The process of writing an article involves four basic steps. The first would be choosing a subject and limiting it to the space and length which will hold the attention of your readers. The second would be analyzing the subject into its main points, which form the framework of the discussed subject. The third would be to organize the material and arranging the points into a workable outline that will serve as a basis for an orderly presentation on the subject. The fourth would then be to write the article. This would include filling in the outline and giving a detailed discussion of each of the points and this would be your final step.
Give careful attention to the structure of paragraphs and their sentences. Also you should always pay careful attention to use the right words, having your commas and periods in their proper place along with any other punctuation. And keep the paragraphs separated by their particular points and details.
The subject for the ordinary short article should be something familiar such as an every day topic which is well within the range of the writers real interest and knowledge. Careful research always would be a plus as you must be intent on making your work factual.
For instance, I’m a fully trained drafter and designer in the architectural field, so I am very familiar with the aspects of my trade. This subject I could easily write articles on as an authority. The same could be said about religion as I am an ordained Baptist minister. Any subject I would write on Christianity in my particular denomination would then be on the level of an expert author in that field.
But if I had to write an article on lawn maintenance or gardening, I would have to first familiarize myself with the aspects and methods of the subjects and then write the articles. I would do this by studying more than one authors work on the matter and then write on what I had learned.
When a writer chooses a subject to write on, he actually enters into a contract with their reader to furnish an adequate and reliable rendering of it. Actually, it is impossible to do this in an article of three to five hundred words if the subject is a large one like writing a legal paper on the ramifications of a new set of laws.
For example, a good discussion of designing a high rise apartment building would fill a huge book or even several books. I could however write about certain aspects of the subject or even a certain part of it in one article but not the entire subject.
So in closing, remember that an article should be a brief and well structured discussion and you should choose your content carefully.
