensive guide to lead one from the first to the last step. Non of the steps is unimportant. Each is regarded as important and should be well understood so that the articles that we write would be excellent and a mature representation of the ideas we wish to put forward to the general public.
Deciding on a Topic
Since the topic is the first thing that is written is is important that it be considered and taken very seriously. Since the topic should be catchy, serious as well as declarative it should be given serious thought. The writer should consider what in general terms he/she is going to write about and then formulate a topic that would adequately sum up its contents.
The topic should be brief, never long. A topic of two to seven words would be ideal. A one-word topic would also be apt depending on what is being discussed. In such a case, the topic is written simply to draw special attention to the subject-matter. It is used to arrest the reader’s attention and to make them consider seriously the subject under discussion.
Another important thing is that the topic usually a statement and not a sentence. A sentence usually contains a subject and predicate. E.g Chris is a smart man* that is a sentence, while a statement is always like this: Chris, the smart man
Considering the subject
The next thing to be considered is the subject matter to be discussed. This is very important so that the writer can determine the scope of the long article and decide where to place limits, otherwise the whole writing might get out of control. The writer should therefore decide on where to begin, when to end the specific things to be discussed.
A consideration of the subject will also afford him enough opportunity to think seriously about what is to be said. He would then consider how much he knows about the topic, whether what he/she knows is complex enough for a long article of the scope he has envisaged, whetehr he needs to brush up on his/her knowledge or not. The writer is therefore advice to choose a topic that he/she knows about very much, so that he/she can discuss intelligently. The subject matter must be out to consideration in relation to the topic and the writer should prepare to discuss the subject within the limits given by the topic.
considering the Audience
It is important to consider the audience for your content that would read the article. It also means that this consideration of who the audience might be would definitely influence his words, expressions and issues to be discussed.
How else can the anticipated audience influence what and how we write?
It is well known fact that our words and expressions are directly conditioned by the reicpents or our message. The mode of expression changes according to the people or person being addressed.
In considering the audience for your content , the writer has in mind to evoke certain feelings and responses from the audience and this is what influences his mode of expression. We should therefore think of and apply the most suitable form of expression that would successfully evoke the kind of response we want so that we would not fail in our bid to communicate.
The language and tone of expression is another thing that can influence what we write. It therefore goes to show that the audience is an indispensable factor that must be considered in an article or any type of writing.
The purpose of Writing
To a large extent the purpose determines what is being written. Every piece of writing should have a reason or purpose. The writer should be able to determine what his purpose is nad thereby be able to decide on what and what not to write. It would also help him decide on the manner of approach and mode of discourse.
However, it is very important to determine the purpose of our writing so that we would know what tone to adopt.
making an Outline
This is a vital step toward writing a good article. Making an outline is important because it helps to give form, shape and order to the ideas, facts, opinions, and information waiting to be divulged on paper or on our computer. An outline also helps to streamline the points or arguments to be presented in such a way as to give credence, sequence and realism, indeed the outline is the surest way to a sensible, well planned writing.
How to make an Outline
A lot of thinking goes into this exercise. In fact this is where the bulk of the work is done. A good outline when completed should give the reader the gist of the main points of the article. It serves as a road map to which the writer can always refer, therefore it should be explicit as well as concise. A good outline groups major ideas into paragraphs. Knowing that each paragraph would be fully developed in the final writing, the outline should strive to incorporate a topic sentence for each paragraph. This helps to sharpen the writer’s focus while also helping to streamline his thought processes.
Conclusion
Writing is a very useful communication tool that could be used to pass information, feelings, thoughts, and expressions across to other people. It is very important to know the basic steps to write a good and quality article that would arrest the attention of the readers. Those basic steps are choosing a topic, considering the subject to be discussed in the content, considering who your audience are, determining the purpose of your writing , making outline, writing the main content and reading over it again. All these steps will guide you through in writing a good articles any time.