by Karon Brandt

Created on: April 02, 2009   Last Updated: August 18, 2010

An article is "a nonfiction literary composition that forms an independent part of a publication, as a newspaper or magazine." (American Heritage Dictionary)

The rules for writing an effective article are similar no matter who the publisher is.

Fact-based, "knowledge" articles are the mainstay of Helium's existence. Although Helium welcomes Creative Writers. For those who love to write poetry, short stories, memoirs, etc., Helium rewards them with badges of recognition but no blue writing stars or upfront pay.

Effective articles should use 1) moderately formal language, 2) a mixture of concrete and abstract words, 3) short- to medium-length paragraphs, 4) a variety of sentence lengths to add interest, and should use 5) few, if any, first or second pronouns, and 6) limit the use of contractions. (Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers, Second Edition, 1991)

The Handbook also recommends that the writer 7) maintain a conversational tone, keeping a short distance between the writer and reader and 8) avoid sexist and inflammatory language (especially in debates and controversial topics), which risks alienating the reader before he finishes reading.

Helium is a family-oriented site. Writer's guidelines are simple: no profanity or adult content; stay on topic; and don't promote yourself or your business within an article. Your article cannot contain personally identifying information, which would negate the "anonymity' requirement for rating articles.

All quoted sources must be cited; "borrowed material" must be properly credited. Sourcing work properly is expected. Plagiarists will have their articles and accounts deleted.

Note: Helium will delete articles that contain many capitalized words - including headings and subheadings. Writing in "all caps" is considered "shouting" on the Internet, and it looks unprofessional.

Helium emphasizes proper formatting: single-spaced sentences and left-aligned margins, with a blank space between paragraphs. Lots of "white space" makes easier reading for web readers. As a U.S. based site, whose readers are mostly English speaking, proper English is encouraged; alternate British spellings are acceptable.

Helium's articles must be stand-alone; no "to-be-continued" works allowed. Web readers prefer word lengths of 400 - 1500 words.

Helium encourages magazine style writing - no first person articles except for the creative writing section - and How-to articles may use second person.

Use neutral, objective words; avoid words with heavy

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