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REFINING IN WRITING SKILLS
Writing, like any other skill, is something you can get better at with time and practice. From sending emails to preparing presentations, writing is often a day-to-day task in many professions spanning diverse industries. Writing skills go beyond grammar and spelling. Accuracy, clarity, persuasiveness, and several other elements play a part in ensuring your writing is conveying the right message.
Writing is one of the more traditional aspects of communication. We often write as part of our job, communicating via email and messenger apps like Slack, as well as in more formal documents, like project reports and white papers.
Conveying information clearly, concisely, and with an accurate tone of voice are all important parts of written communication.
What are writing skills?
Writing is a technical skill that you use to communicate effectively through the written word. Though these may vary depending on what you’re writing, there are several that transcend categories. Writing skills can more specifically include:
- Grammar
- Vocabulary
- Spelling
- Sentence construction
- Structure
- Research and accuracy
- Clarity
- Persuasiveness
Each of these components can influence the quality of writing.
Why are writing skills important?
Being able to write well is a form of effective communication, which many employers see as a crucial job skill. In fact, strong communication—spanning written, verbal, non-verbal, and visual—is among the nine common employability skills that employers seek in job candidates.
Regardless of your role, with good writing skills, you can clearly transcribe your thoughts into meaningful messages, enabling you to share your ideas, build relationships, and strengthen your professional image.
What Will You Learn In This Course:
1.Reviewing grammar and spelling basics
Grammar and spelling form the foundation of good writing. Writing with proper grammar and spelling communicates your professionality and attention to detail to your reader. It also makes your writing easier to understand.
Plus, knowing when and how to use less-common punctuation, like colons, semicolons, and em-dashes, can unlock new ways to structure sentences and elevate your writing.
2.Content Reading before writing
Knowing what a finished piece of writing can look like can guide your own. If you’re trying to write a humorous short story, read humorous short stories. Writing a book review? Find a few and take note of how they’re structured. Pay attention to what makes them good and what you want to emulate (without plagiarizing, of course). If you’re working on a school assignment, you can ask your instructor for examples of successful pieces from past students.
Make reading a part of your everyday life to improve your writing. Try reading the news in the morning or picking up a book before you head to bed. If you haven’t been a big reader in the past, start with topics you’re interested in, or ask friends and family for recommendations. You’ll gradually begin to understand what subjects, genres, and authors you enjoy.
3.Proofreading.
While it’s tempting to submit work as soon as you’re done with it, build in some time to revisit what you’ve written to catch errors big and small. Here are a few proofreading tips to keep in mind:
- Set your work aside before you edit: Try to step away from your writing for a day or more so you can come back to it with fresh, more objective eyes. Crunched for time? Even allotting 20 minutes between writing and proofreading can allow you to approach your work with renewed energy.
- Start with easy fixes, then progress to bigger changes: Starting with easier changes can get you in the rhythm for proofreading, allow you to read through your work once more, and clear distractions so you can focus on bigger edits. Read through your work to catch misspellings, inconsistencies, and grammar errors. Then address the larger problems with structure or awkward transitions.
- If you could say something in fewer words, do so: Being unnecessarily wordy can cloud your message and confuse the reader. Pare down phrases that are redundant, repetitive, or obvious.
- Read out loud: Reading out loud can help you find awkward phrases and areas where your writing doesn’t flow well.
4.Thinking about structure
Grammar and spelling keep your writing consistent and legible, but structure ensures the big ideas get across to the reader.
In many cases, forming an outline will help solidify structure. An outline can clarify what you’re hoping to convey in each section, enable you to visualize the flow of your piece, and surface parts that require more research or thought.
Structure might look different depending on what you’re writing. An essay typically has an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. A fiction piece might follow the six-stage plot structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement. Choose what’s best for your purposes.
5.Writing
Like many skills, one of the best ways to improve your writing is to practice. Here are a few ways you can get started:
- Start a journal or a blog.
- Join a class or writing workshop.
- Practice free writing.
- Write letters to friends or family.
- Put together an opinion piece for your local newspaper or publication you like.
6.Learning some common fixes.
Even if a text is grammatically correct, you may be able to make it more dynamic and interesting with some polish. Here are some common ways you can sharpen your writing:
- Choose strong verbs (for example, “sprinted,” “dashed,” or “bolted” instead of “ran”).
- Avoid passive voice.
- Vary sentence length.
- Cut unnecessary words.
- Replace cliches with original phrasing.
Benefits that writing gives you:
• Put Your Life Events into Perspective:
One of the most basic examples of this is keeping a journal, but it’s not the only way of putting things into perspective.
• You Will Be Able to Stockpile Ideas
It is a good rule of thumb to always write down ideas that pop up out of nowhere because you will be less likely to forget about them that way.
• Writing Will Help You Recover Memories
You will be surprised at how writing is able to bring back old and almost forgotten memories.
• Writing Helps Your Clear Your Mind
We’ve all sometimes felt the need to vent and speak our minds in order to get our point across.
• Improve Your Verbal and Written Skills
When you are writing something down, you become more careful in choosing the right words. This means your writing will be more eloquent, concise, and elegant than your actual speech.
• It’s a Great Mental Exercise
Keeping in shape doesn’t just apply to exercising your body regularly. You can do the same for you mind as well. Writing activates a number of different cognitive processes, and unleashes your creativity.