Requesting advice on research based writing..

1. 74

   AVailuuposted 9 years ago

   Hello fellow hubbers!
   
   I only have 10 minutes to write this request.
   
   My hubs get very little traffic, and that's never bothered me because I know that my topics are for a selective audience.
   
   I would love some feedback on my writing style so that I can reach a larger audience. My goal is to inform, not to bore!
   
   Thank you!

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      Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      To get traffic on the Internet your are going to have to learn a little about search engine optimization.
      
      There are some things in this post which might help you, especially in creating Titles and Summaries:
      http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/128946#post2711393

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   2. 0

      Sherry Thornburgposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi,
      
      I looked at one of your hubs and saw what others mentioned about citations. Hubs tend to follow web media formating rather than scientific formating, which you may have seen in science journals and are using for your style. 
      
      Web media formating tend to use hyperlinks instead of citations and bibliographies. 
      
      
      Example:
      
      There are links between the rapid increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the misuse and abuse of antibiotics, allowing mutated strains to survive and reproduce.
      
      Examples of the (overexposure of antibiotics) include:
      
      
      Highlight the words I put in parenthesis and make a hyperlink to your source article.
      
      Web media writers do this to keep the flow of reading easier for readers. Otherwise, some people will trip on the citations.  Hyperlinks let the reader choose if they want to see more in depth information.  I use them quite a bit in my articles to direct readers to business websites and professional sources. 
      
      Also, my writing teachers over and over stated that journalist articles should always be written on a 6th grade level.  I grossed and fought about that.  How are you supposed to write an scientific article if the the proper names won't be familiar to a 6th grader?  I never got a clear answer, but that's the rule, so work with it and write for simplicity and clarity as much as you can. 
      
      Sherry

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      1. 74

         AVailuuposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for the advice Sherry, but a lot of the information I use isn't web based.  I can only hyperlink a couple of my references.
         
         I do agree with simplifying the context, especially in a specialized field. Often times these specialities speak their own language.Unfortunately, I've become so familiar with academic writing that I have a difficult time with adapting my papers to the needs of a general audience.
         
         Thank you for taking your time to analyze and review my work!
         
         Ashley

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         1. 0

            Sherry Thornburgposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            check around on academic search engines. Many scientific research papers, review studies and journal articles are being posted on the web.  This is a link to an article listing several. You might be surprised to find yours this way.
            
            emergingedtech.com/2013/12/top-11-trusted-and-free-search-engines-for-scientific-and-academic-research/
            
            Sherry

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            1. 74

               AVailuuposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Thank you!I'll probably stick with text based sources for the most part, but I never shun free resources! I changed my format from APA to something a little more internet friendly (a numbering system), hopefully that helps.

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                  flycatcherrrposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Good call, to go with the numbered footnotes.

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2. 95

   RonElFranposted 9 years ago

   I found your hub informative and well written. But I almost didn't read beyond the first sentence because I stumbled over your citations (ASMacademy, 2014). My first reaction was that this is an academic paper written for people who have a more in-depth interest in the subject than I have. If not for your request for feedback, I would have stopped reading right there.
   
   I offer this as just my personal reaction. Actually, once I read your content, I appreciated the fact that you demonstrated that you had sources for your statements. So, there is certainly nothing wrong with providing source citations. But at the same time, there will probably be other readers who, like myself, will think "this isn't written for me" when they encounter the citations.
   
   I think one reason for my reaction is that the first citation was placed at the very beginning of the article. I hit it before you had a chance to get me intrigued with the info you wanted to share. Maybe the answer is to be sure to have a more in-depth introduction that gets the reader hooked before you hit them with your source citations.

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   1. 74

      AVailuuposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Ron, for spending your time to analyze my work and offer such thoughtful and insightful feedback! I hadn't considered how distracting the citations may be to causal readers. Perhaps if I change my format from APA to something  more inconspicuous, readers will feel more comfortable and relatable to the information in my hubs.

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3. 0

   calculus-geometryposted 9 years ago

   Hi AVailuu,
   One way to approach hubs with technical content is to write with students in mind; present the information as it might be useful to college students studying for exams or trying to solve homework problems, problem/solution formats.  A lot of the audience is people still in school.

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4. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 9 years ago

   In text citing with superscripts might be less intrusive to those who just want the info and are less interested in the sources.

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