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Should you begin Helium articles by repeating the article's title?
Results so far:
| Yes | 19% | 359 votes | Total: 1843 votes | |
| No | 81% | 1484 votes |
Yes
by Ehren Wells
Created on: December 04, 2007 Last Updated: March 17, 2010
When writing articles for Helium you should always, in one way or another, either repeat the title given to you or write a closely worded opener that directly conveys the topic at hand. Repeating the title or at least rephrasing it, gives the reader a guidepost that says, "Okay, dear reader, this is where we're headed." From there, it's up to you as a writer to make sure you get there. There are so many times white rating other's articles, I'm forced to vote for an inferior one because, even though it might be poorly written, it is the one that clearly states what the article is about.
Repeating or rephrasing the title can provide the writer a sense of direction as well. As a Helium writer, I often find that during the process my writing has strayed away from the topic I'm writing on. When that happens, I ask myself, "Am I still on topic?" Because I ask myself this question so often, I have learned that the best way to answer it comes from writing an opener that I feel best conveys that topic at hand, oftentimes by directly repeating or nearly repeating the title given to me. Having made my best effort to write an opener in this fashion, I can look back to it and as a sort of litmus test for the rest of my material. If I find that some material has somehow strayed off the topic, it will usually be obvious to me, almost screaming, "Hey, there's something wrong here!" At that point, I will either re-write the material to get it back on track, or I'll pitch it altogether. I don't do this for myself; I do it for my readers.
Think about it. If you were a reader researching how to open a Helium article, and all the articles had exactly the title you were seeking but then opened with a different topic, wouldn't you be a bit confused? Wouldn't you find yourself wondering what all those articles were really about? Worse yet, wouldn't you wonder if Helium were really the place to get your information?
Take my word for it. From the standpoint of both a writer and a reader, the best way to open your articles (and to keep them on track throughout your article) is to either repeat the title that is given to you, or to paraphrase it creatively and say the same thing. Then you should use that opener as your guide to keeping the article's content concise and on track. If you use this technique, your readers will thank you, Helium will thank you, and, ultimately, you will thank yourself for exercising the discipline it takes to be a great writer.
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No
by Sandra Piddock
Created on: July 07, 2009
If someone asked you a question and you repeated the question back to them before giving an answer, the person who asked the question would wonder what was the matter with you, and you couldn't blame them, could you? Well, that's how I feel when I'm rating articles and the first sentence of the article is a repeat of the title.
Why do people do this? There's only one thing worse than repeating the article title in my book, and that's repeating the article title using CAPITAL LETTERS. It's irritating and it's unprofessional, just like ending the article with 'Thank you for reading this.' When have you ever read a magazine article that started with a repeat of the headline and ended with 'Thank you for reading this?' Never? I thought so. If you haven't seen it in print, please don't do it on Helium.
What we must remember is that, here on Helium, our articles are competing with hundreds of thousands of others, so we must do everything in our power to give our writing the edge over the rest. Making an impact with your first paragraph is the best advantage you can give yourself when it comes to writing - and rating. If the first paragraph doesn't grab me, I don't want to read any further. As well as rating other member's work, I have my own writing to get on with, and I'm not going to waste time reading unprofessional outpourings from anyone. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that's the way it is.
You should refer to the article title in some way in the first paragraph, because it will help you to focus on the article and it will show the reader that you have engaged with the title, but there are better ways to do this than simple repetition. Turn the title on it's head to grab the reader's attention. I started an article about whether people preferred to tumble dry or line dry their laundry with 'Why would anyone ever want to tumble dry when they could line dry?' This was my first thought on reading the article title, and it made a strong start to the article, as well as helping me to organise my arguments in favour of line drying. No matter what the topic, you can always make a punchy start to your article by turning the title around. Try it with the next title you write to and you'll see what I mean.
There is an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but that maxim certainly doesn't apply here on Helium. Plagiarism, or copying someone else's work, will get your articles deleted, and repeating the title at the beginning of your article will ensure your work is rated down by me - and probably many more Helium members. Please don't do it!
Learn more about this author, Sandra Piddock.
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