Quality of writing vs knowledge vs research

**Learning Newbie** · 10-10-2008, 03:04 PM

I'm curious how people see the interplay of these skills or attributes? Must they come in a set, or can a person survive with good research skills and no experience or background knowledge? Is it better to write well, and make factual errors? What, exactly, does writing well mean?

Is it a matter of running a spell and grammar check? (That's like asking if bug free but lousy software is "good".) Does it mean communicating clearly, writing with flair, using lots of (or very few) exotic words? How important is being an inviting writer - writing addictive text that forces the reader to keep turning the page?

On the question of research, does it make sense to "cover all niches" (which reminds me of the Lake Wobegon Fallacy), or is there still value in the adage, write what you know?

Finally, out of curiosity, how do people think this blog post compares to the majority of commercial content production on the web? And on that note, how does this industry differ between the web and print?

**trelog** · 10-11-2008, 02:02 PM

Writing well to me is to finding the information and learning how to effectively summarize what you have found, so that your writing flows..with proper use of grammar and of course good spelling.

**chrishirst** · 10-11-2008, 06:12 PM

Quote:

I'm curious how people see the interplay of these skills or attributes? Must they come in a set, or can a person survive with good research skills and no experience or background knowledge? Is it better to write well, and make factual errors?

I would say that a fairly well written article, based on experience is often far better than one that may be written better but based on possibly flawed research or faked evidence (Piltdown Man for example).

However having said that, this would not apply in the SEO world, where you should dream up a wild theory, find "evidence" to support this and then write an article badly, followed up by link dropping where ever you can.

**Maarten** · 10-12-2008, 01:16 PM

I voted well written.. If it's full of bad grammar and spelling readers would click away before they ever read the second line. Second important will be the build up to the call to action.. Only a well written article has those most important aspects!

**Kontent_King** · 11-21-2008, 12:53 AM

Since I can only choose one: I vote well-written

I've seen way too many salesmen B.S. their way to sales to choose anything else.

**walkingbird** · 11-25-2008, 10:01 PM

as long as i can make sense of it i will keep reading if it is good information. Why would i care about spelling if the stuff i am readings is wrong i would rather the grammar and spelling be wrong. A good paragraph with perfect grammar and spelling and no legitimate facts is just **** with a pretty bow

**johnlloyd** · 11-26-2008, 08:14 AM

well written article with correct spelling and grammars without facts and information is non sense, I'd rather understand it in my own way even though it has problem with grammar and spellings as long it has facts and informations!

**hector** · 12-08-2008, 05:14 AM

I think both writing & research come hand in hand, If the research is done properly, the writing will work. Without research, the content could lack the buzz & key words and phrases required to catch both the reader's attention & the search engines....

**mdsensors** · 12-09-2008, 03:51 PM

It seems that often times, unfortunately, bad writing cannot compensated by a wealth of knowledge. Indeed, it seems the opposite--that good writing can fool a reader into thinking a writer is knowledgeable. However, if you combine the two, then you article will be flawless.

**witnesstheday** · 12-10-2008, 12:54 PM

Quote:

However having said that, this would not apply in the SEO world, where you should dream up a wild theory, find "evidence" to support this and then write an article badly, followed up by link dropping where ever you can.

I stopped subscribing to the comedy channel once I found that I can come here and read Chris's comments on SEO for free! I love it.

Wait, here comes the link drop... (okay, it's my signature, which is 0.005% less bad, i suppose)

**witnesstheday** · 12-10-2008, 12:56 PM

Quote:

If a person could only demonstrate one skill

they should give up and find a job they can do, then

(just trying to return the kindness Chris)

**jrichards** · 12-19-2008, 06:03 PM

The purpose of the writing dictates the number one priority. In the end if the article is meeting an interest/need that the reader has then they will likely tolerate some pretty bad writing, especially if the information is hard to find. That said it is pretty unlikely that anyone will recommend badly written material to someone else via a link. So I feel a bit snookered in terms of which way to vote. I'd have to agree with mdsensors with respect to well written and research.

"However, if you combine the two, then you article will be flawless."

That's the way to do it, take the time to right something that is smartly written and interesting/informative. It's the most link-able kind of content.

The blog post you referenced seems as well written as most commercial content. Although I can't really speak to the research aspect of it.