by Joan Inong

Created on: November 07, 2009

Leapfrogging allows Helium writers to fix any problems associated with their articles, from basic spelling and punctuation errors to details and improving factual information. Generally, leapfrogging is a good choice for those who want to revamp their articles in a noticeable way. Many times, if the leapfrog is not immediately apparent to the rater, the leapfrog will not be accepted. In order to ensure that your leapfrog is successful, here are a few tips and techniques for leapfrogging your Helium articles.

Before you leapfrog your article, you have to decide what kind of amendments you are going to make. Are they generally punctuation, spelling, or grammar problems? Are they content problems, such as that dealing with facts and details? Do you want to write a completely revamped article?

Punctuation, spelling, grammar errors

These are generally easy to make but they can pose problems for your raters, who may or may not be paying special attention to these tiny details. However, although great raters will more than likely look for these errors, you cannot assume that all will. This is why it is important to reread your articles before you hit the "Submit" button. Scan the article for any of these simple errors and fix them, so that you don't have to use the leapfrog tool afterwards. Save leapfrogs for really big problems.

Content errors

Sometimes, you will be asked to check your "facts" and other information, either by other Helium members or from the Helium staff itself. If you are asked to do so, make sure that you reread the whole article first (preferably aloud), and then make a list of all the "facts" that you have included. If you are sure of the fact and its source, include the source at the very bottom of the article. If you recheck the fact and you are uncertain of it, delete it and include some other relevant fact.

It may also be helpful to create more paragraphs within your article, at least for the meantime, so that you can easily look for errors. Sometimes, it is more difficult to look for errors when you are examining a large block-style paragraph.

Formatting issues

If you didn't click on the "Preview" button before you submitted your article and later find out that your article looks a little unusual, you can also use the leapfrog button to fix those largely visual problems.

Creating short and concise paragraphs is beneficial to your article; your raters will enjoy these types of articles because they are easier on the eyes and they flow quite smoothly. If you are copying and pasting from a word processor, you may also want to click on the "Preview" button before you submit the article.

Sometimes, you will need to use the leapfrog button to create a whole new article, either because you are unhappy with the current one or it may have become "out of date." These are usually very successful leapfrogs, since you can generally use the older article as a foundation or base for the new one, and the old article essentially becomes a "draft."

These tips and techniques will hopefully help you leapfrog your articles successfully and more consistently.

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