:newspaper: OICR Engineering Blog Writing Guide

Hello all!

The following guide is for clarity on writing posts for the blog. It is not prescriptive. Here you can find information on:

1. Determining a topic

2. Writing to an audience

3. Structuring your blog post

   • General tips
   • Problem Centered Template
   • Wiki Template
   • Conversational Template

4. Citing sources

:thought_balloon: Determining a Topic

Three simple steps when stuck on ideas:

1. Start with your reader.

   • What problems does your reader experience?
   • What questions are they asking?

1. Jot a list of everything that comes to mind.

</br>

1. Pick and Google one of these problems and take note of the top three search results.
   • How have these search results phrased the problem?
   • How are they solving the problem?
   • Does that change your approach to the article?

:memo: Writing to our Audience

• This blog’s target audience is you. You are writing for yourself

• Be yourself, do not say anything in writing that you wouldn’t say in conversation

• Beware of the curse of knowledge:

  
  A bias that occurs when an individual, who is communicating with other individuals, assumes that the other individuals have the background knowledge to understand.

  
  

• You are the expert in your domain/topic. Wherever possible, simplify your language and provide background for your reader (in-text or hyperlinked).

:dart: Structuring your blog post

General tips:

• Keywords: It’s good practice to incorporate keywords in your <h1> and other headers

• Headers: Everyone’s friend when reading online is the header; they divide the material, structure it, and let readers learn more when skimming

• Short Paragraphs: When online, large blocks of text create a barrier to engaging readers. You enable readers to skim and gather more information with brief paragraphs, on average 3 sentences, typically no more than five or six
  • Sentences (~ 25 words)
  • Paragraphs (~ 3 sentences no more than 6)

• Length: Based on SEO metrics articles roughly 1500-2500 words tend to do best however this is a large word count and is not absolutely required. Tailor as needed.

• Hyperlinks: By doing so, extraneous background information can be reduced while still enabling a wider audience to follow along.

Problem Centered Post

Description Present a problem that your reader is experiencing, empathize with that problem, and then solve the problem.

Approximate word count: 1500-2500 words. Tailor as needed.

:memo: Google Docs: Problem Centered Post Template

Titles: Information on creating a title can be found within the google doc.

Wiki Post

Description: Gain readers, establish your expertise on a subject, and help many people along the way. Content from wikis or encyclopedias, particularly material Wikipedia hasn’t covered, is also a huge benefit for gaining search traffic. Keep in mind that this is still a blog post, not a Wikipedia article.

Approximate word count: 1500-2500 words. Tailor as needed.

:memo: Google Docs: Wiki Post Template Linked Here

Titles: Information on creating a title can be found within the google doc.

Conversational Post

Description: Spark engagement with readers by creating a thought provoking conversational piece.

Approximate word count: 1500 words. Tailor as needed.

:memo: Google Docs: Conversational Post Template

Titles: Information on creating a title can be found within the google doc.

:pencil: Citing Sources

• Simple hyperlinks for any referenced web content within the article

• If citing a journal article use APA

  • last name, first name initial., …, …, & last name, first name initial. title of article. title of journal, volume(Issue), page(s).DOI

Example

Tolufi, M., Boreman, N., & ,Trotsky D. (2040). The computer goes beep. Advanced computer systems America, 5(2), 161. < insert doi link >

In-text citation: (Tolufi et al., 2040)

If two authors: (Tolufi & Boreman., 2040)