The Road to Better Writing: Tips and Tactics

A staggering number of students arrive at college with lackluster writing skills. In fact, more than 75% of college instructors “are dissatisfied with their students’ preparedness in critical thinking, comprehension of complicated materials, work and study habits, writing, written communication, and problem solving.”* Let’s key in on the “writing” and “written communication” part of this lament: a 2014 study found that a whopping 82% of employers rate “the ability to effectively communicate in writing” as a “very important” learning outcome. This number from employers comes out ahead of problem-solving, analytical reasoning skills, or ethical judgment.** Clearly, this is an area you must improve in order to thrive. Let’s discuss some ways to write more effectively:

1. Read, Read, Read: This is #1 for a reason: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that,” says uber-successful author Stephen King. Seriously, it is as simple as that. Of course, the majority of students don’t necessarily view reading as a “simple” activity, so perhaps we are dealing with a more systemic problem: getting kids to read. As far as that is concerned, we have to get them into reading at a young age, as “the more words they will learn, and the more clearly they will be about to express their ideas in the future.”*** Without reading and immersion into the language, students will always face an uphill battle when it comes to communicating clearly and effectively. Reading can even teach grammar without kids realizing it’s happening. It is literally never too soon to begin fostering a love of reading. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, for instance, states that without having read Jane Austen’s Emma as a young girl, she probably would not have become a writer. Goes to show…

2. Use Technology: Do you have or contribute to a blog? Do you comment on people’s social media statuses and posts? Do you write captions for your Instagram pics? If so, you are writing, and any writing you do will ultimately help you to become more skilled at the practice. Today, there are so many platforms from which to share your opinion, so you can use this plethora of opportunities to do more than just share memes; you can use it to hone your written communication skills.

3. Don’t Misuse Technology: Spellcheck is the bane of any writing teacher’s existence. Not only does it take away a student’s incentive to learn grammar standards he doesn’t know, it also automates one of the most important skills of writing: revising. Going back and checking over your writing helps you to become a conscientious reader who pays attention. Unfortunately, innovations like spellcheck and Easybib have taken away our natural ability to write, edit, and revise. One way to combat this is to be willing to take a little longer on writing assignments and look up words you don’t know rather than simply letting spellcheck correct them for you, or researching grammatical errors that spellcheck highlights so that you can get a better understanding of rules and conventions. Downloading apps like Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary or English Grammar*^ can help facilitate the process.

4. Use it or Lose it: If you don’t work out, your muscle atrophies: that’s just science. Similarly, when you stop reading and writing (as many high school students do), your comprehension speed and overall ability will also decrease. Writing regularly, whether it is journaling or simply jotting down thoughts and ideas, can help greatly to sharpen the skill. No one says you have to be working on the great American novel or writing an epic poem, however, simply converting thoughts to words will help keep this muscle strong. Keep a notepad next to your bed or even use the notepad app on your phone to put your fleeting thoughts and ideas into concrete marks. It will help you as a writer in the long run.

5. Keep it Simple: In THE writing how-to book, The Elements of Style^^, William Strunk gives some timeless advice:  “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.” This idea that “every word should tell” is instructive in how young people can become more effective writers. Often, when writing for school, we tend to do too much: too much “fluff,” too much “hook,” too many “fancy words.” Being direct in writing can lead to being an overall effective communicator, a skill highly valued by professors and employers. One simple way to become a better writer is, indeed, to keep it simple.

*http://www.achieve.org/employers-and-college-faculty-report-gaps-recent-graduates%E2%80%99-preparedness-new-national-survey
**https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2015employerstudentsurvey.pdf
***http://artsnsmarts.com/4-benefits-of-reading-to-your-child-from-an-early-age/
*^https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mng.com.englishgrammar&hl=en
^^https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-William-Strunk-Jr/dp/1499142234

Written by Phil Lane