How to write a good blog

Here are some guidelines to help you write and structure your blog in a way that will make it more accessible and relevant to our readers.

Structuring your blog posting
A well structured blog posting will catch the readers' attention, and make them want to read what you have to say. You can help do this if you follow these tips:

• Give the blog posting a title that will catch the reader’s eye. This is the first thing they see and will help them decide if it is of interest to them.

• Put the main point in the first paragraph. This is the first thing readers see and it will make them want to read on.

• Put the details in the following paragraphs of your posting.

• Finally in the last part of the posting add the background information.

Writing style

• Try to write in a friendly and informal style. Use first person ‘I’ and try to include reference to your own context and teaching experience. Remember that the honest and open views of a novice teacher can be just as interesting and informative as those of an expert. Think about your readers and what they can learn from your experience.

• Try to describe rather than tell e.g. instead of saying you thought a book was great, try to explain why you enjoyed it and what you learned from it.

• Try to question your reader and ask for their response to what you have written.

• Always be polite, respectful of other cultures and opinions, and informative.

Content topics

It’s always best to write about something you know and are enthusiastic about. Perhaps you already have an idea for what you want your blog to be about. Here are some suggestions. You could choose one of these themes and extend it each week, or you could write about something different each week:

Reflections on your week as a student, any new ideas you have tried out, any problems you have had and how you resolved them, any insights you gained, good resources you tried out.
Recommendations for articles, books, websites that you have read or found useful.
Reflections on projects you are involved in, such as action research, school magazines, drama projects etc. You can describe the project and its aims and how it has helped you, what you’ve learned from the project, what the next steps are etc.
Useful tips or activities that you have used in your classroom. You can describe activities you have tried in your classroom,
Reports from conferences or training seminars you have been to. You can outline what you learned from the conference / seminar and what new insights you have gained.

Things to avoid

• Always try to avoid being negative. If there is something you don’t like, then it’s better just to not write about it.

• It’s important to raise issues, but don’t try to impose your beliefs on others.

• Don’t include links to commercial sites or resources.

• Don’t include links to inappropriate materials.

• Never give specific names, places, addresses or contact details.