Pursuing a career in writing and reading requires a lot of essential skills. Usually, these skills are taught in schools and are continuously taught until the end of your academic years. Skills in being an article writer require more than just knowing how to read and write but require so much more than that. The first impression of the hiring managers usually starts in your resume, as an applicant applying for a position, it is expected that you produce a well-written resume. Various resume examples could help you online. Let this article be your guide if you are aspiring to become an effective article writer. Besides, who doesn’t want to earn money by reading and writing? Right! So, keep on reading to be enlightened.
- Do your research first!
Before you complete an article or even start writing an article, researching is the first and most essential key. Especially when you are given a topic that you are unfamiliar with, every writer should always do their research to gather ideas and points on a topic they want to write about. Research may also include: planning a draft or a title, browsing through different websites to find a reliable source, finding key points of the topic, how the outcome of the article should look like, planning a structure, and more.
- Do not plagiarize!
Being an article writer means you are required to write content with authenticity and originality, though some ideas may have already been published on the internet, it is your job to create output more eye-catching and interesting than the others (But of course, the extra entertainment content should still connect to your topic). Plagiarizing is the biggest mistake you’ll ever make if you are in any sort of writing job.
- Always proofread
Once you have completed an article you might think that your work is already “perfect” and does not need proofreading or checking, but that’s where you are very wrong. Writing an article takes up so much time and energy, yes even when you’re just sitting and typing, you may also encounter some errors no matter how focused you are in writing. Proofreading is also one of the most essential keys to writing an article. In proofreading, you may also use digital proofreaders, AI-generated grammar checkers, and more.
- Time Management
An article writer is usually tasked with 3 or more articles to be done in a day or so. Though being an article writer doesn’t take up too much of your time, it is also important that you know how to effectively manage your time to get things done immediately. One article could only take up an hour of your time, but if you know how to effectively manage your time healthily, it might be a big help. Creating a routine for writing and passing your articles could be a great help. A tip in time management is to set a time preferably an hour in writing, half an hour for researching, and perhaps 20 minutes in proofreading and changes.
- Always check the quality of your content
This is also one of the most important skills one writer should possess. Because undeniably, being an article writer doesn’t limit you to knowing how to write fluently in perfect English; the quality and connectivity of your topic content should always be in your consideration. Some writers may forget the quality because they are more focused on completing the required quantity of words to be written in an article, which is a common mistake. An article writer should know how to check a quality piece of a written text and fix any grammatical, capitalization, or punctuation errors in their work.
Conclusion
Generally, article writers must be knowledgeable about the skills they should possess to create work that will be useful to the client. The skill of an article writer is not only limited to knowing how to write in English but it involves so much more than that. To become an effective article writer you must know these skills: Communication skills, problem-solving, analytic skills, cooperation, consistency, and fluency in your work.
