by Glory Lennon

Created on: April 23, 2009   Last Updated: May 23, 2010

Though you worked for hours, perhaps days, on that article for Helium, you simply can’t understand why it sank and stayed at the bottom of the heap. You thought it was pretty darn good, maybe the best you ever did, so why the low rating?

First thing to remember is low rated articles happen to all of us, so don’t despair. As with everything in life, practice, perseverance, learning from mistakes and the willingness to seek help make perfect. At the very least, low ratings offer a chance for improvement. It is the wise among us that take this as a nudge to improve our writing skills, so be smart and take heed.

Reasons for low rated articles  can be easily found by checking out Helium’s Writing Standards. As Helium’s credo says, knowledge is power. Acquainting yourself with these standards before you post another article will empower you. By learning what is acceptable, what is required, what is forbidden at Helium and how to present your work properly you will ensure a much better outcome. Ignore Helium Writing Standards and low ratings will continue to plague you.

Spelling.

Misspelled words can kill an article like nothing else and there truly is no excuse for them. You should be checking for misspellings constantly as we all tend to think much faster than we write. You should also have at least two dictionaries and a thesaurus within easy reach and they should be used whenever in doubt. Then there is spell-check on most computers so use it but do not make the mistake of relying on it too much. Spell-check has a problem recognizing adverbs such as dismissively. It insists it and many others like it aren’t real words but we know otherwise. Spell-check also can find no error when you write “Has care it reed” when you meant to write “His car is red.” We should use Spell-check but we need to know when to ignore it.

Grammar.

Your article will sink to the bottom and stay there if no one can make sense of it. Grammar, therefore, is essential. Verb tenses and pronouns must be uniform throughout the article and used properly. Finding the correct word for your meaning is crucial as well. Do you really know the difference between effect and affect? Do you know when to use your, you’re and yore? You would be surprised how many people don’t. Never hurts to check. That is what the dictionary is for, not to make you feel stupid but to make you sound smart.

Punctuation.

It is quite astonishing but many people

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