HOW TO WRITE GOOD ARTICLES (FOR WRITERS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE)

I felt compelled to write this article because I have suffered the experience in my own flesh, so to speak. Being able to verbally communicate in a language is one thing but being able to write it and develop an appealing style for demanding readers is a different ball game. I still consider myself a newbie, but I am willing to do the homework and to do what it takes to get the job done. Here I will share with you the methods and resources I have used to try to compete with native writers of the English language:

· The very first thing you should do is read as many articles written by natives as your free time allows you. I personally suggest hubs because such articles must be well written to be published and there are some very good writers in HubPages.

· Do not write in your own language and then try to translate the article . There are subtle nuances in every language and a translation may not convey the exact connotation you intend to communicate. This will make your writing inaccurate and hard to follow through. Think in English, brainstorm in English, write in English.

· Watch for trends and styles in the different categories. This could be a serious scrutinizing job, but if you want quality work you have to do sufficient research to write above average. The trends will tell you what are the topics that generate more comments and reads. The styles will help you choose one that fits your needs depending on your chosen category.

· Do not write for the sake of writing, have a genuine motivation to do it. If you write something with money as a sole motivation in your mind, you will have a very hard time coming up with a topic that suits that purpose. It is like investing everything you have in a motor for a boat without having the boat. Themes that you are passionate about tend to be your best writings. Search for a topic you like within the most popular ones.

· Know the readers you want to target, the fact that a topic is popular and you like it does not guarantee that your hub will be read or will be successful. Let`s say you want to write about natural health products. Find and read as many hubs as you can on the subject. Watch for the most relevant information in every article. How many hubs share similar information? What significant points have not been mentioned that you can include in your hub to make it unique? Will your readers deem beneficial such points?

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Success

· Write an outline highlighting the strong and weak points in your article and get rid of those that seem irrelevant or repetitive. Before you begin to write your final draft, revise over and over your writing. You may find missing words, unnecessary words, awkward phrases and sentences. If you must mention concepts that can become repetitive, use a dictionary of Synonyms, change the wording. Revising is never enough. You could find yourself changing a few words or phrases, minutes before you are going to publish your article.

· Do not sacrifice quality for quantity. It is much better to write a quality article of 200 words than a 1200 word article with poor contents. Even if you have to delete phrasing or sentences that you consider funny, clever or appealing, do not hesitate to do so. Remember you are writing for others to read and enjoy, you are not writing for yourself only. If you can put yourself in the place of your readers you will have a better understanding of what they are looking for.

· Write your drafts in WORD as there are many resources in that application that will help you revise your article thoroughly. You can use the spell and grammar checker, the synonyms tab, the word counter, the research pane, translation ScreenTip, the Thesaurus dictionary as well as tables and image insertion.

· Read your article out loud and watch for cohesiveness, logic, wordiness and readability. It is good practice to read out loud since you can detect details that may escape your visual scrutiny due to tiredness, eye or mental fatigue. If there is somebody who can listen to your article, much better. There is a tendency of losing objectivity when you are analyzing your own work.

· View the comments in your article as a way of improving your writing. Your readers` opinions are most valuable. They were your chosen target in the first place. Most of them will write constructive critique, but if you stumble upon an acid commentator, do not start a meaningless argument. It is just a person`s opinion and that should not discourage you.