Online Writing Contest - Competition Tips - How to Win Every Contest You Enter

So you've stumbled across an online writing competition / contest, or perhaps your favourite brand of cereal is offering you a chance to win a holiday around the world. All you have to do is tell them in 25 words or less why you want it. And you want to win, right?

Well believe it or not there are a small number of easy steps you can take to dramatically increase the odds in your favor. And here they are, free of charge just because I'm such a nice guy...

No Sob Stories!

Online Writing Contest - Competition Tips - How to Win Every Contest You Enter

This tip goes first on the list, because it is the most important. For some reason the first thing that seems to come to people's minds with these contests and competitions is "how can I get them to pity me?" It sounds like a great plan as an entrant, but speaking from personal experience as a judge in these contests, I can tell you that it's a complete turnoff.

Nonetheless people will try ever trick in the book...

We can't pay the rent... our house burnt down... everybody in my family has cancer... I need 16 operations so that my dog stops being depressed and I can have my leg re-attached then pay the rent and burn the house down... well you get the point.

Let me make it very clear - this tactic does not work, even if you are telling the truth, because:

1. Judges can't verify your claims, so anyone can make up any story they like.

2. After a while these entries become so numerous and laborious that they don't stand out.

All that you will do is send the judge into a depression spiral. More to the point, you will end up highlighting your competitors' entries because theirs are more enjoyable to read.

Be Creative and Make it Fun to Read

Depending on the number of entrants, judges can often have a lot of text to read. As their head slumps closer and closer to the desk and the coffee starts to wear off, your entry is going to need to have something special about it to get noticed. The best thing you can do is get creative. And I mean really thinking outside of the box (if you are thinking poetry right now, you are not thinking hard enough).

My advice to you here is simple. If you come up with something different and make it really stand out, and MAKE IT FUNNY, you will win. When I hear a fellow judge burst out into laughter at his or her desk, 9 times out of 10 he or she is reading the winner. I can usually even tell which entry they are reading because I had the same reaction when I first read it.

If you can manufacture a reaction like this, chances are you are on a winner. I suggest using your friends and family as test dummies here. If they end up in a ball rolling around the floor you've done your job. If the best you get is "not bad", "(chuckle) very good" or even "looks good to me", then you need to go back to the drawing board.

Now that's not to say every winner will be comical or humorous, but your entry needs to stand out as somehow being impressive or interesting.

Stick to the Rules and Stay on Topic

If I had a penny for every time a "words or less" entry broke the rules, I would currently be Bahamas and you would be on your own with this one. Take the time to read the rules, terms and conditions before entering. And if you are provided with a quick-start guide to entering a competition, read it over at least 3 times and make sure you take the advice onboard.

In general, you should always:

· Stay within the word limit

· Write in direct response to the competition's question or topic (really important!)

· Avoid coarse language

· Submit your entry in the language requested

Short, Sharp, Shiny

Just because you are allowed to use 25 words doesn't mean you should. If your entry says what you want it to say, don't fill up the rest of your word limit by repeating yourself or adding useless details. All you end up doing is diluting your message.

Polish It!

So it took you 5 minutes (or maybe 2 days) to create your entry. Would another 5 minutes of proofreading kill you? No, of course not, but it will definitely help you win. Check your grammar, check your punctuation, check your capitalization and check your spelling. Presentation makes your entry easier to read, and will greatly improve your chances.

Submit It

It sounds obvious, doesn't it? But how many times have you seen a competition you would like to enter, only to let the due date slip by? As the saying goes, you've got to be in it to win it. And if you use the advice I've just given you, your chances of coming out on top will greatly improve.

So what are you waiting for?

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Michael Dorian is the founder of Wish and Vote, the world's easiest online writing competition/contest [http://www.wishandvote.com].

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Technical Writing - Importance of Scope Statement, Marketing Specs,and Functional Specs Documents

There are many different kinds of "spec sheets" that a technical writer should pay close attention to since they may (and they do) prove to be indispensable for writing all sorts of technical document.

We have already covered in another article what Design Specs, and Testing Specs documents are and why a technical writer should be familiar with them.

Here are some other important "spec sheets":

Technical Writing - Importance of Scope Statement, Marketing Specs,and Functional Specs Documents

SCOPE STATEMENT - Technically this is not a "spec sheet" but it is still very important since it is the very first statement that needs to be written down before a project can start. It defines the general nature of the project; its audience; what it is supposed to deliver and solve what kind of a problem (the "problem statement"); the names of "stake holders;" what should be project produce at the end ("project deliverables"); major "milestone" dates in project calendar; and the rough cost estimate.

MARKETING SPECS (a.k.a. "Marketing Requirements Document (MRD)," "Marketing Requirements Specs" or just "Requirements Specs" for short) - The list of all the functions and features that the product should have; the profile ("demographics") of the market segment(s) that the product should be targeted for; the list of benefits that the product should offer to the end-users; analysis of competing products with their contrasting and similar features and benefits; etc.

FUNCTIONAL SPECS (a.k.a. "Functional Specifications Document (FSD) or just the "specs,") - The detailed engineering document that lists of all the technical features of all system components and functions. Without the details included in the functional specs, no product can be designed or manufactured.

For example, a marketing spec can mention that "the Gadget delivers ice cubes shaped like stars at the push of a button."

But that means almost nothing for engineers unless they also know the shape and exact size of the Gadget, all the circuitry and digital components in it, the temperature range within which the Gadget should operate, what kind of "system load" it should withstand, where should exactly each bolt, screw and nut be placed, etc. 

That's why a functional spec is usually the longest, most detailed and hardest to understand spec sheet that a technical writer has to deal with. But for the very same reason, it is also the most important since it usually has the answers to many product-related questions that a writer might have.

Technical Writing - Importance of Scope Statement, Marketing Specs,and Functional Specs Documents
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Dr. Ugur Akinci is a Fortune 500 Sr. Technical Communicator http://www.technicalcommunicationcenter.com/

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Article Writing Tips - How to Write an Opinion Piece

You know what they say about opinions. Everybody has one. And that's why writing an opinion piece can be an exercise in futility if it's not done correctly. You're probably thinking, "How can an opinion be correct or not correct?" It can't, but there are better ways to approach opinion pieces than others. In this article, I'm going to give you my opinion on what the best way is to write an opinion piece, based on my personal experience.

There is a lot of irony in this article, wouldn't you say? I'm giving you my opinion on writing opinion pieces. The key to this however, is that I am giving it based on my personal experience. Also, quite ironically, there is your answer in a nutshell...experience. It's hard to argue with somebody when they are speaking from experience. I've been writing for over 30 years and my best articles, at least the ones that got the most feedback, were the ones where I was writing from experience.

Okay, but what if you don't have personal experience with a subject? What if you're writing an opinion piece on whether the government should pass a certain law or not? Let's say the law had something to do with a certain type of crime, calling for stiffer penalties. If you've never broken the law, or been a victim of that crime, you can't speak from experience. So then what do you do? That's where you move onto the next best thing. Back up your opinion with some statistics.

Article Writing Tips - How to Write an Opinion Piece

For example, let's take that newly proposed law. Certainly there has to be some statistics that support the passing of the law. Seek them out and present them in your article. Give your opinion that the law should be passed and point out these statistics, whether it be people murdered, raped, robbed or whatever. By showing how the current law is not much of a deterrent, you make your case for the new, tougher law. It's not rocket science and it works very well.

When you give your opinion and back it up with either your personal experience or some solid facts, it's hard to go wrong with your article.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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Article Writing - How to Summarize an Article

So you have a lengthy article and you want to learn how to summarize your article in an effective manner. You can write a summary in just five minutes. Here is how to do it.

Step 1: Start writing your summary immediately.

Don't sit there and think about what to include in your article summary. Start from the beginning of your article and start writing immediately. Your article has numerous paragraphs. Start from the first paragraph.

Article Writing - How to Summarize an Article

Step 2: Pick the most important sentence in each paragraph.

Always start by picking just one sentence from each paragraph. Notice that in every paragraph, there is a key message. If this key sentence doesn't exist, create one for your summary. You should use no more than 2 sentences to summarize each paragraph.

Step 3: Link all the key sentences together.

A summary is like a mini-article for your main article. When you pick sentences from the paragraphs, they may appear to be disconnected. Now is the time to do some "stitching" work. When you are finished, reread the summary again to make sure that the words are flowing nicely.

When writing summaries, do not add anything that you have not written about in the article body. The summary is supposed to be a short paragraph that sums up all the key points. If you add extra materials, they won't seem to fit. Your readers may also be confused because something new just popped up from nowhere.

With practice, you should be able to write summaries in record time. Try to beat my personal best of 2 minutes! - (Well, it's a really short summary.)

Article Writing - How to Summarize an Article
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