Do you do extensive research? Or just a bit and let your writing skills do the rest?

sonnyisabeast Level 1

December 3, 2018, 3:35 am

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I write 2 to 3 articles per week for an online website. I have not really gotten the right style that works for me in terms of research and writing. Sometimes, I would do a lot of research, and then after I'v written the article, realize that I've used little of the research I made. Then there are times that I start with my writing, only to pause, then go back and research something about the item I am writing about. It kind of messes up with my writing momentum.

Do you have any tips or trick on how to effectively research and write that works for any particular topic of article? I find that with my system now, 3 times out of 5, I waste a lot of time for reasons that I took too long in my research, or I kept on inerrupting my writing groove/train of thought while writing.

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DenisP

DenisP

I’d say that I probably spend more time researching and fact checking than I do actually writing. There are certain standards which I absolutely demand of myself, and they include making sure that everything I write is 100% accurate and true.

There’s nothing I hate more than bloggers and other content creators who knowingly or unknowingly spread misinformation. As people with a voice and an audience that listens to it, we have the responsibility of making sure that we’re not misleading anyone or contributing to the spread of misinformation or fake news.

That being said, I also always just find it way easier to write quickly and effectively when I have all of my facts on hand. Doing the proper research is like an investment for me, because it's either do more research and spend less time writing, or do less research and spend more time writing and trying to compose my thoughts.

8 years ago

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knnon

knnon

I spend most of my time researching on the topic and while I'm doing my research I note down important things and jot them down in like a bullet form. Once my list is set and everything I need is ready I build my writing from that list.

8 years ago

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luv2xacosta

luv2xacosta

I do that sometimes especially if I have a confusion about my topic so I do research. It actually helps you broaden your knowledge about something that you write and helps you understand more the topic.

8 years ago

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knnon

knnon

And you tend to include all the information you need with this type of writing. It really is more effective for me as I can spend hours on researching and spend so little time writing because the main thoughts are already noted down I just need to build around them.

8 years ago

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Enyi

Enyi

I believe that every good writer should always do this because it helps to make one write extensively.no need just writing from the blues an extensively write up showns one that is an outstanding writer.

8 years ago

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mcnasci24

mcnasci24

Research first, always. It definitely improves my writing skills in that specific topic, gets my creative juices flowing, and more importantly, helps me verify everything I'm typing is true.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I am not comfortable in doing research that's why what I want to write are topics that I have extensive knowledge so what I would do is to create the outline and start writing. It is tedious when I do not know the topic that although the internet is rife with information but it is not that easy to research on the subject because I have to learn what I am researching about.

8 years ago

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HappyLady

HappyLady

I do this too.

I'm hopeless as my method is to research in minute detail. It informs me of all sorts of things. I can tell you about lifi and houses built in strange places, how to get a bail bond obscure states and all sorts of nonsense. Chances are I will never use a fraction of this knowledge except for the article.

This is the fun part of article writing, given most of us will accept whatever we are offered and work on it. We become a fountain of insane bits of weird knowledge.However, like you, I recognise the time-waste factor which is not conducive to earning money.

My next article will be written after reading up on the subject for less than an hour and in no more then five places. I cannot tell you if this will work. However, the trick has to be to limit the amount of research time. Unless of course, the knowledge is useful to you in your life. I hope we both solve what is a common problem.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

Unless you are writing an article about something you know well, research before writing should be mandatory. Never start writing before you have everything you need, keeping in mind the fact that those who will read you article will do so only because they have questions which they expect to be answered.

To make writing informational articles easier, place yourself in your reader's shoes.

If you were the reader and had specific questions about something, what would you like to know about it? Make a list of questions, you would want answered. First step, find these answers. Next step is to write the article. It is a simple strategy that will save you a lot of time.

8 years ago

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Em14

Em14

I think you have to study first the topic. Know the details and get impormative ideas. After that you can start writing an article and you will notice that its more better to have the details before writing it.

8 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

Well thanks to great teachers, reading a lot on my own, watching documentaries and great movies, and just listening to other people, I have accumulated quite a bit of knowledge for about half a century. Sometimes when I write, I can speak from what's in my head. But there are many times when extensive research is also needed. Thank the Lord for books in my home, public libraries, and the Internet. Anybody can write and talk trash. But is that really how you want people to grade your writing skills?

8 years ago

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rubeth1726

rubeth1726

I think it is depend on what kind of writing you are into. For instance, if you are writing about an educational or awareness topic, you need more research than your skills. On the other hand, if you do creative writing like poems and story telling, then you need your skills over research.

8 years ago

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mosesoscar

mosesoscar

What goes into my writing depends majorly on the field the writing will be taking me into. Before I started off as a writer, I was obsessed with reading, and that habit saw me venturing into so many fields that I will always have one or two things to chip in during discussions. I did facts checks, read histories and theories, and after I went into writing I needed to do little or no research when writing on a field I've once come across. But I'm not conversant with even all the fields I've come across, there're those I'm more conversant with compred to the other, and those I'm less conversant with will be requng more research than those I'm much conversant with.

So alot depends on my writing skill. But I do not shy away from research when necessary

8 years ago

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JBeleren

JBeleren

I do extensive research on topics I am unfamiliar with but in the middle of the research I tend to start writing before finishing it then go back to it when I need the additional information. I don't think it is the best way to do it but it works for me. There are times when I get really inspired and just write away and edit afterwards with the additional details I need to brush up on. Fortunately for me, I usually have an idea on most things I am asked to write about so I do initially start without relying so much on research.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

The same with me, I prefer researching more when the topic is unfamiliar. It would be a risk to just blurt out what you think is right about the topic. You will just go close to the possibility of losing your job. Even though it would take time, it's best to be knowledgeable.

8 years ago

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jpk0007

jpk0007

I think one has to do adequate research of a topic on which he is writing , especially when he is completely unaware of the subject. There is no point in coming up with incomplete facts and figures just in order to complete a job given to you. However, most of the times you tend to have extensive knowledge about the subject that you are writing and you dont need to do a lot of research to write about it.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

Yes, writing based from your opinion and imagination will just affect you negatively. You might event lose your job when problems will arise. It's better to stick to the safe and appropriate side. Research or what you don't know.

8 years ago

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angie828

angie828

I do quite a bit of research when I write, especially if I do not know a lot about the topic at hand. There are some niches that I know quite a bit about, such as children, cats, recipes and cooking, and health and beauty. This is because all of this stuff really interests me. And I have done a lot of research about it in the past. For some reason, health articles really fascinate me. And I can sit for hours and watch videos on beauty.

If I am not familiar with a niche, I will do the needed research in order to make my articles the best that they can be.

8 years ago

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cks003

cks003

The ideas and information gathered from extensive research could be very useful in preparing an informative and educational article. Without much research, a writer would not be able to produce a good article regardless of the writing skill that he possesses. In the same vein, without writing skill, the readers of the article would not be able to understand and appreciate if it is not well presented. So I believe producing a good article requires both research and writing skill.

8 years ago

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Franzel2oo

Franzel2oo

I have two ways. First one is to figure out an angle I'll like to write from. At that point I go on to do some research bearing in mind the angle I have preconceived. The second method is to go and do research before anything else and let the findings determine the angle I'll be writing from. I don't know about any right or wrong way to write. I only know that what matters is that you write something good and worth the read.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

It actually depends on the topic. Of course, if the topic is unfamiliar to me, I would do extensive research so I wouldn't be put to shame. But, if the topic is very well familiar to me, I would not spend my whole time researching for the same information that I already know. It's best to save time to be productive.

8 years ago

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jaymish3

jaymish3

I think that I had the exact same problem as you do. When I first began writing I used to spend alot of time on my research.If you are writing for some websites they want you to turn over the work in an two hours minimum. This can be really tedious especially the research part. I have learned to limit my research depending on what i am writing. I also write in areas that I know alot and can write with just a little research.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

Well, it's just a sad fact that we have to spend time researching before writing. In my case, if I still have an option and I was asked to write for something that I don't know in a short period of time and needs and extensive research, I would choose not to do it.

8 years ago

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jessie271

jessie271

If extensive research is necessary and if you think that you are not that confident with yourself that you have enough knowledge about the topic, you can do some extensive research. As writers, we never cease to learn. We should always seek to improve ourselves and improve our writing skills. There is always room for more improvement. This should be our mindset as writers. Because if you think that you already know enough, you will stop learning new things. Growth then will stop.

8 years ago

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mhingnhormz

mhingnhormz

Do you extensive research!? or just a bit and let your writings skills do the rest: If you think the topic is not that really familiar to you or your ideas are not enough for your piece then you need extensive research specially if your not confident of the ideas you have in your own. It was really good for you lr work to be more productable and meaningful, the more knowlegde you put in it.

8 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

I do some research but I always limit the scope of the topic, in this way my research time would also be shortened. And the article would be simple and easy to understand with the key points properly addressed and discussed.

8 years ago

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mdayrit

mdayrit

Research and fact checking are always a part of article writing for me. This is to make sure that you are not spreading wrong information. When I do my research, I write down things that I want to write in the article. I list questions that needs to be answered. This way, I know what to look for when I do my research. I cannot spend time reading all things related to the topic I am writing so I need to be specific on what information I need to look for and check.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

Spreading wrong information is just like writing fake news which is prevalent in the social media. There is one question that a student asked me. It was part of their assignment. The question is this - what do you think is the ratio of fact versus false information in the internet? That was hard to answer although on impulse I had 30% false and 70% fact.

8 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

I think it is very important to have some extensive research first about a particular topic or article that we will make because it will help us to easily have some better ideas regarding on the articles that we will make. It would be very hard for us if we don't have much knowledge on the article that we will make and it might be as if we are just wasting our precious time.

8 years ago

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gutzman

gutzman

Well you can't help it. You'll really spend a lot of time on research but it'll pay just right for you. Once you have gathered all the facts and thought in your mind about the topic with what you have read after researching, it would be easier for you to write. Think of it as an investment. You took a lot of time researching but you will use less time on writing because everything is already settled in your mind on what to write. The only thing that you'll have to work on after writing is just editing instead of writing while researching. That is more time consuming.

8 years ago

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Enyi

Enyi

I try to research extensively on topics I'm trying to write on.it not about copying off any article on the net but just researching on new discoveries and adding one's knowledge to the write up to have a very unique article or write up.

8 years ago

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antonToledo

antonToledo

I usually do extensive research if the topic I am going to write is new to me or I do not have enough knowledge in the particular field. Doing extensive research is very important you cannot write something good if you don't have enough information regarding the topic, but if the topic is very familiar to me I just use my stacked knowledge to write something.

8 years ago

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jaymish3

jaymish3

I agree that if you are writing in an area you know nothing about you need to do your research. I also think that this is why I would recommend that you write in an area you are familiar with. You will still have to do your research but not as much as if you are a novice in the area. You would also be able to turn any research you use to learn more and write the article in a way that it's not plagiarised because you would be combining your knowledge and fill in the gaps with your research.

8 years ago

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