Today I spent some time rating articles on Helium.com. This is something I must do on a regular basis if I want to earn on my articles there. It’s something I enjoy doing, since I end up reading articles on topics I wouldn’t write about. But there are things that some writers do that just make it one of the most painful things I do as a freelance writer.

Starting an article with: “It goes without saying…”

This one drives me absolutely insane. It’s on par with “obviously…” No dear author, things are not “obvious”, nor do they “go without saying”. These phrases imply that the reader already knows something about the topic at hand, which is not the case. Personally I feel that the author is speaking condescendingly when they use these phrases. I feel like they’re talking down to me, which isn’t a good feeling. I don’t want to read the article when it starts out like this. So just don’t do it!

Use proper grammar!

I read an article today that was about marriage, and began “I find marriage for me…” I don’t know who wrote the article, but I’m guessing the author’s first language isn’t English. You don’t need that “me” in the sentence. Just saying “I find marriage…” is good enough to let the reader know you’re giving your opinion on the topic. As someone who speaks three languages, I’m going to guess that this author is a native French speaker, but who knows.

Knowing when to use “I”

I find it interesting to see how many articles have the pronoun “I” in them, when they’re not reviews about something. I know I’m not the best at doing this, but when writing an article on Helium.com, unless it’s a review on a restaurant, tv show/movie, etc., I’m not going to use “I” in there. That should be a pretty easy thing to remember, but if you’ve ever spent some time rating articles on Helium.com, you’ll find that it’s a rather pervasive thing. Those “I”s are everywhere!

Like I mentioned before, I am by no means the expert on article writing, however in my short experience I’ve been able to determine some unofficial rules that I should follow. I wish others would too.