"I Wrote My Way Out": The Importance of Writing Skills and How to Improve
(Did anybody get the Hamilton reference lol)
The Importance of Writing Skills & How to Improve Them
Writing is an essential life skill. They can take me pretty far depending on how you develop those types of skills. Whether it’s note taking, keeping minutes in a meeting, organizing an outline, or even writing a paper or essay, there is no question that the ability to write is needed if you really want to be successful in any educational or professional endeavors. This week we will discuss some tips on how to improve your writing skills and go into more detail as to why they are important to have in the first place. Just like the last few weeks, I will be sharing my own personal tips on how to improve and why it is important to improve your writing abilities. As a Journalism major getting ready to graduate with my Bachelor’s degree, I realize the importance of writing and can provide some tips to you! 5 things you can do to easily improve your writing abilities are to read more, outline your ideas before you write, expand your vocabulary, conduct thorough research, and be detailed.
Read!
One thing I've noticed is that people don’t read as much as they used to. Especially students in grade school. Reading is good because it exposes you to different writing styles, allows you to see the use of proper grammar and structure and allows you to see how other people are able to effectively communicate your thoughts and ideas. So any chance you get, read!
Outlining Ideas
Having the ability to brainstorm and outline your ideas before engaging in an intensive writing session is crucial to having good cohesive writing. Developing this skill is important because it allows you to organize whatever you are about to write and really think about the topic more deeply. It also allows you to incorporate details that you might have otherwise forgotten about if you had not written the outline. Aside from organization outlines are also useful for reference points once you enter the editing phase. The outline conserve as a way for you to backtrack just in case you forget any information while writing your first draft. Before you begin the next phase of your writing piece the outline can also help you structure and restructure anything that you might’ve missed during the first draft as well.
Expanding Your Vocabulary
Language and all of its complexities gives you the option of saying things in multiple ways. Expanding your vocabulary is just one way of figuring out how to convey the same idea in different ways. For example in the two sentences prior to the one you are currently reading, I briefly summarize the importance of expanding your vocabulary and in my summary I used the words different and multiple. Although they insinuate the one idea they are clearly two different ways of referencing that same idea. This is just one way in which expanding your vocabulary can be shown to diversify your writing abilities. Another reason why this skill is important is because it keeps the reader engaged and allows your writing to become much more interesting to them. Nobody is interested in reading sentences that begin with the same word or writing that is bland because the writer does it have an extensive vocabulary. Add some flavor to it!
Conduct Extensive Research
Credibility and accuracy are probably the two most important things that every good writer is supposed to master. Regardless if you are writing a persuasive piece, a research piece or even some sort of narrative in which you are making references to real life events or people you need to conduct research that backs up everything that you say. Having good research skills allows you not only to improve your writing abilities and credibility but it also gives you a way to find more ideas from other people about the exact same topic. The higher the quality of research that you were able to attain the more well-rounded your paper will become. This rule is applicable in every type of writing regardless of what the topic is, so make sure to remember that. Another benefit in conducting extensive research is that you are able to establish trust between you and your readers. If people know that they can trust what you say then there is a very good chance that more and more people will find you as a reliable source of information which is never a bad thing.
Being Detailed
I saved this one for last for a reason. Sometimes I struggle with this depending on what I’m about. There is no such thing as being too detailed. Don’t ever feel like you are over explaining something or that you don’t need to specify something else because it “seems obvious”. Even if your intended target audience are experts on whatever your topic is, treat them as if they know nothing about what you’re writing about. Doing this generates two benefits, The first being that it helps you establish your credibility and knowledge on the topic. The second being that you say everything that is necessary to be said without anything being left on the table. These things are important and will help you improve your writing skills because people love details. This is especially the case for teachers who are grading your academic writing pieces. The more you are able to reel in your audience and keep them intrigued the better off your writing piece will be remembered in the future. NEVER neglect the details.
I know the blog for this week is a bit longer but I felt as though I had lots of gems to give you guys and I really hope that they are helpful. Writing can be intimidating for some people and I want to make sure that I do everything that I can to help. I encourage you all to continue to find your own way of improving your writing as well. The skills are important and essential for creating business opportunities, getting good grades, networking and establishing relationships, and developing the personal skill of articulation. It is important to be able to articulate your thoughts on paper so again…. Do not neglect or overlook your ability to write.
