We get many requests to write for CS4FN and this website. This page (part of a series on Re-use, Copyright and Contributions) will help you if you are thinking of writing for us.
First – to weed out spam
Many of the requests we get are obviously spam. There are people who just want us to add a link to their website or want to write about topics or organisations that aren’t appropriate here. We won’t do that.
We don’t pay people to write for CS4FN and we don’t accept payment from others for article or link placement. We only accept child-friendly articles for publication here that are relevant to the topic (computing) and to our site’s readership (schoolkids and their teachers and the general public).
About CS4FN
We write CS4FN (Computer Science For Fun) to share our enthusiasm about computer science as a topic. Our aim is to both inspire and introduce school students (12+) as well as the general public to the many different aspects of (interdisciplinary) computer science and to the people who do computer science research or use computer science for their research, their work or their play. Articles do not have to be positive but can for example highlight problems and risks to society.
We also want to support computing educators in teaching about the subject itself and about the effects of advances in computing on society. Teachers and home educators can use articles on this site and in our print magazine to talk about different aspects of computer science in their class.
Writing for us
Topics must be computer science linked research and/or entrepreneurship, computer science history, diversity and careers related and have a fun, interesting element. They can also be about social effects of computer science technology. They do not have to be positive but can highlight risks to society, for example.
Tone
Articles need to be written in a CS4FN style. Read lots of existing articles to get the idea,
Whichever topic you choose remember that you’re writing for a young audience who might not have the same life experiences that you do. Where a topic or concept is likely to be new to them it’s helpful to use metaphors and examples that will be meaningful to them; this can take some thought.
You should be writing accessibly but not writing ‘down’ to children. Ideally, a Professor of Computer Science should find articles as interesting as a teenager. If it is written in an accessible way anyone should understand it.
Think about language. Aim for short sentences and short words rather than long ones. Avoid acronyms unless it is a core thing you are explaining. It is fine to use the real terms and jargon that computer scientists use (we talk about algorithms all the time) but it’s helpful to keep it to a minimum and explain what the terms that are used mean and to put them in context. Aim for one or two core jargon terms that the article aims actually to explain as part of its point. Articles may explicitly aim to explain some core school computer science concept, including using a research topic to help do so.
We also want our articles to feel relevant to our audience and to entertain them – after all the word ‘fun’ is in our name. Articles don’t need to be hilariously funny but they should keep the reader engaged and ideally inspire.
Articles should start with a ‘grab’. The first few sentences should get the reader interested to find out more. Good grabs can be questions (“How did Madonna crash the Internet?”, make unusual links (“Even dolphins use pocket switched networks”) or start with interesting facts.
Articles should also have good structure: with a start a middle and an end. The end should return to the grab from the start (eg answering a question set). Good, clear explanations follow semantic waves (see eg https://teachinglondoncomputing.org/2020/11/27/blog-series-learning-to-learn-to-program-tip-9-semantic-waves/)
If you wish to write something that is science fiction then it must still include some some serious (if fun) computer science lesson along the lines of the above. We do not just publish science fiction unless in reading it someone would learn some actual computer science or positive lesson about diversity/careers etc.
Length
Articles don’t have to be long, or short, we have a range of article lengths here. However, most are 400-1000 words in length depending on the topic. Any longer and it is often a good idea to think of writing two articles instead. Focus on explaining one thing, not lots.
Generative AI
We do not publish AI generated articles (except for samples within an article if they are to illustrate some point about Generative AI).
We make no guarantee that we will publish anything and it must be in the style of existing articles and suitable for both school children and adults and if selected will be edited before use.
Editing
We will edit your article to fit with our house style and may choose different links from the ones you’ve selected. Where relevant we’ll also link to our previous articles, magazines and portals.
Images
Images must be colourful, interesting and eye-catching. We only use free images from sites like Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons and other Creative Commons’ licensed material. They must have a licence that allows them to use them without restriction indefinitely. If you provide images they must be copyright free and you must provide evidence of that including the source. We need images as separate files (eg jpg) not embedded in word documents. We rarely use diagram like images and only when it is needed to help explain a concept. We do not have explicit figures in articles.
You can email us on cs4fn@eecs.qmul.ac.uk
Paul Curzon and Jo Brodie
Last updated: 10 September 2025
This page is part of a series on Re-use, Copyright and Contributions.
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This page is funded by EPSRC on research agreement EP/W033615/1.
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