Context Matters to Content

Getting your writing to be noticed by others does not merely consist of using good spelling, grammar and punctuation. It also involves context. Context in writing involves the things written before and after a particular part in order to give clarity to the reader. If a reader is unsure what you are referring to or what something in your article means, they will typically rely on what was said before and after to understand. That is why it is so important to be aware of what context you use in your writing. The wrong wording could change the entire meaning of an article to someone.

It is important to remember that when communication takes place, it always involves at least two people. This is no different for the freelance writer who is writing an article, blog, or anything else for that matter. With this blog my intention is to communicate my journey as a freelance writer. The communication takes place once someone else reads any of my posts. If you want what you write to communicate effectively then you must keep your topic focused, remember your audience and be careful how you use tone in your writing. All of these things will affect the context of what you write and invariably affect how people perceive your content.

Keep the context and content focused. If a historian is writing a piece for a text book on World War II, the focus can hold to any issues pertaining to the entire war. But if the historian is writing a piece on D-Day, then his/her focus becomes much more narrow. A writer must understand what they are wanting to write about and then stick to that topic. It would not serve my context or content in this post to begin talking about how I had barbecue ribs last night for supper. Nor would it serve any purpose for me to talk about where to submit articles either. To keep my context and content focused in this post I need to stick with the topic of context and how it affects writing. Focusing on your topic will also help your writing to read much smoother. It will not confuse the reader by jumping from topic to topic and thus confuse the context.

Another thing to remember when it comes to context and writing, is to remember your audience. If you are writing an article about surfing in California for a twenty-something age group, you may not want to include where the local shuffle board courts are. What you will want to do is focus your article's language and content to match not only those interested in surfing, but the twenty-something age group that the article is suppose to reach. By remembering who your intended audience is, you will be able to focus your content even more. This will make for a more effective piece of communication through your writing. By doing this you also ensure your reader understands what you are writing. The lingo for a twenty-something crowd may confuse someone in their sixties and vice-versa.

Your tone will affect the context of your writing as well. Tone can be a very tricky thing to relay appropriately in writing. Have you ever received a text message and thought the person was upset, only to find out that they were actually just joking and laughing? The tone of your writing can change the context completely. It might be easy for a man that was recently cheated on and who is writing about women who cheat to have a negative tone to his article. Writers are more effective when they leave their personal feelings out of what they are writing, unless it is called for. A person that is writing an article on the current health care reform in Congress for a publisher seeking an unbiased and fact based website, would not appreciate an article filled with your opinion or your possibly slanted way of reporting the "facts". However, if you are writing for an openly conservative website they may require that you include that bias and opinion in the article. My point is, is that when we write using our opinion or feelings we tend to use different words than when we are simply reporting the facts. Our language becomes a bit more lively and vivid as we begin to implement our anger toward cheaters, but if the publisher wants an unbiased article on cheating you must leave it out and remain neutral. You will have more of your writing accepted if you will keep to what the publisher asks for and nothing more.

All of the things listed above can be double checked with a good proof-reading of your article. Go back and read through the article several times, a few times aloud helps to. If you have someone else that can read over your article before you submit it, then they may catch mistakes you made as well. They can also give you good insight into whether or not your context confuses them anywhere.

So as you begin to write your next piece, remember what your topic is. Remember who you are writing to and only inject your own bias and opinion if that is what is called for. Good luck!