I'd like feedback on my article to enable it to become featured

1. 92

   RyanCThomasposted 6 years ago

   Hello dear fellow HubPages users,
   Typically I don't post in this forum because I've never had any significant difficulties before, but one article that I have published has been repeatedly refused by HubPages as a featured article despite adding on new media content, removing an amazon capsule, and expanding it to over 2,000 words. I was thus hoping to inquire to see if anybody is interested in giving feedback on my article A Review of "A Language Policy for the European Community Prospects and Quandaries", so as to figure out what it is which has caused whoever is reviewing my article to reject it.
   Cordially,
   Ryan Thomas

   replyreport
   1. 93

      fcmosherposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Ryan -- wow what a sharply written and reasoned article. It's really nice work (regardless of what the edit bot says). I suspect it's an issue with one or more of your infographics, which may not be legit for HubPages due to copyright (or something). This is only a guess, as I can't see any of the usual QAP triggers here.
      FWIW, I have a Hub that was stubbornly not being featured no matter what I did. But after a bit I pretty much figured out the issue -- it's about whiskey and tobacco-scented candles (duh) and I should have known before I wrote it that it would be DOA.
      Cheers and I really dig your articles.
      GM

      replyreport
      1. 92

         RyanCThomasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for your kind words and support! I'll check out the infographics, but frankly I'm doubtful about whether that is the source : those were added in after it was rejected. I started out with a much smaller number of images which seemed pretty innocuous.

         replyreport
   2. 90

      vineliner57posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Did you get an email from the editor explaining why it was rejected?
      
      The first thing I noticed is your capsule subtitles are not in APA format.
      
      For instance:
      
      30 years and counting: Language Policy in Europe or lack of it
      
      should be:
      
      30 Years and Counting: Language Policy in Europe or Lack of It
      
      There is software to convert your subtitles to APA format. I believe the editors use capitalizemytitle .com
      
      Good Luck!

      replyreport
2. 94

   AliciaCposted 6 years ago

   Hi, Ryan. I would definitely check the image sources to see if the licenses are appropriate, as fcmosher suggests. In addition, I believe the ratings capsule is only supposed to be used for recipes. Another factor that you might consider is improving the readability of the article. The paragraphs are very long and you have no subtitles on the text capsules. This makes the article hard to read, at least for me.

   replyreport
   1. 92

      RyanCThomasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I appreciate your assistance. I've added in subtitles per your suggestion, but I believe that the rating article is unlikely to be the culprit. I include them as a standard feature on all of my book reviews and I haven't had any problems .

      replyreport
3. 97

   theraggededgeposted 6 years ago

   You definitely need to break up the text into smaller paragraphs with relevant sub-headings. Don't forget that most people read these articles on a smart phone these days. HP is very keen that hubs should be formatted to take that into account. Hence the facility to preview in mobile mode.
   
   Every time you begin a sentence with Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. it should be a new paragraph, and, preferably, a new text capsule with a sub-heading.
   
   Your sub-headings are an opportunity to add in keywords related to the topic, which will result in better search engine traffic.
   
   Good luck.

   replyreport
4. 92

   RyanCThomasposted 6 years ago

   I must admit I continue to be deeply puzzled, I had gone through and removed and replaced all of the images. When that didn't work I had added them back in and extended it. I also split it up, added in appropriate sub-titles, further added in additional media, and expanded it slightly more. It really cannot be anything other than an error at this stage in my opinion, I just don't know what is the cause of it...

   replyreport
   1. 97

      theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      You still have massive paragraphs in the Evaluation section. The first is over 300 words. That's a lot of words for one paragraph. Have you checked Mobile Preview to see how people will see it?
      
      On the main chapter headings why don't you add the author's name? That might help.
      
      Using sub-headings try to replace 'Introduction' and 'Evaluation'. Use appropriate keyword headings instead. Remember than online writing is completely different to print media.
      
      Put the title of the article into Title Case.
      
      If you are still unsure, have a look here: https://hubpageshelp.com/ There might be an article there to help you present the article in a better way.

      replyreport
      1. 92

         RyanCThomasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I'll make the changes you suggest, and thank you for them. but I am very doubtful about whether the problem is stemming from any of the suggestions. All of my other articles are written in the same style as I had this article in, and none of them have had difficulties concerning being published and all of them have high ratings.

         replyreport
5. 95

   Beth Eaglescliffeposted 6 years ago

   Hi Ryan,
   
   Did you know your article is now featured? Some of your photos still need attribution, but that's easily sorted. If you took the photos, then say so.
   
   Now you need to submit it to a niche site as that is where the money is. If it gets rejected, (which it may not), post the email you receive here as that will give us the reason/ indication of the problem.
   
   Good luck,
   Beth

   replyreport
   1. 92

      RyanCThomasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Hello,
      That is not how it is displayed in my article list when I look at its status. It is not featured and the commentary associated is ;
      "This article is not Featured because it does not meet our quality standards. Try making a few improvements by adding fresh text, high-quality media, and relevant, supporting capsules."
      
      In fact the score actually has declined despite the additions and changes I made with the advice of the forum : it was previously ranked at 72 and now has fallen to 69...

      replyreport
      1. 95

         Beth Eaglescliffeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         That's very odd. I can see your article even when I'm logged out, so it must be featured. (Also I thought a hub only got a score if it was featured.)

         replyreport
         1. 92

            RyanCThomasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            I've only had one hub which wasn't featured the first time posted before (about transportation in Dakar, I think it was because I didn't add in appropriate currency denominations : once I did that it was rapidly approved), and it had displayed the score for it. You might be right, I'm quite unused to my articles not getting featured.
            I am also unable to submit it to a Hubpages network site, the reason given being that it is not featured.
            I feel like giving up with this article, I have no idea what the error is and I can only think it is a bug. It is of a good length, relevant subject, no significant grammar errors, I've incorporated all suggestions made on this forum, and I've never experienced anything akin to it before.

            replyreport
            1. 95

               Beth Eaglescliffeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Don't give up!
               I suggest you email HubPages https://hubpages.com/help-wizard/ describing the problem and give a link to this thread.
               They usually respond within 48 hours, although it may be a bit longer at the moment as it's Easter weekend.

               replyreport
               1. 92

                  RyanCThomasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you for the advice, I will do so once the current edit/denied cycle is finished and will ask about what the more precise problem is.

                  replyreport
               2. 92

                  RyanCThomasposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  That worked in the end! They replied remarkably quickly and featured the article. Thanks very much!

                  replyreport
                  1. 95

                     Beth Eaglescliffeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                     

                     replyreport
6. 95

   daydreamsposted 6 years ago

   I don't know why it isn't featured, but the style of writing in this hub is academic so not always that easy to follow.  Apparently, the average adult has a reading age of about 14 and a very short attention span on the web. It might be worth trying to simplify some of the sentences - the Hemingway app is good for this. 
   Hope this helps.

   replyreport