From My Desk To Yours – 21st Edition

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FOREIGN TO ME
By: Penny, EzineArticles Managing Editor

The article writing and marketing industry is a global community made up of people from hundreds of different countries with almost as many different languages.

In fact, EzineArticles Expert Authors come from a total of 230 different countries, territories or islands.

In a perfect world, we would have a section of the site devoted to each different language spoken by our authors. However, supporting each language would mean we’d need a full complement of editorial staffers who speak each individual language in order to provide our current high level of member service. As a result of this logistical challenge, we are currently only accepting articles written in English.

That means you have to know and understand our Editorial Guidelines, speak the English language and then be able to write high-quality articles.

Writing Articles With English as Your Second Language (Or Third or Fourth)

Implementing a successful article writing and marketing plan can be difficult in itself, but it’s even tougher if English isn’t your primary language. To remedy that, I’ve gathered some “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for non-native English speakers to follow as you implement your article marketing campaign.

DO:

• Use a Translational Dictionary – The translational dictionary is an important tool for the process of learning English. When questions arise regarding proper English words and usage, a dictionary can give valuable information for making the right choices. Using it often is essential to mastering the language.
• Strive to Understand Basic Grammar Rules – One of the common grammar problem areas is plural vs. singular versions of words. (For example: “penny” versus “pennies”, “this car” versus “these cars” and “deer” versus “deer”). And there are many others. Try reading simple English stories as practice. Immersing yourself in the language will help you build your vocabulary, understand how to use that vocabulary and improve your grammar.
• Ask For Help – We strongly suggest that you have any written content proofed by someone who has English as their native tongue (or is extremely fluent) before submitting your articles to us. This will increase your chances of getting each article approved on the first submission and help you learn.
• Stay Consistent in Dialect – Be aware of British and American spelling differences. We accept both, but stay consistent in the dialect you use through each article.

DON’T:

• Don’t Trust an Article Translator Program – They may seem like the best option, but computer programs may not capture the nuances of the text you’ve written. Again, seek the help of a friend that has a better understanding of the English language to help you through the translation and reviewing your article.
• Don’t Link to a Site in Another Language – Only link to sites that are in English. Linking to a non-English site when your article is in English doesn’t make sense to us or to your readers.
• Don’t Forget Punctuation – Check that you’re using punctuation correctly. For example, put commas where they are necessary, but don’t overuse them. And remember to always put a space after any end-of-sentence or mid-sentence punctuation like periods, exclamation points, question marks, commas, colons and semicolons.

Use these “Do’s” and “Don’ts” when writing your next set of articles to significantly improve your chances of first time approvals. Also, take a minute to share any of your own tips for others.

Posted by Penny, Managing Editor on January 4, 2011 at 12:05 pm | 3,602 views