The process of writing, designing, revising, and editing an article is similar to that used for academic essays (see Chapter 16). You’ll find some differences in the areas of word choice, design, and source documentation. Your choice of words should be consistent with that of the other published articles you’ve reviewed in the publication. In particular, you should pay attention to the level of formality (including the use of contractions and slang), the use of specialized terminology (jargon), and references to the work of other authors. Review your publication analysis to determine how you should address these issues.

The design of your article should also build on what you learned through your publication analysis. It is generally not necessary to design your article so that it mimics the layout used in the publication. It can be helpful, however, to draft your article with particular design elements in mind. By placing images, tables, charts, and figures in your draft, you can gain a sense of how the article will appear to readers. By creating sidebars or setting up pull quotes, you can determine which points will be highlighted for your readers. Similarly, you can format your headings and subheadings in ways that mirror how they are formatted in the publication and use colors to set a particular mood or to highlight key information. Using design as a composing element can help you view your draft as your readers will, allowing you to anticipate how they are likely to view and understand your article.

As you revise and edit your article, be sure to ask for feedback from people you trust. Ask them to put themselves in the role of a reader of your target publication. If they are unfamiliar with the publication, share the results of your publication analysis with them. Depending on your purpose and role, you might choose one of the peer-review activities in the chapters in Part Two. You can also review the advice for effective peer review in Chapter 4.