Studio Blog

A great List article should strive to marry knowledge derived from both the writer’s own expertise as well as additional research done to complement that knowledge, or at the very least reinforce it. Each section should tie in to the title to make it all relevant to the reader and deliver the information they seek. It’s not enough to only list the different things, ways or locations the title asks for, it should also explain why these are the ones you chose to include and how it relates to the title.


A great example of how writer background enhances credibility to a piece of content can be seen in this article below where it shines through in both the author’s writing as well as in her bio. Each section explains why the breed mentioned is good for seniors in particular, it's not just a list of dogs and what they look like.

 

http://www.ehow.com/list_5814477_dogs-people-over-50.html

We also want you to go beyond the minimum requirements. We see a lot of three-section List articles when there were more that could have been added to make a more complete article. The articles should only have three sections if there is absolutely nothing else valuable to add. Or, if the three sections and overview are already 500 words and you can't cut it down to make room for more sections. We don't want you to start adding sections just for the sake of adding sections, but we want to make sure you provide the reader with a good experience and that requires going beyond the bare minimum.

Also, please check out Nine Tips for Writing Better List Articles in the resource center for more advice.

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