As you know, we’ll be asking you to contribute to the QUADRAT blog on a regular basis. Blog writing is a skill, so here are some tips on how to do it well!
Ideally your post should be 3-4 paragraphs of text (approx. 400-500 words) and some photos would be ideal – we want it to be visually appealing as well as interesting to read!
- Get straight to the point
Start with your main message and make this the focus of your post – we want to hear about your research, field work, training courses, assessments, cohort building activities…all aspects of your PhD life!
- Write for the outside world
– Explain what you’re doing, don’t assume people already know.
– Avoid technical or industry terms; if you must use them, explain what they mean. If you use acronyms make sure you give the full name early on in the post.
- Grab the reader’s attention
– Make sure you have a new take on a topic or an exciting update. Your own perspective is a unique and interesting viewpoint in this respect.
– It is great to talk about innovative work that you/your supervisor/sector is involved in.
- Give it a snazzy title
The title is the first thing which will draw the reader’s attention – keep it short but engaging, make your audience want to find out more.
- Make yourself understood and make it personal
– Try to use everyday language, simple words and short sentences.
– Get your personality across when you write, it will help make the blog more engaging
- Create a concise summary of your blog
– Summarise the blog, at the start, in 65 characters or fewer, this will ensure Google displays the content in the right way.
- Be short and snappy
– 400 words for the blog should be plenty; if you’ve got more to say, save it for another post. You can post updates or follow up posts.
– Tell people what’s coming up and ask them to give feedback or get involved/ contact you to discuss it further. This is a great way to network.
- Break up the text
– Keep to one point per paragraph and use headings or images to split up text.
- Show as well as tell
– Send us landscape photographs and include links to websites and YouTube videos to illustrate your post.
– Make sure that you own images trademarks, intellectual property rights etc before sending us pictures or make sure you provide references for these.
– Caption your images.
- Read it aloud
– Proof reading is key! Check for typos and grammar/spelling mistakes.
– After you write a blog, read it out loud to check it’s written the way you speak.
– Once you’re happy, ask someone else review it.
- Help to promote it
– Once the blog has been published please help to promote it via your social media feeds (we will also share via the QUADRAT and School social media accounts).
Send your finished blog posts as a word document to quadrat@abdn.ac.uk so that Izzie can post them on the website! Attach your photographs separately if you can!
