3. Who do you know who has an unusual or remarkable story – something that affected children? What did parents learn? Write an article using anecdote as an introduction to information you want to give. A great anecdote can sell a story.

4. Visit online parenting forums and read questions people ask. Use some of these as a basis for your article ideas.

5. When you research a piece and talk to experts, look for what you don’t know. “Joe says insurance is important for families,” won’t make an article interesting. Too many people know that insurance is important. But a quote like, “Joe says disability insurance is most neglected area of insurance, but it protects young families from biggest threat to their security,” will make parents keep reading.

If you give editors timely articles that readers will want to read, you’ll sell your work over and over again.

Comma Use The use of commas can be confusing for many writers. Three rules for using commas are addressed here. The first rule involves comma use when a series is given, such as in example below.

I bought carrots, peas, and watermelons.

Some readers may consider this rule controversial; some teachers and editors may say final comma is not necessary, in my opinion use of final comma is more appropriate than not. If, for some reason, your teacher or editor tells you final comma is unnecessary then ask them to explain why, I do not have an explanation as to why some have a preference for not using final comma. Do not use a comma when only two items are in series, such as in sentence below.

I saw birds and fish at pet store.

The second rule for use of commas is to use a comma before “and” when a wholly correct clause is introduced. The way to determine if clause is wholly correct is to ask if it makes sense on its own, such as having its own subject(s) and verb(s). The example below shows two clauses separated by “and,” along with a correctly used comma.

We went to store, and Joan bought some juice.

The third rule is an extension of second rule; do not use a comma to separate a sentence from text that could not be a complete clause on its own. The example below shows an incorrect use of a comma in this situation.

We are going home, and sleep.

The ending of example sentence (“…and sleep”) is not a complete sentence on its own, therefore, a comma should not be used before “and.”

Acronyms and Abbreviations Completely spell out acronyms and abbreviations first time they are used. Once a writer decides to use an acronym or abbreviation they should be used throughout remainder of text, switching back and forth between full spelling and acronym or abbreviation should be avoided.

Using “etc.,” “i.e.,” and “e.g.” The final rules discussed in this article involve use of several common abbreviations. The first abbreviation is “etc.” This comes from Latin and is an abbreviation for et cetera, which means “and others.” First, make sure that a period is included at end; second, make sure that “others” have been specified previously. A final note on this abbreviation, if it is used put letters in correct order; “ect.” is not correct. The second abbreviation often misused is “i.e.” Also from Latin, this is a shortened form of id est which means “that is.” When used correctly this abbreviation indicates an alternative way of stating something. The most common error when using “i.e.” is not following it with a comma; there should be two periods and a comma in this abbreviation. The final abbreviation discussed in this article is “e.g.” Again, this is an abbreviation for a Latin phrase, “exempla gratia.” This is used when writer means “for example” or “for instance.” Some people believe that “e.g.” stands for example given, this is not true, but it can be a helpful way to remember that it does have something to do with an example. Similar to use of “i.e.” many writers forget to put a comma after second period in “e.g.” Below are three correct examples of these abbreviations.

Bob bought a whole bunch of office supplies, pens, pencils, staples, paper, highlighters, and erasers on his way home. He purchased so many things that when he got home he realized that he had forgotten a bag at store. He had his pens and pencils, but staples etc. were still at store.

John is a big person, i.e., he is over six feet tall.

The black horse is fast, e.g., it has won all of its races.

By using rules above your writing will make more sense and will be correct. Future articles will address other writing errors and provide additional advice.

1 Compact Oxford Online Dictionary. 25 January 2005. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/splitinfinitive