WRITING SKILLS

1. WRITING SKILLS:

Writing is a medium of human communication that represents language and emotion with signs and symbols. In most languages, writing is a complement to speech or spoken language. Writing is not a language, but a tool developed by human society. Within a language system, writing relies on many of the same structures as speech, such as vocabulary, grammar, and semantics, with the added dependency of a system of signs or symbols. The result of writing is called text, and the recipient of text is called a reader. Motivations for writing include publication, storytelling, correspondence and diary. Writing has been instrumental in keeping history, maintaining culture, dissemination of knowledge through the media and the formation of legal systems.

As human societies emerged, the development of writing was driven by pragmatic exigencies such as exchanging information, maintaining financial accounts, codifying laws and recording history. Around the 4th millennium BCE, the complexity of trade and administration in Mesopotamia outgrew human memory, and writing became a more dependable method of recording and presenting transactions in a permanent form.^[1] In both ancient Egypt and Mesoamerica, writing may have evolved through calendrics and a political necessity for recording historical and environmental events.

Writing is a form of communication that allows students to put their feelings and ideas on paper, to organize their knowledge and beliefs into convincing arguments, and to convey meaning through well-constructed text. In its most advanced form, written expression can be as vivid as a work of art. As children learn the steps of writing, and as they build new skills upon old, writing evolves from the first simple sentences to elaborate stories and essays. Spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and organization come together and grow together to help the student demonstrate more advanced writing skills each year.

Writing skills are an important part of communication.  Good writing skills allow you to communicate your message with clarity and ease to a far larger audience than through face-to-face or telephone conversations.

You might be called upon to write a report, plan or strategy at work; write a grant application or press release within a volunteering role; or you may fancy communicating your ideas online via a blog.  And, of course, a well written CV or résumé with no spelling or grammatical mistakes is essential if you want a new job.

Today, when anyone can be their own publisher, we see more and more examples of poor writing skills both in print and on the web.  Poor writing skills create poor first impressions and many readers will have an immediate negative reaction if they spot a spelling or grammatical mistake. As just one example, a spelling mistake on a commercial web page may cause potential customers to doubt the credibility of the website and the organisation.

OBJECTIVES OF WRITING SKILLS:

• Communicate effectively in writing to a variety of audiences and for a variety of purposes.
• Use writing as a tool for thinking and learning.
• Develop skill in planning writing and completing tasks.
• Appropriately apply conventions of writing.

IMPORTANCE OF WRITING SKILLS:

Walk into any fifth-grade English class and you are likely to hear kids asking when they will ever need to know this, but the truth is that writing skills play a larger part in your professional life than you may realize. Good writing skills can help you come across as more credible, more capable, than a colleague who frequently has typos and grammatical errors.

1. Profession

Obviously good writing skills are important when your job involves writing, be it as a journalist, paralegal or public relations professional – that goes without saying. If you are employed for your writing skills, having “good” writing skills is a job requirement. However, more professions require good writing skills than those traditionally associated with writing. Any time a profession requires written communication, writing skills become important.

1. Communication

With emails, notes, letters, texts and Tweets, most people spend a fair amount of time at work communicating via the written word. Whether you are messaging a colleague, writing to your manager, or crafting the company newsletter, your writing skills can boost or hinder your career easily, even if you do not have a “writing” profession. Basically, writing skills make a difference in how you come across.

1. Credibility

People with good writing skills are generally seen as more credible. Think to yourself how you would interpret an email from a colleague that was filled with typos and grammatical errors. At best, he was negligent in that he didn’t proofread his message or use spell check; at worst, he comes across as less intelligent and less capable. Better writers tend to get higher grades and be perceived as more competent and more intelligent than their less literary counterparts.

1. Considerations

In the workplace, you need to make sure that you proofread everything you write, from an email to a company memo. However, just because good writing skills are a plus, you still need to pick your battles. Correcting others can work against you, in some cases even undermining you. Further, context and tone are just as important as grammar. While obvious mistakes are a no-no, such as using “their” and “they’re” incorrectly, smaller errors, like confusing “who” and “whom” are less important.

TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE WRITING:

The cardinal rule of writing:

Seek clarity, accuracy and efficiency of prose above all. Mean what you say, and say exactly what you mean, as clearly and as compactly as possible.

Never write to a page count. There is no “magic” number of pages that a thesis is supposed to be. Rather, start at the beginning, say just what you need to say, and stop when you come to the end. Note the emphasis on “just.” A paper is done not when everything that is necessary has been put in, but rather when everything unnecessary has been taken out. One writer wrote to a friend, apologetically: “I’d have written you a short letter, but I didn’t have time, so I wrote a long one instead.” He was right to apologize. Less is (usually) more.

This requires that you know exactly what you want to say before you begin writing. This does not mean knowing exactly how you want to convey your ideas before beginning to write—that will only give you writer’s block. In your first draft, pay no attention to the writing. Simply get your ideas down. Then do a serious second draft

Tips for effective prose:

Effective prose is concise, punchy and to the point. More importantly, it is clear and transparent. Your words should never get in the way of your ideas.

Write from an outline. Outlines force you to do two things. First, it imposes structure on your writing (and consequently your thinking). In your final product, retain the explicit structure—section and sub-section headings. Such explicit organization makes it easier for the reader to follow your argument. Second, outlining forces you to critically evaluate which ideas and arguments are necessary components of your thesis, and which are not.

One paragraph one idea:

 Many people write inordinately long paragraphs that contain multiple ideas or assertions, and stretch across multiple pages. A paragraph should contain one idea. Write clear, punchy and compact sentences. In effective sentences, the subject and verb are generally close together. The further apart they stray, the foggier the sentence becomes. The subject and verbs should be close to the beginning of the sentence.

Get to the point:

 Before you start writing your paper, you should know what you want to say. If you know what you want to say, there is no reason to keep it from the reader. With analytic prose, your reader will be happiest to find your argument (the point of the paper) in the first few paragraphs. Similarly, sections and sub-sections should lead with a concise presentation of the argument(s) contained in that section. Paragraphs should lead with the topic sentence.

Avoid the passive voice (note, not, the passive voice should be avoided). A passive voice is a construction in which the object of a sentence is turned in to the subject.

HOW TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS:

Practice specific writing skills

The 9 techniques below are the chopping, boiling, and frying of writing.

Practice each mini-skill one by one:

2. Learn how to write good sentences— a sparkling sentence is the basic ingredient of good writing.
3. Become more conversational by including questions in your writing.
4. Study how to choose flavored words; and learn how to avoid bland phrases that make your writing tasteless and yuck.
5. Compose smooth transitions so readers glide from sentence to sentence, and from paragraph to paragraph.
6. Experiment with your voice by changing punctuation and adding a dynamic rhythm.
7. Create a mesmerizing flow by outlining or reverse-outlining your content.
8. Practice writing sound bites that linger in your reader’s minds.
9. Cook up fresh metaphors to make abstract concepts concrete and entertaining.
10. Play with mini-stories to engage your readers.
11. Practice your basic writing skills like a sushi chef practices filleting fish. Practice more, and writing becomes a joy.
12. Develop sticky writing habits
13. How did you learn how to cook? By watching TV and reading recipe books? Or by practicing in the kitchen?
14. To learn how to write, you must develop the right writing habits:

15. Put on your chef’s hat, switch off your phone, set a timer for 25 minutes, and do the work.
16. Book time in your calendar for writing; and try writing at the same time each day.
17. Hold yourself accountable—publish at least one piece of content every week.
18. Apply a structured process to your writing—plan, draft, edit, and format.
19. Edit your content in several rounds because scintillating content requires careful adjustment of each ingredient.
20. Nurture a sense of play and experiment with different techniques—start with these creative writing exercises for business content.
21. Make your content more nourishing
22. Baking a chocolate fudge cake won’t impress guests on a diet. Cooking the most delicious seafood paella is a waste of your effort, if your guest is allergic to prawns and mussels.
23. With writing it’s the same. Mediocre writing bores your readers to tears. But nourishing

content engages, delights, and inspires your readers.

• Start with the following 6 tips to engage your audience:

25. Practice empathy—understanding how you can help your reader is the basic ingredient of nourishing content.
26. Apply the principles of persuasion, so you can inspire your reader to implement your tips and nudge him to buy from you.
27. Make your advice more practical by demonstrating your tips with lively examples.
28. Make your content memorable by including rich details that breathe life into your arguments.
29. Borrow authority by including expert quotes and stats.
30. Share tasty nuggets of information by digging deeper into your topic to reveal more specific tips.
31. Your readers are hungry for ideas, advice, comfort, and inspiration. Serve them the right mix of nourishing content, and make them crave more.
32. Find inspiration by studying the masters
33. We’re not born with a unique voice, just like a chef isn’t born with a signature dish in her mind.
34. Instead, we learn how to write and cook by studying the masters and ‘stealing’ proven recipes:

35. Study Cosmopolitan covers and learn how to write attention-grabbing headlines.
36. Pay attention to words in movie reviews, sports reports, and novels—which words grab you?
37. Read children’s books to learn how to discuss big topics in simple words.
38. Enjoy the sensory experience of poetry.
39. Polish your persuasive writing techniques by studying direct mail and sales copy.
40. Embrace serendipity—you can find inspiration anywhere.

BARRIERS TO WRITING SKILLS:

Noise:

 It is a very common problem faced by everyone at their workplace. A writer actually requires a place that is surrounded with silence. When a writer is involved in his writing, his flow of thoughts travel in a direction to produce a coded message in his mind, whenever anybody interrupts the flow of thoughts is disturbed and he becomes disturbed. But a writer should be used to the noise factor because he cannot come across a place that is filled with utmost silence expect occasionally. He should concentrate in his work deeply. He should master the techniques of concentration by methods such as meditation, pranayam etc. He learns to focus on objects under any circumstances if he is involved in activities such as meditation. 

Lack of effective tools:

 Writer requires many tools for writing. Writers today require facilities like internet to gather information. Everybody is not lucky enough to own a PC and buy an internet connection at home. If he lacks digital facilities, then he can gather information from the books. He should store books that he buys or uses for academic purposes. A writer should also learn to make effective use of his tools. Even if he has an internet connection at home, he must know the techniques to search the desired results. He can make use of many search engines such as Google, yahoo, msn search etc. He must buy books that provide him the right information.

Training for writing:

 Everybody is not lucky enough to imbibe training for effective writing. If a writer belongs to a wealthy background, his parents can assist and finance for him to learn various courses for writing. But even if he is not able to acquire any training he should train himself. He can gather information from various sources such as internet, books, libraries, friends etc. He can also activate his mind by following the therapies of meditation, spiritual techniques, yoga, etc.

Scope or motivation:

 Sometimes a person may feel the urge to write something, but the people around him may not encourage him. They may tell him that he is not a good writer. In such situation, he should not follow the words of others but he should follow his own path. If he is urged he should take a step ahead. If he has not developed the necessary skills he can learn a lot by watching the other writers in the forum. He can learn the skills that are necessary for a writer. 

Writer’s block:

 A writer consistently needs to think and ponder to write something. At a point of time when he or she is continuously delivering thoughts to pin down, he may come to a point where his mind becomes saturated. At this time, he cannot think further as his mind becomes blocked. To refresh his mind and start writing again he can use different techniques. He should quietly sit down in a room and read something that absorbs his mind. He should just sit down in a room alone and slowly start thinking and feel refreshed. He can also involve in spiritual activities such as meditation, yoga, or even recreational activities to make his mind fresh. A writer should remember that he should also become a good reader because it boosts his thinking capacity. I am writing this article because my mind had become saturated now and I am feeling fresh to present this article now.

NOTE TAKING AND NOTE MAKING:

We distinguish between note-taking and note-making. Note-taking is a passive process which is done at lectures whereas note-making is more active and focused activity where you assimilate all information and make sense of it for yourself.

Note-taking:

Taking notes is an important process. It allows you to have a written record of the lecture which may not be in your textbook. It also ensures that you become an active and involved listener and learner

A more important reason for taking notes is that there is a direct relationship between what happens in lectures and what comes up in the exam. If the lecturer does not personally set the exam, it is likely that he/she will still submit a number of questions.

When thinking about note-taking it is important to consider the lecturing style adopted by different lecturers. Some will prefer dictating, others will provide printed notes.

The following areas are covered below:

• Setting the stage
• Listening actively
• Formatting and structuring notes
• General note-taking tips
• If the lecturer talks too fast
• Note-taking abbreviations
• The note-making process

 Home truth about Lecturers:

• Establish lecturer’s interests:  Try to establish what topics of research or advanced study your lecturers are part of, especially if these also relate to your syllabus. Also be aware of any articles or books written by your lecturers and their areas of specialisation.
• ATTEND ALL LECTURES:  Try to attend all lectures – apart from the obvious academic advantage, it also creates an impression of you as a dilligent student which may be to your advantage at some point in the course.
• THE LAST LECTURE:  Make a special effort not to miss the last lecture of every course – information about the format of the exam is usually covered and the lecturer may also provide information about sections of the syllabus that need special attention or sections that can be excluded. 

Formatting and Structuring Notes:

Some methods will work better for some individuals than others.  See what works best for you.

1.  General note-taking tips

1. Give yourself plenty of space.
2. Label, number and date all your notes.
3. Develop your own system of shorthand and abbreviations
4. Use colour, pictures or diagrams to make notes more visual.
5. Keep your own thoughts separate – this ensures that you don t mistake your own idea for that of the lecturer’s.
6. Use a lost signal – when you find yourself lost in a lecture, make a note of it using a specific symbol and leave space to fill in this later.
7. Write legibly: Many people feel that they have no control over their handwriting and resign themselves to writing illegibly for the rest of their lives. However, if you put your mind to it and make it a point to write more legibly, your handwriting will improve. This has implications not only for note-taking but for writing exams as well.

THE NOTE-MAKING PROCESS

Once you have taken down notes in lectures, the learning process is not complete. The next step is the note-making process.

Reviewing lecture notes:

Your lecture notes form the basis of your final consolidated notes and your entire examination preparation is based on these. The following should be done on a daily basis:

1. Read through your lecture notes.
2. Underline headings and subheadings.
3. Correct spelling mistakes and rewrite illegible portions.
4. Fill in any gaps.
5. Underline or highlight important sentences or paragraphs.
6. Make sure you understand the concepts.
7. If you use the Cornell system, fill in the key words in the left-hand column.

Integrating lecture notes and readings

1. The main aim is to integrate your lecture notes with reading from articles, prescribed and recommended books or tutorials.
2. It is best to use your lecture notes as the basis of your integration and not rewrite these unless your handwriting is extremely poor.
3. Mind-map summaries can be made to give you an overall picture of the topic. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NOTE-MAKING AND NOTE-TAKING:

NOTE-TAKING	NOTE-MAKING
Brings no obvious improvement towards the skills in studying.	Making notes improves the skills in study.
Only jotting down points, involves no sight interpretation.	Helps student to see each point clearly along with its link or connection with each other.
Very less changes are required.	Easier to change the notes made.
Taking points from one source on a time.	Involve the taking of points from different sources.