6 Tips to Improve Your Writing
In a
world in which we communicate primarily by e-mail and text, correct spelling,
grammar and mechanics are either fixed by electronic devices or are ignored
completely in exchange for quick and easy communication. However, there are still many situations in
life when good writing habits are necessary.
Here are a 6 tips to help you improve your writing.
Use
complete sentences. A sentence doesn’t
have to be long to be complete. A
complete sentence requires only 2 items: a noun and a verb. The following is a complete sentence: The boy
runs. That’s it. That’s all it takes. When
in doubt about whether you have a sentence or not, find the noun (person, place
or thing) and the verb (the action word).
Use the
inverted pyramid: Journalists use an
inverted pyramid style of writing. That
is, the most important information is at the top and details are included in
descending order. This means that you
start with the most important, relevant details and move toward less important
details as you go. This allows for the
less important details to easily be edited out by chopping off the bottom. In terms of other documents, assume that the
reader will only read the first couple of paragraphs. Include the most important information
there.
Keep it
short. Unless you’re writing a research
document or dissertation, most everyday documents such as letters should be
kept short and straight to the point.
One page is sufficient most of the time.
Any business letter such as a letter requesting information or a cover
letter to be included with a resume should only be one page. Any more than that and you’ll lose the
reader’s attention.
Check
your grammar and mechanics. Look for
words in which you’ve used an apostrophe.
Did you use it correctly? Did you
mean its (possessive) or it’s (it is)?
Have you used commas? Did you use
them correctly or did you just sprinkle them on the paper randomly? A good rule of thumb with commas is “when in
doubt, leave it out.” That goes for
semi-colons, too. Unless you know you’re
using them correctly, just don’t use them.
Spelling.
Letters and formal documents should not include texting abbreviations such as
“ty” –thank you. Also, ensure your words
are spelled correctly. No matter what
you’re writing, spelling matters. While
most word processing programs will fix numerous spelling problems for you,
don’t count on these programs to do all the work. They won’t fix the spelling of proper names,
for example.
Know
your audience. Knowing your audience
will give you some idea of how much background information you need to include,
how much background information to provide and how much industry jargon to use
or not use.
Once
your piece is finished, revise it. Then,
proofread it. Then, proofread it
again. The more times you look it over,
the better it’s going to be. These 6 tips
will help improve your writing
No comments:
Post a Comment