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Handy hints and tips

  1. It's best if you don't leave writing your article until the last minute.  Set aside some time to research your article properly as well as time to write a draft.
  2. Before you start writing, map out the structure of your article and try and grab the reader’s attention in the first couple of paragraphs.  
  3. Remember that you are writing an article for this competition, rather than an essay.  Have a look at the business and personal finance sections of national newspapers to give you an idea as to writing style and structure. 
  4. Check that your facts are accurate.  Just because your friends, parents or teachers tell you something is correct doesn’t mean that it is - always try and verify any facts or statistics with a reliable source. 
  5. Make sure it’s relevant.  Whilst writing the article keep referring back to the question to make sure you’re not getting sidetracked. 
  6. Make sure you don't exceed the 1,000 word limit.  
  7. Pay attention to the layout of your article and again have a look at the business and personal finance pages of some national newspapers. How are they formatted? Are images used? 
  8. Pay particular attention to spelling and grammar. Use your computer's spell checker but don’t rely solely on this as it may not pick up incorrect usage of words such as to/too/two or their/there/they’re etc. 
  9. Before submitting your article, read it through at least twice. Be ruthless - edit out any unnecessary words, phrases or paragraphs. 
  10. Finally, get a friend to check through your article. They’ll probably spot at least one mistake or typo you may have missed.