Winding up your article

(Last in a series that starts on 3/16) A point I neglected to mention earlier about writing a how-to article has to do with confusing your readers. This point is: Don't do it. For instance, each step in the process you are describing should contain only one direction. Don't make readers do two things at once, and certainly do not direct them to do something illogical or impossible, unless English is not your first language, in which case it is perfectly acceptable to say something like "Use only outdoors or indoors" or "Not to be used for the other use."

Now you are ready to finish your article. Since it started off with a bang, it must end with a bang (here again, those bullets we talked about come in handy). You want to leave your readers with the feeling that, if they diligently follow your instructions, they will need enormous amounts of Tylenol.

One way to end your article is in the time-honored tradition: "And they procrastinated happily ever after." If you are a more modern sort of person, you might opt for what publishing people like to call "bringing the article full circle" -- that is, mentioning something you talked about at the beginning (in case readers were not paying attention the first time -- publishing people believe that even adult readers have the attention span and understanding of clay pigeons). You might end with "Now you know everything I know about writing a how-to article, and since I'm an expert, you're now one, too."

And now it is time for me to bring this series to a close. Despite being an expert, I have no idea how to end it. Maybe I'll think of something next week.