Alison F - July 30, 2010 writes:

Please could anybody explain exactly what these are and when they need to be used? Many thanks, Alison LF

shefali s - July 31, 2010 replied:

Hi Alison, info boxes and sidebars are the little snippets of handy info you see usually in travel articles. They offer a quick guide to things you need to know about the place - getting there, costs, accommodation, things to do, etc. They are separate from the main article (which usually does not have this detailed info) - could appear as little boxes within the text of the article, or at the end.

Alison F - July 31, 2010 replied:

Thanks very much Shefali, the sawdust is getting a bit clearer now!!

Alison F - August 2, 2010 replied:

Hi Alison - they're not just used in travel articles either. They're pretty common - often used for "biography" info in celeb interviews, or timelines, top ten tips etc etc. Generally just a list of information slightly outside the body of the e-mail that help to keep an article informative and snappy to the reader.

Alison F - August 2, 2010 replied:

I don't know why I wrote "e-mail" by the way - it was just meant to say "article!" Oops. Mind on other things, clearly.

Nicola R - August 6, 2010 replied:

This is interesting as I've had feedback twice now to suggest using sidebars. How would you present them in the articles you are submitting? Perhaps just head them up with 'sidebar information' or something? Thanks

Alison F - August 7, 2010 replied:

Nicola, I was just thinking the same thing!! It's getting confusing all these 'alisons' on the forum plus my daughter's called Nicola!! Alison LF

Lucy M - August 29, 2010 replied:

I tend to simply title the information as 'Sidebar' and include it at the end of the article. Sometimes I say 'an optional sidebar is included' in my covering letter, and explain what it is and why it's there.

I use a lot of sidebars, including a sidebar where I listed support groups for the issue I was discussing. They add a bit of variety to large chunks of text.

Nicola R - September 6, 2010 replied:

Thanks Lucy, that helps a lot. It sounds obvious now you say it but it's good to hear advice from others. Thank you

Lucy M - September 7, 2010 replied:

I also usually give a word count for the sidebar, and not include it in the main word count. Whether that's good practise I don't know! So often we 'feel our way' with these things!