How to survive with Writing Skills

Introduction

The interpretation of ideas in a written way or through written texts or having the potential to clearly express ideas and opinions refer to the term, writing skills. It is very important for individuals to incorporate immaculate writing skills as these skills act as a base to the growth. Writing skills play a vital role in the ecosystem of communication as a stronghold of these skills will help an individual to communicate their message and express the opinion with more clarity. Just as one cannot escape from earning bread and butter, the same way one cannot compromise on the writing skills to be outstanding in the crowd. “Think before you write, while you write, and definitely after you have written. ( Sudakshina Bhattacharjee)

Ways to improve writing skills

Nothing is difficult unless you work hard for it. Therefore, writing with a free mind can help you frame your thoughts in a better way. Brushing up with the Grammarly rules day to day is a help in any way as no one is perfect and one cannot learn the incorporation and imposition of the grammar rules in one night. It is a time-consuming process.

Also, it is very important to adopt a reading habit on a regular basis. More and more reading enhances your knowledge and grasping power. The new words learned while reading alarm in your mind while you are writing. The use of a dictionary instantly helps you retain that word as you can quickly search the meaning of the word. However, the procedure of practical implementation stands complete while you learn the meaning and also, form a sentence in your mind to have a better understanding. Restructuring simple sentences in an elaborate and complex way can help in the improvement of writing skills.

“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” Lisa See. Elaboration of sentences helps in understanding the concept and idea in a better way. Dictation is the most important aspect while being judged on great writing skills. Just like barriers in verbal communication is a turn off for the sender and receiver, the same way, wrong spellings are a turnoff for the reader as it gives a pathetic impression to the readers. 

Types of writing skills

The way we speak and the way we write stand distinguished. It is important to comprehend the difference between the two, as a matter of fact, the interpretation of the spoken word shall be portrayed in the right manner while writing. Imbibing the difference between the two lets you have an upper edge professionally. “Style means the right word, the rest matters a little.” Jules Renard.

Writing skills are basically classified into four categories, Expository, Persuasive, Narrative, and Descriptive. Talking about each in detail, Expository writing is one of the most widely used styles as it involves mentioning facts and figures regarding a particular topic and explaining in detail each aspect. Textbooks are an example of Expository writing.

The reverse of Expository writing is Persuasive writing, where people usually express personal opinions, point of view and give justification as and when necessary. Just as the name says, this kind of writing, influences or persuades the reader to develop thoughts that are likely to be developed by the author. Letters, promotional content, and editorial pages are few examples of persuasive writing.

Narrative writing, as the name suggests is the way of narrating a story to the reader, be it a fact or fiction. This kind of writing style, encourages creativity and imagination more than factual descriptions. Usually, the story revolves around one character and sometimes various characters in framed dialogues. Novel writing, story writing, and poetry writing are few examples in this category.

The fourth type of writing skill is descriptive writing. Portraying of information or life of a particular character in a detailed and descriptive way classifies the category of descriptive writing. In this kind of writing, the writer unpretentiously describes, series of events, feelings, opinions etcetera. Descriptive Poetry and diary writing are few examples of Descriptive writing.

Components of writing skills

Furthermore, to incorporate strong writing skills one must know of the three components of the writing skills grid. First is, Grammatical skill, it requires a lot of effort to construct a meaningful sentence. Somehow, the quality of possessing good grammatical skills is inborn. However, the grace with which the words are joined together without any error holds vital for good grammatical skills.

The skill of organizing the words in a manner that it produces a different meaning and gives rise to varied aspects can be termed as a compositional skill. It is not an extension to grammatical skill as the former talks about the placement of words in the right way while the latter talks about using the right word to form a  sentence. People who do blog writing or teachers who tend to give a compelling lecture, incorporate strong compositional skills.

A third of the grid is domain knowledge. Many writers deny the fact of having complete knowledge of a specific domain as writing requires imagination and creativity. Indeed, a writer must know the targeted audience and have an insight of the mind of the reader in order to produce quality work. All this is not possible without embodying complete knowledge of the specific domain. It is very important to have a thorough knowledge of the subject you are writing on.

Conclusion

It is very important to vent your writing in a proper way, therefore, as a writer, one must possess certain strengths. The selection of the right word to make a complete sense out of the sentence is not everyone’s cup of tea. Being creative and imaginative at the same time is a talent, not acquired by many. Playing with words and having a passion to write leads to an aspect of logical progression in an individual. “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit”. (Richard Bach)

Reference Links

1. The Writers College Times. (2019). A Quirky List of Podcasts to Boost Your Writing Skills. [online] Available at: https://www.writerscollegeblog.com/a-quirky-list-of-podcasts-to-boost-your-writing-skills/.
2. Copyright skillsyouneed.com 2011-2019 (2011). Writing Skills | SkillsYouNeed. [online] Skillsyouneed.com. Available at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/writing-skills.html.
3. Wall Street English. (2018). How To Improve English Writing. [online] Available at: https://www.wallstreetenglish.com/blog/how-to-improve-english-writing.
4. Bleeding Espresso. (2009). Freelance Writing Week: 5 Tips for How to Find and Develop Your Freelance Writing Niche. [online] Available at: http://bleedingespresso.com/2009/03/freelance-writing-week-5-tips-for-how-to-find-and-develop-your-freelance-writing-niche.

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