• Tips for writing knowledge articles
• Tips for writing Debate articles
• Fact-checking on Helium

Tips for writing knowledge articles

In an Internet world dominated by blog formats and instant communication, writers should realize that a Helium article must be more than a personal commentary, invoke more than a chatty style and must tell more than your own experiences. We want thoughtful, original articles that expand our knowledge treasury. Your unique life experiences and perspectives remain central to sharing what you know. How to strike an effective balance is the key to success.

Use these tips:

• Look at the site before initiating a new title (search thoroughly, using synonyms and other word groupings). See if your topic already exists.
• Aim for the top! Write a self-sustaining article that’s good enough to be the lead article.
• Enrich your article with personal experiences that will educate others. (Don’t tell us about your dream last night or how good your coffee tastes right now.)
• Avoid teasers and openers that read as posted responses to others’ articles. Remember to view your article as definitive for the group.

In general, think big. Think top of the heap. Think long-term value to readers. Watch your ratings rise.

To improve your articles:

• Review the Helium Writing Standards in Help.
• Scour Helium’s training forums. Find writing tips, peer critiques and writing advice. Go to the Writer’s Workshop forum on our discussion boards to unlock your writing potential.
• Check out the Members’ Feedback forum, where members can post links to their Helium articles to receive real opinions from other Helium writers.
• Get your very own mentor. Helium members are available via private email to help you further develop your articles. If you would like to be paired with a mentor, please forward the article you would like help with to mentor@helium.com. Write “Looking for a mentor” in the subject line. Or maybe you’d like to mentor someone? Write “I want to be a mentor!” in the subject line.

Tips for writing Debate articles

Helium Debate provides relief to the points of light lost in the vast Internet world of political blogs, websites, social networking sites and opinion. Here you write to the side of the argument you agree with. Then you will rate only the articles on the side you agree with: Help the most persuasive piece rise to the top!

In order to make your mark in the world of Helium Debate, learn some important tips and avoid some of the pitfalls:

• Consider your audience. Treat the opposition with respect and consideration. Present your views authoritatively without bombast. Measured words and reasoned tones earn higher rankings than articles filled with rants and arrogant hyperbole.
• Don’t be wishy-washy. Pick one side and write to support it.
• Build a solid structure. Don’t state unsubstantiated opinions. Vague generalizations add no real value. Use factual information to make your case.
• Never refer to or reply to other writers who have written to that title group, either by name or suggestion. You may consider arguments that others have raised, but do so in a general and considerate way.
• Short rants are a no-no. Keep articles within the suggested 400- to 1,500-word range.
• Focus. Don’t go off on a tangent. You’ll lose your argument — and your audience.

To improve your Debate articles:

• Review the Helium Writing Standards in the Help.
• Scour Helium’s training forums. Find writing tips, peer critiques and writing advice. Go to the Writer’s Workshop forum on our discussion boards to unlock your writing potential.
• Check out the Members’ Feedback Forum, where members can post links to their Helium articles to receive real opinions from other Helium writers.
• Get your very own mentor. Helium members are available via private email to help you further develop your articles. If you would like to be paired with a mentor, please forward the article you would like help with to mentor@helium.com. Write “Looking for a mentor” in the subject line. Or maybe you’d like to mentor someone? Write to mentor@helium.com with “I want to be a mentor!” in the subject line.

Fact-checking on Helium

Quality is of the utmost importance to Helium and we’re making strides every day to improve the writing on our site and the skills of our members. We recently launched a fact-checking program with a vetted group of dedicated fact-checkers to verify information.

Our fact-checkers are here to help you improve the quality of your articles and earnings potential. By ensuring the accuracy of Helium’s content one article at a time, we increase the value that Helium provides to the world.

If you are contacted by a Helium fact-checker about your article, please follow the directions in the email you receive. And feel free to contact us with any questions. We’re here to help!

Tips for fact-checking your articles

Who hasn’t read an incorrect fact supporting a story? You know, a real whopper that leaves you scratching your head. The only thing that’s worse is when you wrote it yourself! Errors of fact, misquoting a person or mistakes of simple math can hurt a writer’s credibility and raise red flags about the validity of other information in an article.

Just about every prominent magazine, journal and book publisher employs legions of fact-checkers. These ranks of mostly young people (CNN’s Anderson Cooper and novelist Jay McInerney were once fact-checkers) spend hours going over the works of even the best writers with a fine-tooth comb. The need for correct facts is just as important in articles from members submitting their first piece to Helium as it is for stories that appear in The Atlantic Monthly or Technology Review.

Here are some tips for fact-checking your article before you submit to Helium, a Helium Marketplace publisher, a Helium nonprofit partner or a newspaper partner:

Look for errors in the following data:

1. Dates
2. Addresses
3. Cities/towns/states/countries and their spelling
4. Proper names and their spelling
5. Names of organizations, clubs, groups, etc.
6. Data found in scientific, technical and instructional pieces

There are a few simple rules about where to find information:

1. Use primary sources, when available, to check the facts. These include:

• Autobiographies, letters, diaries, email and speeches such as the Declaration of Independence, “The Diary of Anne Frank” or Plato’s Republic
• Official government records, such as the National Security Data Archives
• Raw research data
• Interviews

Many of these sources can be found online, but please be sure they are from reputable websites.

2. Use quality secondary sources if you can’t find any primary sources. These include:

• Approved encyclopedic resources, such as Britannica online or dictionaries
• The American National Biography database
• Magazine and newspaper articles
• Political commentary, articles and reference pieces via online reference databases, “Facts on File” books or other compilation websites.
• Textbooks

A word about Wikipedia: This popular online general-reference source has increasingly become the starting point for many authors when researching a story. It’s easy to use and the information appears comprehensive. But beware! Using wiki software, anyone can supply or edit the “facts” in Wikipedia for any entry, leading to accusations of bias or misleading information to be passed off as fact.