Five Optical Illusions To Make Your Writing Look Smarter, Sharper

Editors Note: Daphne Gray-Grant has posted another must read article for web writers that offers 5 tips for making or articles look great. Article directories and webmasters love to see articles formatted in a clean, clear and easy to read way. These 5 tips will make your articles stand out from the ordinary.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

*The artwork of M.C. Escher shows crazy worlds in which staircases appear to go nowhere and people "sit" upside down or sideways.

*The plywood pillar at your local museum is painted a creamy, mottled white, with deep grey veins and other imperfections so it looks like real marble.

*When you put your dinner on a 12-inch plate instead of a 17-inch one, you eat less food and feel more satisfied by it.

What do these three facts have in common? They are all optical illusions. Illusions are important in writing, too. A piece that looks great will read better than one that is visually dull or confusing.

I'm old enough to have attended college when students commonly submitted essays written by hand. But even back in those dark, pre-computer ages, I learned pretty quickly that typewriting my work guaranteed a grade that was at least 10% higher! Anyone who doesn't pay attention to presentation is like the college student who insists on writing by hand -- or the chef who slaves over a luscious five-star meal and then slops it onto a blue plastic plate. But here's the good news. It's easy to improve your writing presentation. Let me give you five simple tricks you can adopt.

1) ...

Read More...

A former journalist, Daphne Gray-Grant is a writing and editing coach who helps people writer better, faster. Visit her website at http://www.publicationcoach.com where you can sign up for her free weekly newsletter on power writing.

Article Source: Bytepowered Articles

The Three Biggest Mistakes That Webwriters Make

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Writing for the web sometimes seems like a mysterious, almost mystical process. It's also the subject of much conflicting advice.

"Write short," say some experts. People who read the Internet only scan. "Nah," retort others. "Be absolutely sure you answer all of the customers' questions. Write as long as you need to make the sale."

Instead of getting stuck in the long-versus-short debate, I like to cut through the bafflegab by focusing on a web writing trick that's wonderfully simple, straightforward and non-controversial. It is: Think like your customer.

Why? The reason is simple. If you think like your customer, more people will read your website and if you're selling something, more of them will buy.

If you doubt the effectiveness of this advice, I urge you to imagine yourself walking into a retail shop. How would you feel if the clerk was dressed in a Chanel jacket, looked down her nose at you, frowned and turned in the opposite direction when you asked her a question?

Not a very welcoming thought, is it?

But funnily enough, many websites give the impression of being "guarded" by an equally fussy, snobbish clerk. How?

It's the writing...

Read More...

Need to write better, faster? Sign up for Power Writing. Daphne Gray-Grant, a former journalist, and author of this article, is a writing and editing coach. Power Writing is her weekly newsletter and it's free. Sign up at http://www.publicationcoach.com

Article Source: Bytepowered Articles

The 3 Things You Must Remember When Writing Your Sales Letter

By: Jo Han Mok

Writing sales copy is a learnable skill. You aren't writing the next great novel but a short novella that persuades your reader to your desired action. Sales letters are really salesmanship in print. Have you listened to a good salesman before? Not the typical used car type but the smooth salesman who has a quality conversation with you. You have walked out of the store with a new widget and you are convinced it is the smartest purchase you've made all year.

This type of salesmanship is learnable and easier since it's in print. In print you have the opportunity to change your mistakes before publication. However, you don't have the chance to modify your information based on the reader's objections.

The first step is to outline and plan your information so that the points flow seamlessly through the letter. In order to do that...

Read More...

Jo Han Mok is a #1 bestselling author and frequent featured speaker at Internet Marketing bootcamps and conferences. Visit his website for a simple step-by-step plan to profit online in 21 days or less!
http://www.SuperFastProfit.com

Article Source: Bytepowered Articles and Guides

The Effect of Language Translation Scripts on Author Professionalism

By: Angela Abbette

You may have seen some of the latest releases of translation software on the market these days. The ones that will translate your website into 8 to 10 different languages seamlessly. These translation programs, to some extent, do work and add some benefit. But how much benefit?

For many of us, English is our first language, and at least in America, it is the language for business. The internet is chalk full of websites authored in the English language. But business and communication is global. Recent statistics reveal that for the vast majority of internet users online throughout the world, English is not their first language. Roughly two thirds of the global internet user crowd, do not use English. What does this mean for the English language business or communication internet industries? Well, simply, that they are not "language friendly" to the majority of internet users world wide. The solution ...

Read More...

Angela Abbette writes for http://www.hitkingdom.com and is a user of the language translation script found at http://www.upublish.info/translate.html

Article Source: Bytepowered Articles

Proofing - A Critical Function Not to be Overlooked

No matter how hard I try to get it right I always find errors in my writing after it has been posted on the web. Pj Germain has come to the rescue by submitting this article with some great advice for finding mistakes and learning new habits before it's too late. Pete

By: Pj Germain

Business people universally agree that mechanical mistakes detract from the professionalism of communications. However, those with proofreading responsibilities commonly experience real frustrations in producing error-free work. They typically identify certain specific obstacles to accurate proofreading.

1. Overlooking mistakes when proofreading
2. Making time for proofreading in a pressured environment
3. Lacking self-confidence in a reliable system
4. Providing helpful, non-critical proofreading support to others
5. Lacking certainty about acceptable guidelines.

In the rush and pressure of sending communications, writers are often tempted to skip the final proofreading step. They send it to their printer, and approve it without really proofing it. After all, if the content is clear, who will mind a few mechanical mistakes?

In reality, readers do mind. Many readers report that their opinion of the writer's professionalism goes down a notch with every error they see. Mechanical mistakes send a message that writers are not investing much effort in the communication that, in effect, writers do not care.

In addition, overlooked proofreading errors can sometimes change the content often with some significant financial results.

1. One government agency wasted $3 million by not catching a hyphen error when proofreading a purchase order. In originally writing the order, the agency had meant to say, "1,000-foot-long radium bars." The order was typed, "1,000 foot-long radium bars."

Read More...

Pj Germain
FREE Funny Videos
Online Info Directory
Encouragement

Article Source: Bytepowered Articles

Writing On The Web - Part 7

Basic Punctuation

By: Bytepowered.org Staff, Ally

End Punctuation

Here we will start with the end. If it weren't for end punctuation a person would not know if the writer is making a statement, an exclamation or question. Punctuation provides clarity in meaning for its readers.

Period

A period of course ends nearly all sentences, except direct questions and exclamations. If the sentence contains an indirect question then end the sentence with a period, not a question mark.

Example: Ally asked her English composition teacher when Steven King wrote The Shining.

Abbreviations and Periods

A period follows most abbreviations and for some a twenty eight day cycle. Others can be used or not as in the examples below with initial abbreviations.

Standard abbreviations: Mrs., Inc., Dr.

Initials abbreviations: C.P.A, R.N., Ph.D. or CPA, RN OR PhD

Acronyms

Acronyms are abbreviations spoken as words like the examples below. Think we are all familiar with CRS.

Examples: ESP, IRS, USA, SNAFU or CRS

Periods are not used with postal service abbreviations!

I'm guilty of this one, are you?

Examples: PO Box, OH, FL, GA, NY, USA, RD, TSR, LN, AVE,

Comma

The comma is probably the most abused punctuation mark just because it has such a variety of uses. Natural pauses are the most common errors. Commas help to clarify the meaning of your sentences. Reading a sentence to yourself will help you decide where to place it correctly. Again don't over use it and make your writing look cluttered.

If there is more than one comma, start a second sentence at the second one. At that point your heading for a confusing run-on sentence for your reader anyway. Can you tell the subject of the example below? No, because there are more than one. If there is more than one subject in your sentence, then you should have more than one sentence for clarity and ease of reading.

Example: Went to the grocery store today, ran into an old chum while I was there, however, finding the tartar sauce, was foremost in my mind.

Example Fixed: Went to the grocery store today. Ran into an old chum while I was there. However, finding the tartar sauce was foremost in my mind.

Question Mark

Use a question mark at the end of a sentence when asking a direct question. Basically, a question mark in parenthesis, should be used when your information is lacking--such as a birthday, correct number of the year or a word as in spelling. Notice no space needed either between the number and parenthesis.

Example: Robin Williams was born in 1957(?) and went on to be a great actor as well as comedian.

Exclamation Mark

Exclamation marks are used to emphasis or show emotion. As with most punctuation, over usage of an exclamation point lessens its meaning and element of surprise. More than one exclamation point or grouping of them only clutters your work.

Examples: No way! Get out of here! Go home!

Reference: For the grammar unknown to me and research material, the credit goes to The Writer's Brief Handbook, second edition published by Alfred Rosa and Paul Eschholz. Copyright ^© 1996 by Allyn & Bacon.

Ally is an accomplished writer of poetry, essays and articles as well as expert editor at bytepowered.org. She has won two Editor's Choice Awards from The National Library of Poetry(1996-98). These awards were for works of poetry published by The National Library of Congress in a series of anthologies. Also she has some background in graphic communications technology. Contact AllyC: Bytepowered Articles
Copyright^© AllyC 2006

Writing On The Web - Part 6

Making The Most Of A Career In Writing

By: Tony Jacowski

Writing is a skill that can be learned; it is a craft, and words can be used to craft pieces that express a lot. It is also a gift that involves a writer's ability to spin magic out of simple words. If you feel that you can make effective use of words in your writing and create something that will be more interesting and thoughtful than talking, then you can seriously think of a career in this field. A career in writing does not necessarily mean just playing with words; it means making an effort to mold them in order to express something that you cannot achieve when you speak. This is where the magic of writing lies.

Every writer has different reasons behind writing. Some do it just for fun and some take up writing as an income source to earn their living. No matter what the reason, the most important thing is that you should have the ability to create magic on paper by penning down words. Writing can give any individual a chance to profit. If you have the flair for writing and you want to take it up as your career then you have several opportunities in this field.

Career Options

Each career opportunity in writing may come with certain drawbacks and since it is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it will take some time for you to start earning real money. The career opportunities that lie in this field range from positions such as print journalist, editor, freelance writer, content writer, technical writer, copy editor and more.

You can make a career in print journalism by taking up the profession of a newspaper and magazine reporter. This profession will give you a chance to write on various topics from politics to fashion to human interest. The best part is that you will get the opportunity gather the information yourself, in order to create a story or an article out of it. People with good writing skills can also opt for content or technical writing. If you don't want to work under someone you can also opt for freelance writing, although there is uncertainty of your articles getting published, but you can surely give it a shot. People with good writing skills can write novels and short stories and get them published. Although publishing a book is again not very certain, once completed it can ensure a good profit. It requires a lot of commitment as far as time is concerned. You can also try your hand at corporate writing, which again is lucrative and tightly controlled.

Blogging

Creating a blog account is another option for people who are interested in writing. You can create an account on the free blogging sites on the Internet and promote it through article marketing and link development. You can also try online writing where you can place articles on the Internet.

Writing may not seem to be a very promising career to many, but it certainly provides a great deal of satisfaction to those who find it interesting and have a penchant for it. It is advisable to practice writing everyday and be open to reading articles written by others, as you will get to learn more and improve your writing skills. There is no quick fix magic formula that will turn you into a good writer. It is a life's work.

Article Source: http://bytepowered.org/articles

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.