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| Yes | 20% | 284 votes | Total: 1436 votes | |
| No | 80% | 1152 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
Articles should clearly state the message within the first paragraph, without repeating the title. In school, we should have been taught that the first sentence of each paragraph is important. I remember one English teacher telling us to read only the first sentence of each paragraph in an article, then make a few notes. After that, go back and read the entire article, paragraph by paragraph.
The opening sentence of the paragraph should give a general idea of the entire paragraph. The paragraph delves deeper into the subject, giving facts that are not covered in the opening sentence. These items are important to the article and are useful for a full understanding of the subject.
As the article progresses, the first sentence should introduce the subject of the paragraph. While beginning an article with a copy of the title is not always useful, repeating a variation of the title within this sentence could be useful to remind the person of the subject. Repeating titles too often doesn't come across as a professionally written article, but a gentle reminder is constructive.
Writing in a positive, professional manner is another important factor when writing articles for Helium. Anyone can write, but not everyone can pen an article that brings understanding or awareness to a person. Being professional, checking grammar and punctuation, and being accurate are marks of a good author.
Repeating an article's title immediately does not convey anything new to the reader and he may pass it up for the next article. Think of how many articles you have read on Helium or other sites in which the first paragraph repeats the title word for word. Do you continue reading or pass it up for the next article? The first sentence will either capture the reader's attention or cause him to move on to the next article.
When writing to a 400 or 500 word minimum, it is wise to not add words just to make the count. Perhaps five minutes of research will yield some facts that you can include in your article. If not, walk away from the article for a little while. Often, when you return, you will have the words ready to be added.
The final paragraph should conclude what the article is about. Wrapping up an article doesn't mean including the title once again; it clearly let the reader know that the article is nearly finished. In the case of Helium articles, we don't have to include our name or byline, but we do need to wrap up the article. Like a gift that's been unwrapped, the reader will know it's time to enjoy the gift or take the message and put it to good use.
Learn more about this author, Jinianne Lutz.
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