Ten Easy Tips To Improve Your Writing Today
Writing is a part of everyday life, at home, at school and at the office we are always writing, but few of us receive formal training to write once we leave school.
If you lack confidence in your writing or just need some help focusing your thoughts here are my top tips to help you get started.
Start with a goal A goal helps you focus your thoughts and can help identify themes, styles and structure. It also provides a point of reference if you feel yourself wondering off track.
For example, if you are writing a report for your boss your goal might be, “Project report, showing objectives, process, results and recommendations.” Here your goal can also be the basis for your title and gives you some structure too.
Think of the audience Who you are writing for determines the style of your writing. For example the style of writing for your boss is a very different style from writing a bedtime story for you daughter. If it helps try and imagine a person that you know that fits this audience.
Beginning, middle, end Also known as introduction, body and conclusion, these are the building blocks for your writing. In the beginning you set the scene for what is going to happen. All the exciting stuff happens in the middle and the end rounds everything up nicely and they all lived happily ever after. Of course this is simplified and the more complex your writing the more complex your structure, but it is from these basics that you can develop.
Put your key points in bullet points Using bullet points to organise your ideas is a great way to create paragraph structure and subjects. It also helps to keep you focused on you subject.
For example, I started this article with my ten tips list and from here I worked up my paragraphs.
Write in short sentences Short sentences are easier to read and write. Some writing, such as essays, can benefit from longer more complex sentence structure, but on the whole if you are not writing for expert audiences then keep it short and simple.
Spelling – check it once, twice and again Good spelling is essential, use the spellcheck programme on your computer as well as a dictionary.
Grammar Good grammar gives a more professional look to your writing. If this is not your strong point just keep sentences short and simple.
Write, read and review Don’t be satisfied with your first draft. Once you have written your piece, print it out, read it and make notes on how to improve it.
Get a second opinion Getting someone else to read your writing may seem daunting but an objective eye can spot ways to improve your piece.
Practice, practice, practice Like any skill, with writing the more you do the better you get, so get writing. If you are lacking inspiration start by re-writing a review or article that you have read. Make notes about what you think is good or bad about it and see if you can do better.
I hope you find these tips helpful. They are just a beginning to help you focus your thoughts and build your confidence. Please don’t forget to leave me a comment about my article, after all we all need feedback to help us improve our writing.
