by John W. Paulus

Created on: February 24, 2009   Last Updated: September 06, 2009

One of the most unique aspects to the Helium website is the peer rating system. This system can have good effects, and it can have bad effects. Here are some of the most common ways the ratings system impacts Helium's writers:

Encouragement. The first effect of peer ratings on Helium's writers is encouragement. There are few things that are more encouraging than seeing an email from another Helium writer who has rated one of your articles telling you how much they enjoy the article. This kind of feedback that occurs through the rating system at Helium is invaluable in keeping you motivated as a writer at Heliu

Discouragement. Just as any system that has rewards must have sanctions, a system of encouragement may also produce discouragement. There are times that you will get an email that, instead of telling you how much the reader enjoyed the article, they will tell you how much they didn't enjoy the article and what was wrong with your article. These types of experiences can, unfortunately, detract from your experience in writing on Helium. While it is important to try and focus on the positive, you need to be aware that you will get these types of ratings and be aware of the potential for discouragement so that you might head it off at the pass. Instead of allowing yourself to become discouraged, try to use the emails as a way to recognize where you can improve your writing.

Improvement. This is perhaps the most exciting effect of peer ratings on Helium's writers. The peer rating system allows writers to learn from others in a number of ways. First of all, by doing ratings themselves writers can see what other writers write like. It helps them to help their editing, so that when they get to their own articles they are more likely to be effective editors. In addition, the rating system allows Helium writers to receive feedback that offers ways to improve their writing. Just because you get an email that says a particular article was riddled with incorrect punctuation, doesn't mean that every article you write has to be riddled with incorrect punctuation. In fact, it is an opportunity for you to go back and learn some of those punctuation principals again, so that in the future your writing will be improved.

While there may be other effects of peer ratings on Helium's writers, these are three of the most common effects that you can observe while writing and rating at Helium.

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