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| Yes | 20% | 293 votes | Total: 1472 votes | |
| No | 80% | 1179 votes |
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Should you begin Helium articles by repeating the article's title?
Should a writer begin their article with the title of the article, or simply assume that the reader is given the title, and write on? As long as the title is copied correctly it is alright, as an amusingly large number of related articles written here at helium.com do attest that the titles are frequently not copied correctly. The act of writing the article's title at the top of the article is done with the assumption that the reader may not know the title, or to point out that the title can be interpreted differently.
However, when writing for Helium.com, the titles are always displayed above the articles when a reader reads or rates the articles. There is no need to title the article, however there is often a great advantage to including the title in the opening paragraph. The titles on Helium's articles are well researched for SEO placement, and are worded in such a way that they draw more traffic from the reading public, and thus more advertising revenue to share with the writers.
When writing for a renowned publisher or web site, you can pretty much be assured that two things will happen before the article is published or sold; the writer must confirm that their article conforms to the article's title and prerequisites, and also make sure that there is no flagrant plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of copying someone else's written words into the text of your own article without giving them credit vis-vis at least a footnote, can get people into a lot of trouble, fined or booted out of a writer's website.
The act of placing a title above an article is for stand-alone articles, as in submissions to Associated Press (AP) style newspapers or websites. When a writer is writing to an established title, placing the title on top of the article is akin to repeating oneself. Placing the title within the wordings of the opening paragraph is much more reader friendly, and gives the reader a wealth of information in the introduction. With the title being written, and then explained in the opening paragraph, the title would be shown three times within four or five sentences, over exposing the reader to the title, and possibly losing their interest in what you have to say.
However, as far as plagiarism goes, if they were to put 100,002 monkeys in front of 100,002 laptops, after teaching them how to tap the keys, you should be able to find the words to make up War and Peace, or even The Bible ( any version ). Would this be plagiarism? Would copying an article's title as your first sentence be considered plagiarism? No, it is not. You are not stealing someone else's intellectual proprietary information, you are just stating the premise for your article. But that premise has already been made by the title that the writer is writing to, and needs not be repeated as a stand-alone title.
Learn more about this author, Marc Phillippe Babineau.
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No
Beginning an article on Helium by repeating the title is not only unnecessary, but it is also unprofessional and makes the writer appear amateurish.
No professional writer begins an article or any other form of writing by repeating the title. How many newspaper articles have you read where the first sentence is exactly the same as the headline? How about magazine articles? Books? The answer is none.
It is considered redundancy to repeat the title of headline in the body of the text. The headline exists to give the reader an at-a-glance idea of what the article is about. The article itself exists to expand on that idea, giving the reader supporting information.
There is nothing wrong with using the first sentence or paragraph of the piece to emphasize the title or headline and even to paraphrase it. The first sentence of this article is an example of that device. You'll notice that the title is referenced, but not repeated verbatim.
Readers, especially of online content, usually want articles they can read quickly. Repeating the title wastes the writer's time as well as the reader's. They already saw the title of the article. That's why they're taking the time to read it. You don't have to sell it to them again. Actually, you risk alienating the reader with this form of redundancy because they don't want to keep reading the same information over and over.
Knowing the medium for which you are writing can help you avoid this mistake. On Helium, the article title is always included with your articles by default. There is no need to repeat it because it will be there. If you are writing for a medium that does not automatically include the title, you can then include it with the body of your article. However, make sure that is the case before doing so.
A redundant title is also visually unappealing and jarring. That is why you don't see it in print. Many people make the mistake of treating online content completely differently from print when, in fact, many of the same principles of good layout and design apply to both. Think of what your reader sees on the screen as a page in a magazine or newspaper. Your article should appear on the computer screen much the same as you would want it to appear on a printed page.
Writer's who feel that repeating the article title is a good way to emphasize and strengthen a point made in the title have the option of paraphrasing, as pointed out above, or of crafting their article in such a way as to achieve the result in a more subtle manner. Weaving the key points of the title into the body of your article will engage your readers and compel them to read on.
Learn more about this author, Bruce W. Coffman.
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