RFP for Fish Description

Fish Description – Content Creation

 

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What's this content for?

This writing task is to draw the first impression of a specific fish to the audience. Try to narrow the distance between unfamiliar fishes and people, reducing alienation.

This section is the first section directly talking about the characters of the fishes, so it is a “first impression” section. Interesting is in the first place, making an impressive and unique impression of the target animal is the key.

Try to echo the audiences’ memory of these fishes, according to the scenes that we encounter on a daily basis.  Reduce ichthyological description and measurements unless it is characteristic.

Requirement

一. General Requirements:

  1. Word Count: Each description should consist of around 50 words. 40~60 words ideal. It is OK to run a bit longer when facts mentioned are important or interesting, but the upper limit of this content is 90 words.
  2. Avoid simple listing: including but not limited to geographical distribution and habitat. Try to use generalized terms, e. g., we should use “Northeast Asia” instead of “Japan, Korea, Inner Mongolia, and Russian Far East”. A simple listing of more than 3 items (countries, habitats) at one time is NOT ALLOWED.
  3. Interesting: Each description should consist of 2 or more facts in different directions. Some facts are considered to be interesting (Goto section 2. what is an interesting fact?), try to include as much as possible.
  4. Avoid Formulaic Expression: When describing the facts, try to change the choice of content and expression appropriately, preventing similar content with a similar structure from appearing repeatedly within one working set. Overly formulaic content (>50% content is written in the same form) will be rejected.
  5. Specific: Try to find the most characteristic facts about the fishes to build the descriptions. Avoid general information that lacks distinctiveness.
  6. Balanced: Do not let any single fact take up too much space in one description.
  7. Referencial: List all the websites you referred to in the comment box.

二、What is an Interesting Fact?

1）Facts that are related to our daily lives or importance to ecosystems are considered interesting (Dos):

  • Cultural and Historical Value: Traditions and customs about this fish, its record in historical events, myths, legends, etc.;
  • Culinary Use: Is it widely eaten? How do people cook them?
  • Aquarium Use: Is it an ornamental fish? Why is it attractive?
  • Economic Value: World trade, tourism, health benefit, biotechnology use, etc.;
  • Fishing Value: Is it an important target of recreational fishing?
  • Ecological Value: Its importance in the local ecosystem;
  • Toxicity & Hazard: Is it toxic? Carrying viruses? Will it sting or bite the swimmers?
  • Name Origin: Why the fish is so named, the stories behind the fish name;
  • Record Holders: The fastest predator, the largest filter-feeder, the fish lies most eggs, the fish first domesticated…. People like this topic!
  • Interesting Behaviors: any behavior that you think is attractive. E.g.: anglerfish lures prey with its light glande, Sardines group together when they are threatened, etc.;
  • Preferred habitat: a.k.a. Where can you find them.

2）These facts are considered NOT interesting (Not Suggested):

  • Morphological description and measurements are not suggested. (unless it is very uncommon in the animal world, or directly related to its name story, usage, etc.)

3） Do not mention these pieces of information (Don’ts)

  • Exact range it distributes; (we will talk about it in detail on another section)
  • Scientific synonym, alternative common name. These names are listed in our system in another section, please DO NOT mention them unless there’s an interesting name story behind it;
  • Taxonomy information is neither interesting to common readers nor can it be wrong (because of the taxonomy system that has changed frequently recently), please DO NOT mention it here;
  • DO NOT describe edible use unless it is a commercially cultivated/captured fish;
  • DO NOT mention medical use;
  • DO NOT mention general behaviours/characteristics consisting of a large group in this section.
Special Attentions
  • Use common names instead of Latin names whenever possible;
  • Italicize any Latin words that appear. (e.g., genus names, etc.)
  • There is a certain percentage of aquatic animals other than fish (frogs, seashells, jellyfishes, etc.) that exist in our list. Write a description of them in the same way.
SomeUseful websites