How To Improve Your Writing Skills.

Learning to be an effective writer is an important part of education. Schoolwork involves a steady stream of writing assignments, and many jobs require the writing of effective letters, memos, and reports. Writing also plays a role in personal life, when people fill in forms or write e-mails or letters to friends and relatives.

Good writing gets its message across so clearly that the reader knows exactly what the writer meant to say. It also holds the reader's attention so completely that the entire message-not just a fragment of it-is received.

For most people, writing well is not an easy task. People who have no trouble expressing themselves out loud may freeze when they pick up a pencil. Like any other skill-for example, shooting a basketball or playing the piano-writing requires practice. The more you do it, the better you become.

This article contains information designed to help students improve writing skills in general.

Writing tips

Practice helps: The more you write for fun, the more you realize that writing need not be a chore. Every time you write, you practice a skill and get better at it. Practice is good because it gets you into the habit of using written words to express yourself. Your practice writing does not have to be perfect.

You can get into the writing habit in many ways. Keep a journal or diary to record your experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Write letters or e-mails to friends, relatives, or a pen pal. Try writing a fan letter to your favorite author, TV personality, or rock star. And remember to send post cards when you travel. Send for brochures, pamphlets, and free samples that you see advertised in newspapers or magazines. You might also consider writing your own invitations and greeting cards instead of buying commercially produced ones.

Preliminary steps for success: Some of your school writing assignments, such as themes, essays, and stories, are based on your own opinions, ideas, or imagination. Other writing assignments, such as book reports and research papers, are based on facts gained from reading and research. Whatever the assignment may be, your work will proceed more smoothly if you follow these suggestions before you begin putting words on paper:

1. Be sure you understand the specifics of the assignment, such as its length and whether the topic is your choice or assigned.

2. Plan ahead and organize your time to help assure that you have enough time to do a good job.

3. If the topic is your choice, select one that interests you, one that you already know something about, or one that you are eager to learn more about. Limit your topic so that you can cover it adequately in the assigned length and the available time.

4. Jot down ideas whenever and wherever they occur to you. Simply talking about your assignment with friends can trigger ideas that you might be able to use in your paper.

5. Develop an outline to organize your thoughts and to guide your writing so you do not forget a point you intended to include. A simple list of the main ideas may be adequate for a short assignment. Major assignments may require a more formal outline.

The three-part plan: Many writing projects can be organized into three parts: (1) the introduction, (2) the body, and (3) the conclusion. In the introduction, you briefly introduce your topic, giving the reader a preview of what is to come. The body of the paper-the longest part by far-provides the facts, examples, and details that support the main idea expressed in the introduction. The conclusion summarizes and restates the main idea.

The three parts of your paper should work together to make an effective whole. Strive for an attention-getting introduction-one that will arouse interest and encourage your reader to read on. In the body, make sure each point relates to the subject you are discussing. Do not stray into unrelated material or get caught up in trivial details that do not support your main idea. Your conclusion is your last chance to impress the reader. Do not end on a weak note. Try to make your conclusion as strong and effective as you can.

As you get ready to start writing, think of the three parts of your paper in terms of this simple formula.

1. Tell the reader what you are going to say.

2. Say it.

3. Tell the reader what you said.

Writing the first draft: When the time comes for you to write a first draft, do not sit with pencil poised waiting for the perfect sentence to come to mind. It is better to plunge right in, without worrying about making mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. At this stage, you simply need to put down the information and ideas you have gathered. Do not feel you have to use complete sentences. You can go back later to change and improve your work. And do not feel you have to begin with the introduction, especially if you are having difficulty with it. In many cases, you will think of an effective introduction after you have written the body of your paper.

Always write or type your first draft on one side of the paper only, with wide margins to allow plenty of room for revisions. If you write the draft, use every other line of the paper. If you type, set your computer, word processor, or typewriter for double- or triple-spacing.

Revising your work: Think of writing as a building process, with words, sentences, and paragraphs as building blocks. Your goal is to choose the best words, to put them together into clear, grammatical sentences, to form the sentences into logical, coherent paragraphs, and to link the paragraphs into a well-organized paper.

Do not expect to reach your goal the first time around. In most cases, writing involves a lot of rewriting-turning out as many drafts as necessary to produce the best results.

After you have completed your first draft, the best thing to do is forget about your paper for a while. Leave it alone for an hour, a day, or several days if time permits. Then look at it again with a fresh, critical eye.

Begin your revision by reading your work carefully. You might be so impressed or satisfied with your first effort that you think it can't be improved. But chances are it can be. Editing your own work is one of the hardest and most important tasks in turning out a well-written paper. Reading your work aloud will help you catch parts that need revision. Parts that sound unnatural or do not make sense require reworking. Also look for weak spots in content, organization, and writing style, as well as for errors in grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Keep a dictionary, thesaurus, and grammar handbook nearby-and be sure to use them. If you are working on a computer or word processor, use such built-in aids as the dictionary or spell checker.

Use a colored pencil and make your corrections right on the paper. If you add one or more sentences, write them in the margin and use an arrow to show where the additions should go. If you want to take out material, do not erase it or black it out completely. Instead, draw a neat line through the material or draw a circle around it. That way, if you later decide to restore the material or move it somewhere else, it will still be readable. If you are using a computer or word processor, save the revised file under a name different from the original.

Judging the content: To judge the content of your paper, keep in mind your reader and your purpose. Ask yourself these questions: Is the introduction as effective as I can make it? Will it arouse the reader's interest? Does the body of the paper include all the points I wanted to cover? Will the reader understand what I am trying to say? Are there enough examples or details to support my main idea? Are there gaps that need to be filled? Are there parts that do not really fit and so should be eliminated? Does my conclusion leave a strong impression?

Checking the organization: Be sure each paragraph has a topic sentence. A topic sentence expresses the central idea of the paragraph. All other sentences in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence. If you have a sentence that does not seem to fit in the paragraph, move it to another paragraph or eliminate it. Do not make it a paragraph by itself. Every paragraph should consist of at least two sentences. Make sure your paragraphs flow smoothly from one to the next in logical order.

Style pointers: Style-the way you express yourself-can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your writing. A paper that has all the necessary information but is boring to read may leave the reader disappointed and unimpressed. To make your writing as interesting and effective as it can be, keep in mind these points:

1. Use specific, vivid words, including action verbs. If you are writing a report on the Pueblo Indians, for example, tell how the Indians dug irrigation ditches, wove cloth, and carved dolls, not how they made ditches, cloth, and dolls.

2. Vary your sentence structure. Do not write a paper that consists entirely of short, simple sentences. Avoid beginning too many sentences with the same word.

3. Use interesting comparisons to bring statistics to life. For example, a figure for the population of India is more interesting if you add the fact that more people live in India than in all the countries of North and South America combined.

4. Avoid wordiness, unnecessary "big words," and overused expressions. Do not use excess words that only take up space. For example, write today or now rather than at the present time and if rather than in the event that. Do not use words that you yourself do not understand or that are intended merely to impress your reader. For example, write end rather than termination and best rather than optimum. Replace overused expressions, called cliches, with fresher expressions. Hungry as a bear, the last straw, and last but not least are examples of cliches.

5. Avoid overly formal writing. Think of writing as a kind of conversation with yourself or a friend. For certain assignments, your writing style may be more formal than your everyday conversation. However, try to make your writing sound natural.

Common grammatical errors: Mistakes in grammar can confuse the reader and even change the meaning of what you write. Here are some of the most common grammatical problems you should look for as you revise your work.

1. Run-on sentences consist of two or more independent clauses written together without a proper connection. A comma alone cannot be used to link such clauses. Example:It stopped raining, we played the rest of the game.There are several ways to correct the error. Make two separate sentences:It stopped raining. We played the rest of the game.Use a semicolon to link the independent clauses:It stopped raining; we played the rest of the game.Use a conjunction, such as and or but, to link the clauses:It stopped raining, and we played the rest of the game.Make one of the clauses a phrase or dependent clause:After it stopped raining, we played the rest of the game.

2. Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences. Phrases and dependent clauses cannot stand alone as sentences. To correct a fragment, you can join it to a sentence or add words to make it a sentence.Fragment: known for their skill as hunters.Correction: Known for their skill as hunters, lions have little trouble finding food.orLions are known for their skill as hunters.

3. Subject-verb agreement. A subject and verb must agree in number and person.Number:The star appears at dusk. [singular]The stars appear at dusk. [plural]Person:I am careful. [First person singular]You are careful. [Second person singular]He, she, it is careful. [Third person singular]We are careful. [First person plural]You are careful. [Second person plural]They are careful. [Third person plural]

4. Pronoun agreement. As shown above, a pronoun used as a subject must agree with its verb. A pronoun must also agree with its antecedent-that is, the particular noun to which it refers.Bill rode his bike to school.The women announced their decision.

5. Unclear pronoun references. Pronouns can cause confusion if their antecedents are not clear.Confusing:When Karen told Ann the story, she looked surprised.Clear:When Karen told Ann the story, Ann looked surprised.orAnn looked surprised when Karen told her the story.

6. Dangling modifier is an element in a sentence that seems to modify a word that it does not logically modify.Dangling:Running at record-breaking speed, the race was the highlight of the day.Correct:Running at record-breaking speed, Kelly made the race the highlight of the day.

7. Misplaced modifier is a phrase or clause not close enough to the word it modifies. As a result, it may seem to modify another word.Misplaced:Jack ran to his mother waving the letter.Correct: Waving the letter, Jack ran to his mother.

8. Shifts in verb tense. Generally, you should use one verb tense throughout your paper. If your paper describes past events, you should use the past tense. For many other papers, you will use the present tense. Be consistent in whichever tense you choose. After you have completed all your revisions, your work should be the best it can be. You are then ready to produce the final copy.

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