Maybe your boss has asked you to write an article for the company newsletter. Check to see if there is a certain topic you should write about and how long the article should be. If you’re writing an article for the school paper, ask the editor or supervisor what you should cover. They might want you to write about the library renovations or write a feature about new students. Always stick to any guidelines that you’re given. It will make you look competent and responsible.

Do some free-thinking. Just jot down any thoughts that come to mind. You can weed out the bad ideas later! For your cooking blog, you might scribble down words like “keto,” “blenders,” or “holiday meals. ” Once you choose a topic, start making it more specific. For example, if you decide to write about holiday meals, you can narrow that down by choosing a specific holiday or season that you want to write about. You might decide to write about updated Thanksgiving classics.

If you’re writing about a person or doing a news article, it’s a good idea to interview some people. When you do an interview, prepare a list of questions ahead of time so that you don’t forget any important questions. Be on time and be respectful. Take good notes or record the conversation so that you can accurately quote the person. For your article about Thanksgiving dishes, you might talk to some friends to see what they like to eat. You could also look up some food safety facts so that you can give sound advice about properly cooking a turkey.

Depending on the subject of your article, your source should be a few months to a few years old. Up to date information is typically the most accurate. For example, if you’re writing about new trends for Thanksgiving appetizers, you probably don’t want to look at a cookbook from 1975.

Take care to record all the important details. That means any names, dates, facts, or statistics. Don’t forget to write down your source, too! Keep your notes in a file on your computer or use an app on your phone to keep them organized. If you take notes on paper, keep them in a file folder so that you can easily access them.

You could write something like, “Are you tired of tasteless turkey on Thanksgiving? Spice up your holiday menu by introducing some bold new flavors!”

Make sure to only include 1 idea in each paragraph so that your reader can more easily absorb the information. For example, don’t try to talk about side dishes and table decor in 1 paragraph. Those are 2 separate ideas.

For your Thanksgiving article, you could write about certain foods that remind you of the Thanksgiving you celebrated while studying abroad.

Don’t just tell your readers about how much you love serving a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. Give them concrete examples of how they can wow their guests. Leave out any fluff. While you might have a charming anecdote about your child dressing up like a turkey for school, that’s probably not what your readers are looking for. Stick to the topic at hand, even when it comes to personal stories.

If you’re really stuck, it’s okay to leave your article for the night and come back to it the next day when you feel those creative juices flowing.

Some popular tools include Grammarly, Ginger, ProWritingAid, and Hemingway. These tools can catch spelling errors, help correct your grammar, and can even help you make your writing more concise.

Read for different issues each time you look over your article. For instance, the first time you might focus on catching stylistic errors. On your next read through, focus on making sure that you have the tone right. Read the article out loud to yourself. This can help you hear phrases that don’t sound quite right.

You can say, “Taylor, would you mind reading this article I wrote? I’d love your feedback. If you have time to look it over, I’d appreciate it. "

Instead of saying, “Because fall has nice crisp weather and many people like to watch football and eat pie, Thanksgiving has become a cherished tradition in the homes of many, many people,” you could say, “Crisp weather, football, and pie are just a few reasons that people love Thanksgiving!”