by Barbara Whitlock

Created on: March 12, 2007   Last Updated: August 04, 2008

Helium encourages writers to share their real world experiences; yet using personal experience effectively in articles can pose challenges. What makes an article too specific to an individual? How can one craft that experience under shared article titles?

This article helps writers learn how to share experiences more effectively in articles. Writers need to order experience into broader analyses, while always keeping in mind that each article joins a wider group of writers under shared titles that will be compared in ratings.

Each person comes to Helium with unique life experiences. From those experiences one's knowledge expands. Bringing that knowledge to Helium enables others across the globe to benefit from the knowledge shared. Knowledge grows and expands; and it can rise on Helium. But efforts can also fall flat, if writers do not frame experiential knowledge in an effective way.

Common errors:

> The "let me tell you about my whole life" error: Each title group has to focus on a particular issue. Anyone who tries to tell about his whole life will miss the mark. Always keep in mind: How could other writers contribute to this title group? How could raters compare?

> The "my horrible day" error: Sometimes writers submit articles that describe a sequence of non-thematically connected events that occur on a bad (or good) day. These are completely ineffective. Imagine comparing 700 "my bad day" articles!

> The "my life/my issue" error: In these articles, writers do focus on an issue, but they frame this relevant to their individual life, rather than in a way that invites other writers to join the discussion. Their life experience becomes the dominant focus of the article.

Effective methods for incorporating life experience into articles:

> The structure: Structure your article in a way that makes the focused issue the dominant aspect of the discussion. Your particular experiences contribute evidence for your perspective on that issue. However, if you rely on personal experience as your only evidence, this may not enable you to present your views most authoritatively. On occasion, this can be effective, however. If you have job experience in a certain realm or advanced study, this can lend authority to your argument. But the personal story subsists within a larger framework.

> The presentation: Package your personal experience as evidence between broader analyses. This enables the reader to focus on the issue rather than just your experience. You should introduce the issue first, try to include some factual information, and then sandwich in personal experience as an aspect of your evidence. Conclude by reiterating that broader theme; and show how your experience has affected your perspective on this.

Two factors should guide writers in using personal experience in articles. First, the experience should provide support to a more sound analytical structure. Personal experience usually does not persuade if it stands alone, if it becomes the entire focus of an article. However, on occasion, work experience or other incidents may lend extra authoritative weight to your analysis.

Second, the writer must always keep in mind that his article will join others in an entire article group. The topic framed for discussion must be focused on a comparable theme. Most exclusively-focused "my life experiences" articles remain ineffective.

Reflect on all kinds of pockets of knowledge you have acquired in your life, through study, circumstances, work, or other pursuits. Share what you know. Use your experiences to support your larger analyses. But keep the personal in balance with the analytical.

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