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Format Guidelines: How to_____

PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THE DIRECTIONS AND REVIEW THE EXAMPLES. Additionally, please read theStudio Voice and Style Guidelines for detailed style and voice instructions.

General Guidelines

The goal of all “How-to” articles is to explain the essential information a reader would need to

accomplish a task.

Assignment is to write an article that successfully answers the question posed by the title.

Each article will start with a title followed by an introduction, steps and a tips and warnings section.

The article MUST be informative and actionable. The steps should clearly outline the actions a reader must taketo complete the stated objective, and they should appear in the order in which the reader must perform them.

The article should contain evergreen content and, ideally, should sound as relevant a few years from now as it isthe day you write it. That won’t always be possible, but you should come as close to the ideal as you can.

Be specific. If you are writing an article called “How to Dance the Samba,” provide specific information thatapplies to that particular dance as opposed to writing general dance instructions.

Before writing a word, outline all the information you must include so you can provide the reader with enoughinformation about the topic to fulfill the promise of the title.

Do not repeat information within the steps or make the same point again for emphasis. Rely on clear, strongwriting to provide the emphasis the subject needs.

Do not include extraneous information or write “wordy” sentences to fulfill the article length requirements.Convey the information in lean prose and active sentences in the present tense. Do not use the passive voice.

No-Tolerance Plagiarism Policy: All articles submitted must be original, written in your own words. We do notaccept plagiarized content.

Questionable Titles/Subjects: If you ever come across a title or subject matter that is known to be or could beillegal, dangerous and/or impossible to answer, please report the title to our editorial team.

Article Composition

The Title

Some titles have been pre-determined . Writers also may submit title suggestions, but the content team mustapprove them before you begin to write.Some titles will be in the “How to_____” (with the blank piece being the specified keywords) format while otherswill be more free-form. Free-form titles will be structured in a way that suggests the article will provide thenecessary information to complete a task.Some titles will be in the form of a question, the answer to which on the surface is very simple. However, to

complete the assignment, you will need to expound on the topic. For example, you might get a title like, “Is ItEasy to Win a Pie-Eating Contest?” On the surface, the answer is either “yes” or “no.” However, the underlyingquestion is how one should go about winning a pie-eating contest. In other words, you should answer thequestion: “How to Win a Pie-Eating Contest.”The Phrase will be written in title case exactly as below with the Keywords to follow in the correct AP format.

Examples:

How to Change Motor Oil

How to Escape From a Car in Water

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Herb Garden Basics

What’s the Best Way to Hem Jeans?

Washing Windows: Tips & Techniques

Best Ways to Groom a Dog

When to Take a Labrador to the Vet

Difficulty Rating

o Each article will come with a rating. Please rate the difficulty of completing the task according to the followingcriteria:

Easy: Anyone can do it.

Moderately Easy: Just about anyone can do it.

Moderate: Activity requires some concentration and preparation.

Moderately Challenging: Activity may require multiple attempts before it is executed properly.

Challenging: Activity requires a certain amount of knowledge or physical fitness.

Introduction

Each article begins with an Introduction that ideally contains 75 to 100 words. This opening summarizes thegeneral information that everyone should know about the topic. The Introduction is the best place to providebackground info and to explain why the topic is important. Think of the Introduction as a substantive tease thatdraws readers into the article by telling them why they must acquire this information.Keep the Introduction section informative, but avoid introducing information that will appear in the Steps.Refrain from hyperbole and don’t overstate the difficulty of a task. Choosing a color for your patio, picking out anew radio and determining which tailor will make your next suit are not “daunting” or “challenging” tasks.Don’t claim a product, service, event or any other subject is “the best” or make any other qualitative assertions,particularly if you have no personal experience with the subject. Remember, you are not writing advertising copy.Never indulge the shoddy journalistic practice of asserting “Experts claim…” or “Some people say…” or “Studiesshow…” If you can’t quote an expert, a study or a survey, don’t generalize.

Tip: Write the Introduction section after you write the rest of the article.

• Things You’ll NeedThis field will list all the ingredients, tools, gear, supplies or materials needed to complete the specified task.List the items in the order they are mentioned in the steps. Review the steps after you’ve written them to ensurethat you’ve listed all the required items.Do not include intangibles, such as “time to complete the task,” “an open mind,” or “a giving heart” in your list of Things.

Avoid using articles, such as "a," "the" and "an," to introduce items in "Things You'll Need." Capitalize the firstletter in the first word of each item. Also, don't explain how the item will be used in the "Things" field. Explain itsuse in the Steps.• The StepsIdeally there should be 5 to 7 steps, listed in chronological or logical order.Each step should be short and concise—containing about two sentences. It can be longer if essential informationis provided.Make sure each step starts with an actionable verb and tells the reader precisely what they need to do, withoutgeneralizing. Example: Use “Insert the tube of caulk into the caulking gun with the tube nozzle pointing awayfrom the trigger,” instead of “Fill the caulking gun with caulk.”Refrain from stating the obvious. For an article entitled “How to Attach a New Cable Box to a TV,” you don’t have

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to start with “Open the box and remove the cable box from it. Unwrap the packaging around the cable box.”Instead, go directly to the task.Do not refer to the order of the tasks within the steps. For example, in Step 1, don’t write “The first thing youmust do is…” The reader knows it’s the first thing. Step 1 was the clue.Refrain from using empty adjectives, such as “great,” “amazing,” “terrific,” “fantastic” or “wonderful.” Chooseadjectives that specifically describe the subject. For example, a museum collection isn’t “great” or “awesome” or “breathtaking,” but it may be “extensive,” “limited” or “comprehensive.” Don’t use the abused adjective “unique.”Few things are unique. Use “distinctive” or a similar adjective.• Refrain from describing things as “fun” as in “Building a pigpen in your backyard is a fun way to spend theafternoon.” Always opt for specificity whenever you describe a subject’s benefits or disadvantages.• Limit your use of exclamation points to about once every 1,000 articles. In other words, use them sparingly, if atall. They indicate amateurish writing.• Tips

Use this section to provide additional information, more intricate details, non-web sources, and/or offer further advice. Example: “If you are diabetic, you can leave the sugar out of the pie or use 5 tsp. of artificialsweetener instead.”Order Tips from most important to least important , from big to small.Tip: If you have more tips than steps, review the tips again to see if any of them should be converted intosteps.Do not repeat steps in the Tips section, and do not use the Tips box to summarize steps or the article.

• WarningsThe Warnings section is similar to the Tips section except that it should be reserved for important reminders andred flags such as “don’ts,” “nevers” and “musts.”Note any possible dangerous consequences, risks, or undesirable results that can occur when following thesteps. Example: “Never mix chlorine bleach with other cleaning fluids. The mixture may cause a toxic gas thatcould kill you.”Order Warnings from most important to least important.