Conten creation

Writing Guide

          Content Creation                       V.1.1.3-20220822

 

Update Summary

v 1.1.3 (Aug 22nd, 2022)

  • Formatting, Seasons/Months, Units rule
V.1.1.2 (Apr 25th, 2022)
  • Format for the referential links is changed
V.1.1.1 (Apr 18th, 2022)
  • some new requirements for the correct use of the common name
  • proposed the standard usage of the units and ranges
V.1.1.0 (Mar 21st, 2022)
  • placeholders are no longer required to use
V.1.0.6 (Dec 22nd, 2021)
  • when a reliable link is attached, a sales link for edible information is not mandatory
  • after state some plant is edible, toxic information should be checked
V.1.0.5 (Dec 10th, 2021)
  • add a link to “common error types and examples”
V.1.0.4 (Dec 3rd, 2021)
  • wikipedia.org is no longer considered a reliable source now
Preface

You are selected to create content for a mobile application, which will identify various plants’ and creatures’ snapshots for the users using AI technology. Other than identification, we will provide RELIABLE information about these species.

Collect as much information as possible, and keep the statement rich and reliable. Meanwhile, try to avoid boring statements which will make reading difficult.
 
In this guide, we have 4 major parts:
  1. How to make your content rich and interesting;
  2. How to make sure the content is reliable;
  3. Formatting, Seasons/Months, Units;
  4. How to avoid political or legal issues;
1. How to Make Your Content Rich and Interesting

Informativity is more important than ornate rhetoric for our content.

  • Please refer to more credible sources before making conclusions on what to write.
  • You can search on the websites in your country first to find out some useful local information. Local information is highly recommended.
  • (If you are not an English writer) Try to find more information on English websites via Google.com or other search engines. Except for some local information, the content of the English-speaking world is often richer and more accurate.
  • Use straightforward,easy-to-read, yet vivid language, avoiding stereotypical expressions and obscure scientific terms.
  • When you come across a concept widely accepted in the academic field but hard to understand by average users, (e.g.: “the Red Book of Azerbaijan”), please simply explain that (“an official document about endangered wild plants”).
2. How to Make Sure Your Content is Reliable and Safe

Correct Research

The Scientific Name is the only criterion when searching for information (but please use common name when writing the entry). If there’s any conflict with the common name on our system, just write according to the scientific name. Not only to prevent accidental mistakes but also to facilitate our further review, referential links must be attached. You should list all your referral links in the “Link” box, with a simple explanation of why you site this link in brackets, like:

 

(toxicity)

http://www…

(edibility)

http://www…

If RFP requires you to “not rely on a single source”, then at least two references from different sources should be attached.
For credibility, check that the info from all sources is consistent. If there’s any conflict, try to believe those pieces of information from academic, educational, governmental, or other official organizations instead of business websites or personal blogs.

Sensitive Expressions

There are some special “sensitive expressions” that require extra attention. The expressions include:
  • Non-toxic
  • Edible

These expressions should have a reliable reference link attached.

A “reliable reference” means a website supported by academic communities, or an administrative department runs by the government. These kinds of references are generally considered to be reliable:
 
  • Governmental websites [.gov]
  • University websites [.edu]
  • National Academy websites [.ac]
  • Official organizations’ website [.org]
[NOTE: wikipedia.org is not considered a reliable reference]
  • Research papers or Reviews of scientific journals
  • Reference books or textbooks recognized by the scientific communities

If you can not find a proper link to support the point (even if it is common sense in some cases), try to avoid talking about it.

For each kind of sensitive expression, there are some extra notes:

  • Non-toxic: When declaring some plant or creature is non-toxic, you should confirm that the whole organism, instead of some part, is non-toxic. (If you can only confirm some parts, e.g.: the flower and fruit of a plant are non-toxic, just declare “the flower and fruit are non-toxic”).
  • Edible: Normally, only widely accepted crops, fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms should be described as edible. A sales link from a large local or international commerce website will be sufficient in this case (note: if a reliable link is attached, sales link is no longer mandatory). If a plant is not a widely accepted crop, but is listed as an important local food source, or important for local cullinary culture, it is acceptable to mention this, but only if it is not possible to find other interesting info, and only if a reliable link is provided. Make sure to check the toxic information carefully after stating something is edible. When you find some part or some growth stage of the plant is toxic, please state the toxicity information clearly after introducing its edibility.

E.g.: cashew seeds are widely eaten as a popular nut, but they are surrounded by toxic shells.

Medical/Medicinal
Because there is a risk of misuse/injury, DO NOT talk about any medical or medicinal usage. The only exception to this is:
IF
– you cannot find any other interesting information (if you already have interesting facts and enough word count, there is no need to mention medicinal info)
AND
– it is ONLY a historical usage and not current,  e.g. “It was once used as a traditional medicine by local tribes”.

NOTE: When mentioning this historical use, never mention indications, cures, and efficacy of it, e.g. “was once used to reduce severe fever”

3. Formatting, Seasons/Months, Units
  • Consistency of the common names: Common name should be written in exactly the same way as the name at the top of the page;
  • If you believe the current common name displayed on the top of the page is not correct, use the placeholder _COMMON_NAME_ instead in sentences, leave comments to declare the suitable common name, and please enter the correction in this document:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vO4wADpXiyJdfwnO4FWJiu0CL_1etZ4zdxapqGraE2U/edit#gid=0
  • If the common name that should be displayed on the top of the page is blank, use the placeholder _COMMON_NAME_ to represent it. If you happen to know any common names of those species, please leave the names in the comments, and also enter that suggestion in the common name correction doc (above).
  • Use common name instead of Latin name when writing: common readers would face difficulty in reading Latin words. So if not necessary, please do not use the Latin name.
  • Italic font: In languages using Roman Characters, we use italic fonts in our system only to highlight the scientific names (only for genus name, species name, and subspecies name. Family names or names of larger units are not Latin words, do not need italic.) and book names. If you would like to highlight some words or quote some sayings, try to use the black font or quotation marks (“”) instead.
  • Avoid using an exact month: the season is reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, things would be weird if an Australian is taught to sow annual seeds in January. You can use the season to represent, or more precisely, use early/middle/late + season, e.g., Early spring.
  • Standard usage of the units: Please use inch or meter, ℃ or ℉ as unit and “5 – 10”/“-10 to -5” as range. Our system will detect these numerical values only in standard writing shown above.
4. How to avoid political or legal issues
  • Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. All content will be checked by the system and reviewed manually.
  • Negative contents that will cause debating, or content with the intention of politics, pornography, religion or racial discrimination, drugs, etc. are not allowed.
  • Although Marijuana is legal in some states/nations, as well as some mushrooms, we still decided not to mention them anywhere in our content.
  • Tobacco and alcohol are not suggested in our content. We can state that tequila is made from blue agave, but we will not introduce how “good” tequila is.
  • Avoid using brands or trademarks in the content.
Common Error Types and Examples

We have collected some most representative mistakes and arranged them in the following sheet: >Here’s the Link<

Carefully reading and trying to understand these examples will let you know our standards quickly, avoid easy mistakes before writing, and improve efficiency. 

This sheet will be updated from time to time.