Food is an all-around fun topic. It's fun to write about and fun to research. So this weekend, if you need something to write about, write about food. Bypass your desire to capitalize from your grandmother's three-layer, upside-down, German chocolate angel cake recipe, and instead focus on world cuisines. Here are some topics to think about:

• Traditional cuisines vs. modern cuisines
• Tex-Mex and pizza parlor vs. Mexican and Italian
• Ways to bring authentic cuisine into the kitchen
• Exotic cuisines/Unknown cuisines
• Korean side dishes (or other unusual snack foods) for your cocktail party
• Dessert meets bacon (a trend that I hope will go the way of 1950s Jell-o salads)
• Haute cuisine chocolates
• Vegetarian/Vegan takes on favorite recipes
• Molecular gastronomy - what it is/how it works
• Ways to make breakfast exciting
• Unusual or surprising picnic food choices

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Forbes.com featured some of the world's most expensive desserts in a slideshow in honor of Valentine's Day. Most expensive, least expensive, or other surprising qualities at either end of the spectrum make for great articles. Some other suggestions include:

• Most expensive coffee makers
• Least expensive cars
• Smallest dogs
• Largest houses
• Longest films
• Oldest man-made structures
• Most expensive art sales

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The previous post talks about the importance of researching information for your articles. It is also important to give credit to your sources, especially if the information is not common knowledge. So, what is the proper way to credit sources?

You may credit your sources using any style format you prefer - MLA, APA, etc., as long as you maintain a consistent format for all your sources. It is best to use endnotes/works cited/bibliography, rather than footnotes.

If you must cite websites, drop the http://www. prefix from the web address.

It is best to indicate, via the short summary, that your article contains legitimate references. This can pique buyer's interest if you show you have researched your article. However, if your references lists is simply a cursory inventory of websites you visited while looking up information to include in your article, refrain using this as a selling point - a customer may feel mislead if the work does not contain specific references to authoritative sources when the author has indicated that references are included.

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One of your fellow writers, REason-ably pointed out the importance of thorough research and providing accurate information in articles. I completely agree.

For example, I see a lot of articles come through with poorly supported arguments. With a little time spend researching, the authors could make convincing statements and provide useful information to readers. Providing useful information is essential for all articles. Even if your article is beautifully written and contains no errors, if the information within cannot be used by the reader in any way, the article is just words. Readers, especially internet readers, have little time to read simply beautiful writing. Readers in this so-called Information Age are searching for answers, solutions, facts, advice, and tips.

Research gives your articles credibility, supports your arguments, and can serve to make your articles longer, more detailed, higher quality. Therefore, they can command higher prices and attract discerning customers. You can research via the web, by going to your local or university library, by accessing academic journals through subscription services or on a college campus, and by interviewing experts. If you don't know the answer to something, or want to bulk up your article with interesting information, a few minutes of research will allow you to answer any lingering questions a reader (or you) might have about your subject and help to flesh out your article.

In addition, it is always dangerous to make up facts or speak about something of which you have no knowledge. I have sometimes come across articles that provide blatantly false information. If the author of these had spent five minutes using a search engine, the wrong information could have been disproved. If a customer or reader finds that you are disseminating incorrect information, especially information that is commonly known to be factually incorrect, you will have lost credibility immediately. Writing about a subject in which you have no experience without some cursory research can ruin your reputation before you even have one.

While researching, you should strive to understand terms and use them correctly. Is the health issue you describe a disease, a syndrome, or something else entirely (as defined by health professionals)? Are you using the currently accepted term flight attendant rather than the outmoded stewardess? For industry-specific terms, search the Federal Trade Commission website. For example, the FTC prefers fuel economy when "miles-per-gallon" is referred to in a document (http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/fueleconomyadguide/529732-00005.pdf). A search on the FTC website - a few minutes of research - will bring up documents that will explain industry-appropriate terminology.

Using the correct terms not only increases your reliability as a writer, but makes it more likely that your article will be understood by a wide variety of readers. A writer's job is to communicate his or her subject matter clearly; using the correct terminology is just like using the correct punctuation or proper grammar in order to make yourself understood.

Many thanks to R. Eason for suggesting this blog topic, as well as the tip about the FTC!

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