WeekendNotes Style Guide

Style Guide
Focus of Weekend Notes
Basic Structure
Basic Grammar
Tone
Article Types
Write a Review, Not an Advertisement
General Tips

Style Guide

This guide instructs new and experienced writers on how to construct and submit articles for WeekendNotes.

A consistent format and style across all WeekendNotes articles provides a better reading experience.

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Focus of Weekend Notes

  • Weekend Notes reviews fun things to do on the weekend, such as one-time and regular events, enjoyable activities, shops, bars, and restaurants, and everything in between. We also publish an e-newsletter that comprises the best articles on the site.

  • Be creative! We are looking for things that people may not have considered. We love non-commercial ideas like walks, bike rides, parks, beaches, and nice picnic spots.

  • There is some scope for articles that fall outside of these guidelines. These articles must be well written, appealing to the readership, and somewhat leisure related. This article about playing in the rain is a good example. If you intend to write one, you should seek approval first. The decision to approve or not is entirely at the discretion of the editors.

  • Read a few articles on Weekend Notes before submitting your own to get an idea of topics that are appropriate.
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    Basic Structure

  • Every article should include at least one link and one photograph. The photographs must be your own, from the event website, or copyright free (Wikipedia is a good resource for copyright free photos). Credit your photos where necessary.

  • You are required to submit articles using the format provided. To begin, click the New Article link on your Writers Page and add your article and title in the boxes provided. Don’t use clever or ambiguous titles; if you are writing about Bob’s Bakery, the title will be Bob’s Bakery.

  • There are five formatting buttons; bold, italics, link, photo, and sections. The sections option will be discussed further in this guide.

  • Articles should use paragraphs breaks and not indentations
    You can save your article at any stage by hitting Submit (this will not notify the editor). You will now find it listed in your Writers Page and can go back to it by clicking the Preview link.

  • Articles should be between 150 and 500 words. These limits are not rigid but you should have a good reason for submitting a longer or short article. Unless the article is excellent and sums up everything succinctly, you may be asked to lengthen articles that are less than 150 words.

  • On the Preview Review page, there is a Paid Writer Section. Some of the information field in this section are mandatory, while filling out all of the applicable boxes will result in a higher editor score. Try to keep your answers brief – if you need more than ten words, should include this information in the article.

    Advanced Options:

  • City – Choose the appropriate city from the drop down menu. If the article is to be published in all cities, leave a note for the editor. Mandatory.

  • Type – The types of articles are discussed further in this guide. Mandatory.

  • Start Date/End Date – This applies to events with a start and finish date. If it runs for one day, put that date in both boxes.

  • Website – Only add a website that relates directly to the article topic. If you are reviewing Bob’s Bakery you will put www.bobsbakery.com in the website box, but if you are writing a compilation of the best bakeries in Melbourne you will leave this blank.

  • Why? – This should provide readers with a reason to try the activity you’ve reviewed. Try to be funny or witty, and refrain from using generic phrases like, "Live life to the full."

  • Where – This might be a street address or something more abstract like The Internet or Your Backyard.

  • Map Address – If the topic of your review has a street address, add it here and a map will be added to the end of your article. Make sure you check your map before you submit your article; common mistakes include a blank map or showing the same address in a different town. If your map does show up blank, try removing the building number in the address or putting something more general (e.g. Cultural Centre Brisbane, instead of Shop 14 Grey Street, Cultural Centre Brisbane).

  • When – Like the where box, this can be literal (Monday to Friday from 9am – 5pm) or abstract (summer, any time).
    Cost – Sometimes this is simple ($10 a ticket, $50 per person) and other times, like when reviewing a restaurant, it is more complex. You don’t need to list the price of every item on the menu, just try to give an idea of the cost.

  • Where are the images from – Even if you credit the photos in your article, you still need to say where you got them from. Mandatory.

  • Summary/Teaser – This will show when your article comes up on search engines. Your summary should entice the reader to navigate to your article. Mandatory.

  • Keywords – List up to ten key phrases that are relevant to your article.

  • Original Photos – If you took any photos select the quantity from the drop down menu.

  • URL Directory – This is usually a repeat of your title. If you are unsure, leave it to the editors.

  • Email Titles – The most popular email title will be used if your article makes it into the newsletter. The first should be identical to your title. Have some fun with the other two – try puns or jokes.
    Categories:

  • Every article should have at least one category. There is no limit, so long as they are relevant to your article. If an editor has to delete too many irrelevant categories, they may mark you down.

  • Some cities also require area (northside, inner city) and location (the suburb).
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    Basic Grammar

  • You do not need to be an Oxford scholar to write for Weekend Notes, but you must have a basic grasp of grammatical conventions and be able to produce something that is readable.

  • Capital letters and full stops are mandatory. If you do not use these, you will be asked to resubmit.
    All the words in your titles (including email titles) should be capitalised except for linking words like 'the' and 'and'. If you are unsure, capitalise everything.

  • Punctuation should be on the outside of your links.
    Use commas economically. Try reading your sentence out loud and if you don’t pause naturally when you reach the comma, leave it out.

  • The use of exclamation marks is generally frowned upon.
    Book and movie titles should be italicised.
    Writing for the internet is different to other forms of writing. Unlike print media you do not need to start a new paragraph for each sentence, however huge slabs of texts are hard to read. Try to keep your paragraphs short and punchy.
    Try to keep sentences short as well. Read your work out loud. If you find yourself stopping constantly for breath, you may need to revise.
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    Tone

  • Most of all, your articles should be informative, interesting, and entertaining. Playful language and humour are encouraged.

  • Don’t spend the first couple of paragraphs on a meandering introduction, or begin with generic phrases like, "Now that winter is setting in..." Get straight to the point. It’s best to launch straight into a description of the event or activity, and try to include the essential information (such as place, time, and a link to the event's website) in the first paragraph.

  • Include useful background information. If you are reviewing a concert, provide links to the bands website or a YouTube video of them performing. Wikipedia is good for learning more about a person or event.

  • Don't link to commercial websites that have compiled information from many different sources, like a restaurant directory. Either find the original source or leave it out.
    Try to include transport information wherever possible.

  • Many websites have a dedicated 'how to get there' page that you can link to. Alternately, you can direct readers to the 131500.info website.

  • Put an appropriate amount of effort into your articles. Good writers will be invited to submit more, and will have more ideas approved.

  • Don't be disheartened if your first couple of articles are sent back for revision; it may take you awhile to get the hang of how we like to do things here. Take your editors advice on board and don't be afraid to ask any questions.
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    Article Types

    Weekend Notes currently has seven article types.

  • Activity covers ongoing events, such as markets (http://www.weekendnotes.com/trash-and-treasure-markets/), or things you can do at any time (like going to the beach - http://www.weekendnotes.com/jersey-shore/).

  • An event is a one-time activity with a start and finish date. This includes annual events like festivals. These must be submitted at least two weeks before the event.

  • Questions pose a query with the aim of starting a conversation. Questions should relate to businesses or events, for example, Where is the Best Cafe in Perth? or Where is Australia's Best Beach? Encourage the readers to share their answers. Question duplicates are not OK.

  • Place covers reviews of stationary venues – bars, retail stores, sporting centres, parks, and museums are just some of the topics that Place covers. As a general rule of thumb, if it has a street address, it's probably a place.

  • List articles provide a number of options centred on a particular theme, like the best picnic spots in your town, or your favourite recipes. You don't always have to list the best – the Three Most Overrated Places series has a popular one.

  • Combos provide our readers with a suggested itinerary of activities to do in a particular area. A Day in Covent Garden provides a guide for shopping, sightseeing, and eating in the London precinct.

  • Sales inform our readers of promotions run by retail outlets and should be submitted as far in advance as possible. Here is an example.

  • Sections can be used in any of the article types, but are commonly used for combos and lists. They break up longer articles by putting each segment on a different page. You will need to give each section, including your introduction, a title, then highlight the title and select the Section button on your formatting bar. The finished product will look something like this.

  • Weekend Notes also publishes photographs. These come under the headings Photo and Food.

  • Photos cover a broad range of options and should be leisure related. A picture of your dog in a dog park is acceptable; a picture of your dog in the back yard is not. Photo’s require a title, a caption, categories, and location if applicable. This one is a good example.

  • Food photos should be of food only. Title these 'Name of Dish' @ 'Name of Restaurant'. These also require a title, caption, categories, and location if applicable. A good example can be found here.
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    Write a Review, Not an Advertisement

    You've found a great new place and you want to tell the world about it. That's great! Just remember that you are writing a review, not an advertisement. Your job is to provide ideas and information, not to convince the reader to go.

    Be honest. Negative comments about some aspect are fine – in fact, a few negative remarks can lend a review more credibility.

    Do not use advertising copy like 'sensational' and 'amazing'. If you are too enthusiastic our readers won't believe you, even if you are being honest.

    Stephen King says that the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and we tend to agree. Don’t describe something as 'incredibly delicious'; delicious by itself is fine.

    If you’re having trouble keeping it objective, try writing your review in the third person. Don't say things like, "This is the best food I’ve ever eaten", even if it is.

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    General Tips

    Always read your work out loud before submitting. You will be amazed how many mistakes you will find this way!

    Don't be afraid to take your questions to the Writers Forum. Our established writers are quick to share their knowledge and there's nearly always an editor around to clarify things.

    If your articles are written in Microsoft Word before being submitted, remember to make sure there are line breaks between each paragraph as they are sometimes removed by the copy-and-paste process.

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