Active and Passive Voice – Tips for Content Writing

February 22nd, 2012 by Donna Mathews

The use of active voice is important while writing online content. It improves the readability of your copy and reduces the wordiness. The lines seem more direct, so this is a good way to avoid fluff.

Active and Passive Voice – What’s the Difference?

Active voice shifts the focus to Batman: "Batman ridiculed Spiderman." To put the spotlight on Spidey, use passive voice: "Spiderman was ridiculed by Batman."

Under active voice, the subject performs a particular action, while under passive voice, the tables are turned and the focus is shifted away from the subject.

Here’s a quick example that can explain the difference better.

Active: Spiderman attacked Sandman.

Passive: Sandman was attacked by Spiderman.

Here, Spiderman is the one who’s performing the action and Sandman is at the receiving end. Under passive voice, the focus shifts from the actual subject – Spiderman, in this case, to Sandman.

Here are some other active-passive variants.

Active: I passed the cake.

Passive: The cake was passed by me.

Active: Jonah gave Stacy a card.

Passive: The card was given to Stacy by Jonah.

Active: Customers can obtain more information from our website.

Passive: More information can be obtained by customers from our website.

Why Should Follow Active Voice?

Online content should be catchy and straightforward because the attention span of readers in the web is very low. People look for quick information online, and they rarely spend more than just a few seconds skimming through an article. Under active voice,

The information will be more direct
The sentences will have energy and grab attention
The message will be easier to understand

How Do You Spot Instances of Passive Voice in Your Article?

Most people find it very difficult to differentiate between sentences in these two different voices. One easy way to spot instances of passive voice is to look for the word ‘was’.

Remember, though, that such instances need not always be in passive voice.

‘Spiderman was injured during the battle’ is an example of how ‘was’ can be used in active voice too.

While proofreading your work, you can tighten the sentences further by looking for instances of passive voice and rectifying these.

A key thing to note here is that using passive voice is not an error. It’s just a stylistic hurdle that hampers the readability of your content. Passive voice is more suited for fiction, while active voice is ideal for online content.

Remember – keep the focus on the subject. That’s the right way to write!

Start Commenting | Posted in Content Writing Tips

Spice It Up Real Nice – How to Use Images While Writing Content

January 27th, 2012 by Donna Mathews

Wondering How to Use Images For Your Content?

Well, this one’s for you!

A catchy image that matches your content gives an altogether different dimension to online reading. Adding an appropriate image with a meaningful or even hilarious caption can help attract readers and improve the credibility of your content. An image successfully captures your reader’s interest too.

So why should images included in online content?

Adding an image increases the traffic to your website or blog.
Readers tend to prefer articles that have images in them, thanks to increased readability.

In short, if you are writing an article about how to bake mince pies, then adding the image of mince pies stacked neatly together will lure your readers to try out the recipe. Images add emphasis to words!

A Quick Checklist on How to Use Images

Whenever you use images online, make sure that the following factors are taken care of:

The image should be relevant to the main topic (umm, obvious.. but yes)
The image should be clean (this means no logos or watermarks)
The image should not carry third party information
The image should be of good quality (in the age of DSLRs, pixels matter!)

Note: And most importantly, you should own the rights to use the image. No clue? Here’s why.

A lot of writers tend to use images that show up in their search results without filtering the free to use images out first. Doing this can get you into trouble, because essentially you’re using another person’s property!

Free to Use Images or Stock Images?

In this era of digital photography and DSLRs, it’s easy to shoot the images you want and save them for your personal use.

Don’t fret if you don’t know to click photographs or don’t have the right image for your content – there are many skilled photographers who upload their pictures on websites like Flickr, and some of them grant other users the permission to use their images. These free to use images are tagged under ‘Creative Commons’.

If you don’t mind shelling out some cash to take care of your image requirements, purchasing images from a stock photography website is the easiest way out. The prices may differ based on how good and relevant the images are, so you’ll need to look through a lot of them patiently to find the right ones that you want.

How to Find Free to Use or Stock Images

For Free to Use Images: The best way to find free images online is to use the ‘Advanced Search’ option in Google Image Search.

Open the ‘Advanced Search’ window
Enter the right keywords that are related to what you’re searching for
Select the ‘Commercial Use’ checkbox under ‘Only Images Labeled for Reuse’
Hit Enter!

Google will list the relevant free images that are available online, and you’ll also find images from Flickr tagged under ‘Creative Commons’ in this list. Feel free to use the image that best suits your content.

For Stock Images: You can also buy royalty-free images as per your need at stock photography websites. There are a gazillion of these online, so all you need to do is browse and buy the ones you like. This is an expensive option, but if images are critically important to your content, setting up an account might be a good long term investment.

All you need to do to add some zing to your work is insert an image, because with the right one, you can never go wrong!

Start Commenting | Posted in Content Writing Tips

Content Writing Tips – How to Write Evergreen Online Content

January 17th, 2012 by Donna Mathews

When you roll up your sleeves and do some research to gather content writing tips (through good ol’ Google), you’re sure to spot subtle references that talk about ‘timeless content’.

No, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to whip up a Silmarillion every time you open MS Word – all you need to do is make sure that the information you post can be understood, without time constraints standing in the way like a bad case of toothache.

Writing timeless and evergreen content is one of the main aspects of professional writing and this is a practice that can boost the credibility of your content up by a few notches.

Batman crash landed on a timeless article from the 80s on color trends - it said "Pink is the New Black."

What exactly is Evergreen Content?

Almost all information that you find online is bound by time constraints. Even if the content may get ‘expired’ within a particular time span, professional writers often attempt to show the reader that the information is timeless.

Cutting to the chase, for your content to be of high quality, it should be readable and effective even in the far future from the day it’s posted.

So, how do you know whether your content is timeless?

Let’s take a peek into the golden rules…

Content Writing Tip #1

Avoid Using Time-Relative Phrases

Avoid using phrases like ‘this year’, ‘last month’, and ‘next week’. Let’s consider an example.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones got married in November this year.

In the above example, a reader who browses through the text in the year 2016 will not get the right information regarding the actual year of their wedding. You can revise the above sentence by using plain facts.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones got married on the 18^th of November, 2000.

Content Writing Tip #2

Writing About Periodic Events

While providing information about an event that takes place annually, avoid concentrating on the event updates of the current year. Instead, write about the event in a generic way, without compromising on the factual part.

Including too much factual content can prove to be unnecessarily complex, as shown below.

The festival of Diwali, which was celebrated on the 26^th of October in 2011, will be celebrated on the 13^th of November in 2012.

Here’s a snippet on how you can make the content generic and simple, without falling into the trap of time constraints.

The festival of Diwali usually falls between mid-October and mid-November.

Why Evergreen Content?

Now that you’ve gone through some handy content writing tips, here’s a lowdown on why your text should be timeless. Writing evergreen content can drive traffic to your blog or website for a long time, and you’ll hardly need to tweak or update the posts in the future. Such content can help you retain your readers’ interest throughout the year and keep them coming back for more!

1 Comment | Posted in Content Writing Tips

How and When to Use Commas – Using Commas Explained

January 13th, 2012 by Ganesh

Often stumped on how and when to use commas?

As a writer, you’ll have to pay attention to proper punctuation to keep your work sparkly clean – and this is where using commas correctly matters. Commas are commonly used to enclose parenthetical phrases, before quotes, between adjectives, in lists and after introductory clauses or elements.

For a start, let’s take a look at the relationship between commas and introductory clauses.

: Time to come out of your comma coma!

Now, what is an introductory element?

True to its name, an introductory element is a word, phrase or even a clause that provides an introduction to the given sentence. A comma after the introductory element indicates a pause before the main clause of the sentence kicks in.

If you’re scratching your head at this point, here are some reading exercises that can help you understand the concept better. Let’s consider some introductory words like however, moreover, yes, and well. Read out the below examples aloud and check if you pause right where the comma is given:

However, we decided to cancel all plans and just take rest.

Yes, you can leave now.

If you did pause at the right spots, give yourself a quick pat on the back – this is one of the easiest ways to figure out where to use a comma.

Some of the common introductory clauses start with when, after, before, because, although, if, as, and while. Try out this second reading exercise:

If you are coming home now, you must pick up the groceries from the store.

Before you start working on this project, you need to meet the CEO.

While I chop the vegetables, you can blanch the spinach.

How do you spot this error?

Writers often tend to miss the commas that follow introductory elements and the easiest way to spot this error, as mentioned above, is to read out your final copy aloud. Whenever you pause after an introductory element in any sentence, insert the comma religiously.

Although there are some exceptions, using commas after introductory clauses enhances the readability significantly. Proper punctuation can also bring in a level of clarity, so do the good deed and spread the word!

Start Commenting | Posted in Common English Errors

Which Vs That – Common English Errors Explained

October 5th, 2011 by Ganesh

Which Vs That

While it might not seem like too much of a big deal from the outside, learning how to use the right word when it comes to Which vs That is very important while writing for the web.

Some doubts are bound to hit you when you’re pressed for time and typing feverishly to meet your deadline, and being stumped between ‘which’ and ‘that’ during such situations can drive you up the wall, if you take pride in the quality of work that you’re sending out.

If you’re the ‘Meh, anything goes’ type, you better put your Groucho glasses on – we’re out to get you!

For the ones who were fast asleep during grammar classes in primary school, here’s a lowdown on how to deal with the words ‘that’ and ‘which’.

You’ll often come against Restrictive Clauses and Non Restrictive Clauses while writing, and learning about these can help you gain some understanding first.

#1 – Restrictive Clauses

A restrictive clause is a part of a sentence that can’t be removed from the sentence without kicking up complications.

Cars that are small are ideal for city use.

Take the above line into consideration. Here the words ‘that are small’ cannot be removed from the sentence, as the sentence would then mean:

Cars are ideal for city use.

This statement is fundamentally wrong, as there are many types of cars that are not ideal for city use. The words ‘that are small’ make a whole lot of difference and provide meaning to the sentence, and this is the kind of situation where you need to use the word ‘that’.

The movie that Jack filmed wasn’t received well.

Here, the words ‘that Jack filmed’ specify that among all the other movies, the one that Jack filmed was not appreciated, giving the entire sentence a proper meaning.

Also, note the fact that almost no commas are used when the word ‘that’ is involved.

#2 – Non Restrictive Clauses

A non restrictive clause is a part of a sentence that can be removed without a second thought, as it does not change the meaning of the overall line in anyway.

Oxygen, which is essential for human survival, is released during photosynthesis.

Here you can remove the part of the sentence which has been highlighted in bold, and the sentence would still make sense. This is because the words between the two commas just state the obvious (a known fact), and this is just additional information.

The word ‘which’ is often used in non restrictive clauses and a point to note here is that the word is preceded by a comma almost every single time.

The Harry Potter novels, which were meant for children, were written by JK Rowling.

Try substituting the word ‘which’ in the above sentence with ‘that’ and you’ll definitely wince at such grammatical blasphemy!

Simple Rule: When you’re providing additional information, use commas and attach a ‘which’ and when it’s extremely essential information, forget the commas and attach a ‘that’.

While there may be some special cases here and there, such basic understanding can take care of your last minute writing worries for good.

Know your skills! Click here to take the Which Vs That test!

Start Commenting | Posted in Common English Errors

To Lose or Let Loose – Common English Errors Explained

July 28th, 2011 by Ganesh

Lose Vs Loose

When it comes to common English errors that people make – this one takes the cake!

Call it the by-product of overtly excited typing or sheer negligence, but an error like this can paint a very bad picture of yours in the eyes of any Grammar Nazi. There’s no need to lose your sanity over how to use these words, it’s pretty simple actually.

Lose is a verb, while Loose is an adjective. Before you go medieval on me – wait, there’s more - Loose can be used as a verb as well (although it’s used rarely).

Here are some examples of correct usage:

You are likely to lose a race if your shoes are loose.
You are likely to lose your shoes if your shoelaces are loose too!
Legolas didn’t lose his cool, but calmly loosed an arrow into the air to show that he meant business.

Seems simple, doesn’t it?

You can learn to differentiate between the words phonetically, as loose is pronounced with more emphasis on the ‘s’, while lose is often pronounced with a ‘z’ replacing the ‘s’.

The next time you see someone misspell ‘lose’, let loose the purist within you and teach them an English lesson that they’ll never forget!

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