I'd like feedback on my article: A South Indian Rasam Recipe Without Tomatoes

1. 92

   Venkatachari Mposted 7 years ago

   Hi Hubbers,
   
   I'd like some help with passing the Quality Assessment Process. Will you please give feedback on my article A South Indian Rasam Recipe Without Tomatoes.
   
   I edited this article tens of times. But, it is not being featured. I made the corrections already suggested by the HP team and our friends on my previous forum post also. But, I don't find any more defects in it.
   
   So, I seek your help once again. What can I do to improve it? Thanks!

   replyreport
   1. 77

      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      There are a few minor things which may, or may not help.
      
      You over-stuffed the keyword 'rasam recipe'. The phrase appears 31 times, which is way too often. Can you call it rasam instead of Rasam Recipe? Or mix it up a little. Remove the quotation marks and upper case, unless at the beginning of a sentence. You don't say, "I'm going to make a Chicken Soup Recipe today." You'd say, "I'm going to make chicken soup today."
      
      Give your reader some information about rasam . Maybe begin the intro with the section that starts, "Rasam literally means juice in Indian languages. So, it is just like a juice recipe in a more dilute form."
      
      And it's "just like you drink coffee or tea." No need for the definite article.
      
      Have you run it through Grammarly? There is a lot of awkward phrasing throughout the article, for example, " I consume it even as a drink also at times (if I do not take it with meals) just like you drink the coffee or tea."
      
      "I also consume it as a drink, in the same way you drink coffee or tea."
      
      There's quite bit of work to do grammar-wise to get it polished enough for a niche site.
      
      Also the photos are quite blurry. You might think about taking them again. Try to hold your camera/phone on a fixed surface or object instead of in your hands. I often use a pile of books.
      
      Good luck.

      replyreport
      1. 92

         Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you, Bev, for your suggestions. I have been busy in preparations for our New Years's Day today. That's why I didn't come online till now to thank you.
         
         I shall workout on your suggestions. I already checked the grammar with Grammarly and it didn't point any corrections. But you mentioned some good points which I need to consider. I will try to change the photos also. And, that your trick of placing the phone on a fixed surface is a wonderful idea. My hands get shaking when clicking the shots. Your idea will be of much help to me.
         
         Thanks once again for your nice feedback. Blessings.

         replyreport
2. 100

   aesta1posted 7 years ago

   Great suggestion about the photos. My camera just stopped functioning so now I only have my phone. Thanks.

   replyreport
3. 100

   aesta1posted 7 years ago

   I agree with theraggededge suggestions about over stuffing your article with the keyword, rasam recipe. You have the paragraphs well laid. You just have to tighten these paragraphs through edits. Use Grammarly and if you know an English native speaker, you can ask for a quick read through of your article. I do this because I learned my English in a country where English is a second language.

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Aesta, for your advice. I will go through it.

      replyreport
4. 91

   paperfacetsposted 7 years ago

   Your title is all you need for SEO. Do not be afraid to trim all subtitles. Single word titles as Interesting Facts, Cooking Time, Ingredients is okay.  No need to put your keywords thoughtout your narrative. Clean up all your pictures and put into thumbnails. Leave two or three full sized. One editor asked me to make all sentences as short as possible for my recipe edit job. Throw out the word clutter with the dishpan water. Any personal thoughts or antidotes can be shortened and put in conclusion or intro.
   
   View through the Mobile Preview to get a concise word flow that touches on the task only in the instructions section.
   
   This is a recipe that showcases the use of spices in daily diet. What are the benefits?  I know American culture could benefit with reasons to use spices for health. I believe this is a good recipe for everyones file box or data device!

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your nice advice. I will try to trim the subtitles and sentences. I can mention the benefits. But, they want some sound backup for the health benefits to prove them. That's why I had to remove Health Benefits paragraph and put it as interesting facts and shortened the content also. My whole article is of 1000 words only.
      Anyway, I shall try to improve it with all the above suggestions received from you, theraggededge, and others.

      replyreport
      1. 92

         Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I believe that I have gone through my article thoroughly and improved it as best as I can.
         
         There are no grammar mistakes now. I do not think the photos to be of any disadvantage. But, still, my article is not featured. Should I delete it now?

         replyreport
         1. 66

            Marketing Meritposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            There are several issues, I believe, Venkat.
            
            Firstly, the video and photos are rather blurred. Can you redo these?
            
            Secondly, you repeatedly use the word 'rasam' in your headings and text. This is viewed as keyword stuffing. You need to remove some of these. For example, you only need to say Ingredients as a header.
            
            Finally, although you believe there to be no grammatical errors, the article does not flow well. For example, you have written: "there is no need for adding the coriander powder separately...." This should read something along the lines of "there is no need to add the coriander powder separately."

            replyreport
            1. 92

               Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Okay, thanks. I already trimmed the sub-headings. But, I see your point also. I retained the 'rasam' word in some of those as a keyword. I will trim those words also.
               And, thanks for pointing an example of my grammatical mistakes. I didn't know it is a bad sentence. Now, I will look at similar things and try to improve.

               replyreport
5. 91

   paperfacetsposted 7 years ago

   The three things I would work on if it was my Hub is 1.The blurry photos. 2. Shortened all sentences and try to trim details.  3. Don't use "I". Change to third person.
   
   This paragraph for example.
   "People prepare the rasam in different styles according to their culture and tastes. The ingredients also vary according to those styles. It gets prepared either with tamarind or tomatoes or even with lemons. But, some people prepare it by adding both tamarind and tomatoes at the same time. That makes it more bitter in taste."
   
   Trim, trim trim. Say something like, "Since rasam has many variations, we are going to explore only the tomato version here." Done. See how too much detail is getting in the way of your recipe?
   
   I still think this Hub has value because spices are becoming more popular for health in Westernized countries. It just needs to be presented in trim to the point writing style. I know that all the details are the tips you have learned for the perfect rasam, but your detail is causing awkward sentences and presentation.
   
   If you can work of those items, give it another whirl.

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your advice. I will follow your guidelines. This article didn't have any problems for all these three years. But, when I tried to edit the right-floated capsules to full width, it got this status of losing its featured status. I wonder why. The photos were the same since then.

      replyreport
6. 91

   paperfacetsposted 7 years ago

   Remember HP just acquired more editors. I used to edit my Hubs without anyone noticing. Recently, an edit on our part will put the Hub in someones radar and it gets attention by an edior or robot. Stakes are higher under this new Maven/HP arrangement. I see people who had no interest in improving their Hubs for more than 3 years suddenly jumping in and wondering about this or that practice that has been discussed for the last 3 years in the forums and HP blogs.

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Venkatachari Mposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      True. The guidelines have been there always. I agree with you.

      replyreport
7. 92

   Venkatachari Mposted 7 years ago

   Thanks to all of you who helped me in getting my article featured again.
   
   I am very glad for the support and help offered by you all.

   replyreport