Avoid the Five Most Common Article Writing Mistakes

Nothing turns off readers more than typos, misspelled words and long sentences lacking punctuation. Here are some tips to help you avoid the five most common article writing mistakes.

1. Lack of content. The single biggest mistake you can make is to dilute content by drumming up keyword content. While keywords are important, they should be used sparingly and not at the expense of your content. Ensure that your subject material is well developed and organized efficiently.

2. Grammar and Spelling. Simple grammatical and spelling mistakes can make even the most knowledgeable author appear ignorant or uneducated. To convince the reader of your expertise, it is imperative that your article be articulate, authoritative and error-free. Take full advantage of your word processing Spell and Grammar Check utilities or have the article professionally proofread.

3. Punctuation. Improper use of punctuation (lack of punctuation, improper use of exclamation points, etc.) will detract from the overall quality of the article.

4. EXCESSIVE CAPITAL LETTERS. Using Caps Lock to emphasize a certain word may be appropriate, but overuse of capital letters tends to make the reader question the device: is this article a sales gimmick? Is the author an amateur?

5. Poor formatting. One-sentence paragraphs, run-on or nonsensical sentences, sentence fragments, and excessively long bulleted lists will all reflect negatively on the article’s quality. A properly formatted article will contain, at minimum, an introduction, followed by several paragraphs of 5-7 sentences, each separated by a blank line, with paragraph headings appropriately delineated from the text following, and ending with a conclusion paragraph.

Use of these tips in your article will further enhance your online image, cementing you in your client’s mind as the professional to whom they should entrust their business.

Virtually Yourz,
Dana Neuts