Blogging for MDX Voices

Look through existing MDX Voices articles before shaping your own suggestion. This will help you ensure that your article isn’t simply repeating something else, and instead offers a new perspective. 

Have you already written an MDX Voices post in the past and wish to publish another on a very similar topic? You might consider repurposing and redating the old post, so you're not having to begin everything from scratch when there's already good content to work with. 

We cannot publish MDX Voices articles if they have already been published anywhere else. Posts on MDX Voices must be new and unique. 

The Middlesex website is primarily visited by prospective students, although this is not exclusive - current students, alumni, partners, and other interested parties also visit. For research blogs, there may be visits from new and future researchers, other universities, and the wider academic community. 

It is important to keep the tone on MDX Voices natural and engaging. Being overly formal or complex may deter readers who are simply wanting to get a sense of life at Middlesex. Some articles or commentaries may be about complex academic research or current events, but should still be written in an accessible, easy-to-read way, especially to heighten the chances of other publishers sharing it (e.g. media outlets). 

 Perhaps pretend you're writing for a friend or family member. This way, you'll naturally keep your tone more relatable, and suitable for an MDX Voices post. 

When people are online, they have a much shorter attention span than when speaking face-to-face. They're far more likely to browse rather than read word-for-word, and their attention will be lost very quickly. This is especially true when people are on the move, reading the content on their small phone screen, vulnerable to even the most minor of distractions. 

Use the following advice to make sure you keep your readers engaged: 

• Posts must be written in first person, to emphasise that it is an individual sharing their own voice from their own point of view
• Pick a snappy title which clearly conveys what the post is about. The title is the first thing people will see, and therefore needs to draw them in. This would ideally be no longer than 60 characters
• Make sure to use the keywords of your topic in your title, and in the first paragraph of your article. Doing so will make the article more visible to search engines and therefore easier to discover for potential readers. The use of topical keywords will also give readers a stronger understanding of the blog’s contents
• Keep your post concise. We recommend a word count somewhere between 600 and 800 words. The absolute minimum word count is 300 words and the absolute maximum is 2,000. More than this would mean viewers are less likely to read to the end, while a shorter entry would experience reduced visibility in search engine results
• It’s important that the post fundamentally focuses on one topic – telling one story, or addressing and answering a single question – rather than trying to tackle several things and losing focus
• Use subheadings to break up your blog post into shorter, distinctive sections. Make use of lists and bullet points where appropriate, and be sure to break long paragraphs down into shorter ones
• Make sure your sentences aren't too long. The longer sentences run, the harder they can be for people to read, especially for people with certain conditions like dyslexia or who don’t speak English as their first language
• Include the full author name and an appropriate title. A current student may not have an official “title”, but we will need to know the full name of their course
• Including a relevant image or two is helpful, as long as they’re of good quality. These should be original photography, not from e.g. Shutterstock, and must be royalty-free. Otherwise, the final piece may include a more generic piece of Middlesex photography from our brand library
• We are happy to embed a relevant YouTube, TikTok and/or Instagram video in the post, but these must be published on the official respective Middlesex channel to be included. This will involve speaking to the social media and content teams
• Please avoid promoting personal products or services. MDX Voices is designed only to promote the University and its community, so any attempt to directly promote an individual’s product, creation, company or otherwise will be removed. 

MDX Voices is intended to provide an outlet for research articles, in the same way MDX Minds used to do. Moving this content over to MDX Voices means: 

• It will no longer be housed on a completely different website - MDX Minds was hard to find on search engines as it was not identifiably linked to the main Middlesex domain
• Articles will benefit from a more on-brand look and feel, and evolve with the overall MDX website’s look and feel
• Users will find it easier to continue their journey to explore the MDX community and apply for a course.

Please note that research articles will still be easily findable and not lost among other articles, with a specific “Research” tag to be used for research posts only. 

As research articles will now be on the main MDX site, it is important to follow the tone of voice guidance above to heighten engagement. It is also useful to look at The Conversation as an example of writing interesting, engaging blogs on research topics and current affairs. 

The press team is actively seeking MDX academics’ opinions on current world events, so please do contact them with any new article ideas. 

When you submit your article for MDX Voices, please be aware that we go through an editorial process to ensure the article is suitable for publishing. 

• We will make edits to ensure the piece conforms to Middlesex house style. For example, this will affect things such as use of acronyms and capitalisation 
• We will make basic readability edits if necessary. This will include aspects such as ensuring the blog isn't too long, checking keywords are used properly, cutting down long sentences, or reordering content for maximum readability
• We may amend some titles and headings for search engine optimisation
• We may add links to other areas of the Middlesex website to continue the user journey
• We will decide the appropriate tags to add to the article based on our existing categories (so there is no need to suggest these for us)
• For research topics and blogs on high-profile current affairs, the press team may reach out to media outlets with your blog as an example of an expert opinion. 

If we make significant changes to your submitted article, we will always reach out to you for double-checking before publishing. If there is unresolvable disagreement on this front, it will lead to the article not being published. 

Please do not use AI tools such as ChatGPT to write a blog entry. They detract from the personal aspect of the format, and are often found to make references and assertions which cannot be verified. If you require assistance writing an article, you are more than welcome to contact the appropriate person, and we will do our best to help you tell your story. 

If a submitted article is outright rejected for publication, we will give you a full and frank explanation why.