Best way to write an articles

I agree deeply with Sandeep that many articles are created that should be just one. As editor, I keep making the same edits over and over and over and over and I wish I could get the authors to modify their original template they use to create their articles. More to your point, Sandeep, I know that there are many articles in which the majority of the content is the same. I sure agree that there are many articles like that of which it would be better to combine them into one article.

So to answer the original question as directly as possible, I think the best articles are clear and concise explanations of something. I think that ideally the description is adequate enough that sample code is not necessary, but sample code is usually necessary. Ideally, an article provides a better description (more clear and more extensive) than the MSDN.

I see many articles that just describe how to create an application to do something. I know that Mahesh agrees that it is better to explain what is done and why things are done and things like that so that the reader can understand how to use the subject in many other ways.

So of the three steps listed in the blog, it is my opinion that a modified version of #1 is best. The main modification is that being concise is better and takes more time. A long explanation might not be the best, but I suggest that a good technique would be to write as much as is needed then spend time improving that to be more clear and concise. Screen shots are good but if they leave the reader thinking well okay so how do I get it to do what I need to do then the screen shots are (nearly) useless.

One more point is that Mahesh I think is torn between wanting to provide as much opportunity as possible for everyone and wanting quality articles. I can understand it is difficult for him to decide what to do.