what is a merit

how many ap points does it get you

In my profile.
It gives you 25 AP per merit.

Merit Help:A merit needs to be well written and needs to explain in detail what you think about it.I suggest to do the following for a good merit comment.
Fill the ones below whit at least 3 sentences for a good length.

NOTE:Just fill the ones you want.

Game Play:
Music:
Controls:
Graphics:
Difficulty:
Tips:
Good/Bad Points:
Overall:
Also use almost perfect grammar and use really neat words.

Bad Examples
Good,Funny,Nice,Cool

Good examples
Amazing,Hilarious,Majestic,Entertaining
That's all you need to know.  ^_^

ohhh thx

Also, put in some improvements to the game as well. Make sure you have no or very little spelling or grammar mistakes. For more information, check out This and This threads (scroll down for the 2nd one until you get to the merit section).

The NN&Greg Guide helps new comers... sort of. They explain everything in such great detail -- that most of it's not even necessary. KISS: Keep it simple, silly!

As for what Juan wrote:

Also use almost perfect grammar and use really neat words.

Bad Examples
Good,Funny,Nice,Cool

Good examples
Amazing,Hilarious,Majestic,Entertaining

Although adjectives like that may jazz up your potentially merit-worthy comment, using simple - concrete words would actually help make your point much clearer. Good, funny, nice and cool are actually good examples of words to use in your comment (of course, expand on them and provide supporting points).

Also, most people say: "Hey, ADD BIG FANCY WORDS" -- just don't. To the contrary, big fancy words take away from the clarity and meaning to your comment. Similar to the above paragraph, just... just keep it simple, concise and clear. No need to write: "This game was majestic in all it's sipidness and it was exuberate!" when you could just write: "This game was fantastic, because..." :)

There is obviously more to know about merits and that is that there no one way to write a good comment.

Indeed there is, but I have noticed certain users and some guides suggesting the usage of 'bigger, fancier words'. Now I'm all for the expanding of vocabulary... but I think it does more harm than good and it's best to play it safe using simple words.

It's a good way :)