The top three things that separate professionals from amateur

•     Proper use of Associated Press style grammar, spelling and punctuation
•     Research and proper use of sources
•     Meeting deadlines

The basics of writing an article on Helium

Original Ideas

The best path to rewards and recognition on Helium is to write about what you know. Consider your purpose—will the article contribute to the reader’s knowledge? Is this a new angle on a subject? While you are writing, put yourself in your reader’s place: being knowledgeable, interesting and engaging is highly valued by readers. A well-organized article, with a well-defined beginning, middle, and end, is the ideal. Avoid making sweeping generalizations.  Instead, back up your ideas using concrete supporting details and credible sources.

Research and citing sources

Solid research is the hallmark of a useful article, one that the reader will want to bookmark and share with friends. Your writing will have the best chance of long-term success if you demonstrate your ability to find relevant, engaging material to support your arguments. As a website, Helium wants to make the most of its medium and give the reader the best experience possible.

Provide sources for anything you write that is not widely known or accepted or that you researched for your article. For example, you don’t need to cite a source when stating a widely known and accepted fact such as “In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.”

Sources: Try to stick to government sites, respected third-party sites, business sites, and associations’ websites. Wikipedia is a great place to start out when you’re zeroing in on a subject, but be sure to back up anything you read there with additional reliable sources. Examples of reputable sources include many sites that end in .edu, .gov or .org.

Citations: Think of how your local newspaper writes its stories. Reporters don't list sources at the end of the article. Weave the citation into the sentence with a hyperlink for information that exists online.

• Example: According to the Mayo Clinic, the usual treatment for kidney stones is waiting it out.
  • Note: Link to the exact page on which you found the information – not the home page.
• Here’s how to use a direct quote:  According to the Mayo Clinic, “watchful waiting is the most common treatment.”
• If the piece you are citing is not available online, write: According to the Women's Health Collaborative’s “Know Your Kidney Stones” pamphlet, ...

If, however, you want to help the reader find more general information on the subject in the article and/or you used a few sources that you felt were very helpful, you can add them at the end of the article. For example, “For more about kidney stones, visit the Mayo Clinic’s section on kidney stones. Also check out the kidney diseases clearinghouse.” Please, however, don’t plop links at the end of the piece because you were too lazy to do the proper citation in the piece.

If a title asks for analysis, review or plot summary, do not include the entire poem, story or piece of prose referred to. Only provide examples from parts of an original work to support your piece and reference them appropriately.

You can refer the reader to locations for more information at the end of your article. Do not refer to yourself as the author of articles included in “for more information.”

Formatting

The Helium style is each paragraph starting flush left (no indentations, like this page) and there should be a line space between paragraphs.

Single space your paragraphs. Use one blank line between paragraphs. Only put one space between the end of a sentence (the period) and the beginning of the next sentence.

Review additional information about how to publish an article on Helium.

Subheads: Subheads help break up your article into readable portions. Subheads are also important to Search Engine Optimization, so try to write subheads that include the keywords in the titles.

Subheads should be separated by one blank line above and one below. The first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. (Examples: Changes to the iPhone, Writing for profit)

Capitalization: Minimize the use of capitalized words and phrases in Helium articles. Not only does a string of words or a sentence in all caps look amateurish, but it is a User Agreement violation.

Voice and style

When writing for the web, get to the point of your article in the first sentence. It’s easy to click away from an article that doesn’t appear to be on-topic in the first sentence or two. Just state what the piece is about. Draw readers in with relevant, interesting facts, questions or anecdotes. Here’s a great example of what not to do: “This article will discuss ...” There is no need to preface the article with this type of introductory sentence.

Take a professional approach to your nonfiction work. If you want to start your freelance career and write for Helium Content Source publishing partners, write with an authoritative, unbiased tone. Demonstrate your expertise in an approachable way. Communicate with honesty, integrity, and confidence. Do not be overly formal and academic; conversely, do not be overly sarcastic or silly.  Avoid clichés.

• Use of first person: Most freelancers will tell you that publishers do not want articles that start with “I feel…” or “When I did this…” Personal anecdotes can lend credence only when you are conveying personal expertise. For example, “As a plumber with 30 years of experience, I can tell you how to fix a leaky faucet..,” or, “As a mother of five girls, I know how to handle a teenager’s first crush.” Ask yourself whether your experience really adds anything to the reader’s knowledge.
• Second and third person: Most knowledge-based articles are written in the second person (you) or in the third person (it, he, they).
• Quotation marks for publication names: Per AP style, put quotation marks around all composition titles, i.e., opera, books, television shows, song titles, poem titles, movies.
• American English and British English: All titles of articles on Helium should be in American English (“The color of civilization” not “The colour of civilisation”). Our strong preference for the text of articles is American English, but due to our international audience, we will accept British spellings in articles. Be aware, however, that use of British spellings might result in lower ranking through rating.
• Ending an article with a cheery, “Hope you enjoy this!” leaves the distinct aftertaste of “amateur” with the reader.

Conventions

Helium is a U.S.-based site that requires proper English grammar, spelling and punctuation in each article. Helium follows AP style on questions of grammar, spelling and punctuation. We suggest you buy a copy of the AP Stylebook – it’ll be one of the best investments you make towards quality writing. While we want to encourage writers to submit articles and learn from the ratings and member feedback, we will remove articles that are not written to these criteria. In the case of continual violations of our Writing Standards, if your articles are repeatedly removed for low quality and you refuse to seek help, we will remove your articles and terminate your account.

To learn more about Helium's style, visit the Helium Style Guide.