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Helium is a site where amateur writers become professional writers. As such, a Helium writer should write like a professional. Beginning an article by repeating the title is a great way to look amateurish.

When others read the article, the title appears at the top of the page. Having it appear again at the beginning of the first paragraph is not only overkill, but annoying to the reader. Repeating the title takes away precious space from the article itself, and it does not tell the reader anything they did not already know.

Some Helium writers find that having the title at the top of the page as they write the article helps them stay on topic. That can be done without repeating the title in the published article. If it helps you to have the title at the top of the page as you write, put it at the top of your rough draft, and then edit it out when you copy the final article to Helium. That simple step will make you look much more professional.

And this is not to say that you should not repeat any part of the title in your article. Working at least some of the words of the title into the first few sentences is a good idea. And in some cases, making the title part of the first sentence works very well. If, say, the topic is "My favorite breakfast cereal," it's fine to begin the article with, "My favorite breakfast cereal is...."

However, it does not look very professional if the breakfast cereal article begins like this: MY FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL

Frosted Flakes

Unfortunately, many Helium writers start articles that way. With only a few simple edits, those articles would have a professional look, without losing any of their content. And that professional look would convey the article's message much better.

In the example of the breakfast cereal article, beginning it with, "My favorite breakfast cereal is Frosted Flakes," is certainly not the only way to work the title into the first paragraph. The author could choose instead to show rather than tell. In that case, she or he would not necessarily use the word favorite, but would convey the idea. The article could begin like this:

"The taste of Frosted Flakes always takes me back to my childhood. No other breakfast cereal rivals its goodness, its crunchy sweetness, or the memories it stirs up for me."

After reading those two sentences, there will be no doubt in the reader's mind that the author's favorite breakfast cereal is Frosted Flakes. The title's intent has been conveyed very well, without annoying the reader (unless they don't like to read about someone else's favorite breakfast cereal, and if they don't, they probably won't be reading that article), and without taking any space away from fleshing out the idea.

Whether the article begins with, "My favorite breakfast cereal is...." or begins with a description, that should be as good as having the title at the top of the page for keeping the article on topic. Either way, the rest of the article will flow from that main idea.

For writers who still feel best about having the title at the top of the page as they work, it is advisable to revise the article until the title's main idea is naturally conveyed in the first paragraph and the rest of the article seems to flow from it effortlessly. If the article seems naked or off topic without the title at its beginning, that is a sign that it is not yet a professional looking article.

Since Helium is a site that turns amateur writers into professionals, it should naturally follow that it is a site for writing in a professional style. A professionally written article conveys the title's meaning so well that there is no place for repeating it. As Helium writers, we should never settle for less.

Learn more about this author, Megan Stoddard.
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