how to write a question and answer article

Create Frequently Asked Questions Sections - The Easy Way! The questions can all be about anything. I will definitely be taking this on board and using some “slang” so that people understand what I’m actually saying. It also helps you avoid questions they’ve already been asked. Identify the type of the question. The logic is simple: if you understand the question, you give the correct answer. In negative responses, we would try to avoid writing a blatant “No” as the answer. Here’s how some of the sample FAQ questions could look like and the right way to answer them: Can-type questions – Can questions are easy to answer because they just take a yes or no for the reply. And it’s not too hard — the key lies in how you answer your FAQs. Separate the answer from the question by beginning the answer on a new line. By identifying the right question type, you’ll be able to take a suitable approach to answering it. Stoked you’re actually putting them to use , 41% millennials turn to a site’s FAQs before contacting support, Kerry Redshaw at Kerryr.net gives a beautiful example of this, 5 Stupidly Common FAQ Myths We Should All Stop Believing, What’s wrong with your FAQ – 6 tips proven to make it better, 5 Tips to Putting Together the Perfect Product FAQ. Get familiar with the type of article you want to write. What-type questions – A what-type question shows that your customer is looking for an objective answer. Also, try to reassure your users if the questions hint at any concerns. The customer support agent will give meaningful insights to make your answers more empathetic because support agents are the ones who’re the most exposed to users’ issues. Just imagine how many support tickets, calls, and chat sessions you could save if you only found a way to help these customers right in your FAQs. Likewise, when you sit down to write the answer to the next FAQ you cover, wait. Thanks for such an insightful article. Such a question is like a matter-of-fact kind of a question. Writing helpful answers isn’t difficult if you follow a few simple ways. When beginning to write your questions, write down every question you have about your guest. Keep answers short: Sometimes getting a straight, quick answer to your question is a relief. Get as much information as you can and then think about what you still want to know. Build an FAQ and help answer common visitor questions. Write six questions. To save yourself the hurt that wrong answers can cause, and to write user-friendly answers, pass each answer through the following 3 people from your team: The product expert, well, being an expert will check your answers for accuracy. Writing this out at the planning stage, in addition to clarifying your ideas, is a great test of whether a point is relevant: if you struggle to write the sentence, and make the connection to the question and larger argument, you might have gone off-topic. If our tool had a simple reset button somewhere on the dashboard, we would choose to give simple instructions to reach that button. Suppose someone asked you the question, “What’s your name?”. Did you know that 41% millennials turn to a site’s FAQs before contacting support? Kerry Redshaw at Kerryr.net gives a beautiful example of this and how answers fail to make an impact when they don’t align with the question’s style. Do share in the comments below! That being said, open-ended questions require as much effort to write as they do to answer. This way, you’ll avoid jargon in your responses, and your users will actually follow your answers. Passing your answers through a marketer will ensure that no jargon gets through. 4. But just trying to sound a little natural goes a long way to make it easier to follow and use! Get the Plugin. Continue the list of questions on a new line and align the number 2 under the 1. However, if the method of clearing the data were not so straightforward, we would prefer linking to a support article that handled the topic. And we don’t. How-style questions – A how-style question shows that a reader wants to “do” something. Here are 5 that will help you pack a punch with each answer. Steps. There’s nothing more embarrassing in an FAQ section than inaccurate answers. Here are 5 that will help you pack a punch with each answer. These will prevent your FAQ answers from looking like walls of text. “What are the different payment methods that you accept?“. When writing the response of a how-to answer, first determine if the answer is short and can be answered right away, or if it would make sense to link to the most relevant article from your knowledge base. In our case, we could tell the users that we needed the access to connect our tool with the user’s site’s historic data. While answering why-style questions, back up your answer with any source that makes you sound more credible. But if the answer were a “Yes,” we could say so and then add a supporting line that could read something similar to – “Yes, our product works on multiple domains ( followed by conditions if any)…” and then a link to the further instructions for making the product work on multiple domains. So glad you liked the article, Peta Getting technical information across can be challenging. If you’ve noticed, telephone support agents often repeat a question as you ask it. How to Write a Summary Questions and Answers - Discover the eNotes.com community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on How to Write … Has it ever happened to you that you got the right answer and still had a hard time following it? Read a question carefully and understand the sense of question. As you research, eliminate the questions you find answers to. 1. When such question-answer style mismatches happen in FAQs, users feel lost. Part 1 of 5: Forming Your Idea 1. They do so to make sure that they’ve got it right. “Can your product work on multiple domains?”, In our example, if the answer to the question were negative, we could use phrases like, “We do not currently support…” or “Right now this is not possible…but…”. Once you've written your questions you can ask people in your house to see if they know the answer. I have been trying to gather my thoughts on writing FAQs in one place and your words helped me 100%. As you’re figuring out your topic and focus, think about the type of article that will best suit the points that you want to convey. “Why do you need access to my Google Analytics account?”. Use styling elements like lists, bullets, tables, bold, italics and more to break up your text. Every bit of it is true and applicable. You could use this time to improve your product or expand your business. Even if you’re the best person to answer your users’ FAQs, you could still make errors. For example, our technical staff knows the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, we know what APIs mean, we understand integrations and more. Write brief, to the point answers. Type the discussion question in Times New Roman font, 12 point size. You know your product and your niche. Why-style questions – Why questions indicate that your user is just looking to understand why something is the way it is within your product. Excellent advice! Further, to reassure our users, we could state that we never tracked any personally identifiable information. Not only FAQ questions but also the suggestions for answers makes your work really helpful. Open-ended questions cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, they have multiple potential right answers, and require thought, reflection, and explanation from the person responding. Writing helpful answers isn’t difficult if you follow a few simple ways. Use double spacing and one inch margins. Questions & Answers Tips and Warnings Related Articles ... writing articles can give you a chance to share compelling and important information with readers. To understand the different question types and to choose the right approach to answer them, let’s consider an example of a SaaS web analytics software – one that helps webmasters monitor their site traffic and draw insights. You also know the power terms in your niche. We could simply list the various available options like PayPal, credit cards, and more. Also, add screenshots and videos where required. This is what helps you ask great questions. Even the right answers fail when they don’t match the style of the question. And you answer with, “People call me MyName,” instead of a simple, “My name is MyName.”. The rules of formatting for readability apply to all forms of web writing, even to FAQ responses. Hey Usha! No one likes to be tricked into clicking on an FAQ when they’re actually getting your About Page or a marketing pitch. If your answers are helpful, not only will your customers get immediate help, but you will also save a lot of support hours. Build an FAQ and help answer common visitor questions. I also got many more things to learn. 3. And that’s how even you should craft your FAQ answers. They know the language that users understand as they DEAL with them! But would it be fair if we answered your queries using this kind of industry-specific vocabulary (or jargon as you may call it)? Use a question-and-answer format: This sounds obvious…but don’t forget to write actual questions with answers. That was the idea for this two-part series on FAQs: to help you with both framing the questions and writing easy-to-read answers. Yes, almost half of your millennial customers prefer helping themselves before reaching out to your support staff for help. When we talk to our customers, we design our talk to match our least-technically skilled customers. So go for a straight and direct answer when replying to what-style questions. Have you ever struggled to follow answers on a site’s FAQ? Continue to use the same format for fonts and spacing for the whole document. My final sentence (highlighted in red) shows how the material discussed in the paragraph answers the question. Disha, It’s great! Re-read the question to understand what the user is really asking. So spend some time on this exercise, and notice how you start writing answers that your users finally benefit from. Think about your least-technically equipped customer and answer to him or her. 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