# Article Writing Guidelines The objective of an article is to provide a high-level overview about a specific topic. It should answer questions related to what it is, and tightly-related details that provide more information. ## Word Count Use no less than 1500 words and no more than 3000 words for an article. Consider splitting a topic into more than one article if more than 3000 words are required. If an article is too short, consolidate related topics into a new article, or include other tightly-related information to reach 1500 words. ## Writing Instructions An article contains three sections: an intro, a body, and a concluding statement. The objective of the intro is to provide a succinct summary of the topic, outline the document that follows, and convince the reader to continue to read. The body is the main content that informs the reader about the main topic of the document, and should be as tightly related as possible. The concluding statement should be a paragraph that summarizes the article, and perhaps direct the reader to other related content. ### Intro Keep the intro to between 6 and 10 sentences, broken down into 2 or 3 paragraphs. The first paragraph should be a quick 2 to 3 sentence summary of the topic, or some background to the topic, such as a problem statement. The remaining portion of the intro will begin to lead more into the topic itself, discuss what to expect by reading further, and to convince the reader to continue. ### Body Follow the general [Documentation Guidelines](/developer-documentation/contributing-to-meter-and-our-documentation/documentation-guidelines.md) for how to break up an article into sub-headings. Keep the content of each to between 250 and 300 words. Break up a sub-heading into a second one, or child sub-headings if it begins to exceed 300 words. Keep on topic. Help to answer questions about what the subject is, rather than how to use it. However, include tutorial-style information where applicable, but as sparingly and succinctly as possible. Give a very light summary in the shortest space possible, and refer to related tutorials for more details and instructions. Write a [new tutorial](/developer-documentation/contributing-to-meter-and-our-documentation/documentation-guidelines/tutorial-creation-guidelines.md) if none is available and the topic is of great enough importance. ### Conclusion Close the article with one paragraph. Provide a review of what the reader has just read through, and summarize the topic in general again. Optionally, provide links to further reading or another call to action. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.meter.io/developer-documentation/contributing-to-meter-and-our-documentation/documentation-guidelines/article-writing-guidelines.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.