7 Ways To Improve Your Writing Skills Like Never Before!
The following article will help you improve your writing skills like never before!
Reading is an essential part of life. We read, at a minimum, to learn and understand. But writing to understand is a different beast than reading. Writing requires a completely different set of tools than reading does. Unlike reading, which requires the ability to see things from someone else’s perspective and discern meaning from their word choice and sentence structure, writing requires you to be direct and clear about your ideas. Writing isn’t about playing with language or being fancy, but about getting your ideas out there on the page clearly and concisely. The following article will help you improve your writing skills like never before!
Have a purpose before you write
What do you want to accomplish with your writing? That question is the most crucial to your success as a writer. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish, you can’t possibly figure out how to do it. You might have something in mind already, like a blog post you want to write on a specific topic. Or a book you want to write. Or an email you have to send. If you already have an idea of what you want to do, fantastic! If not, try to think about what you might want to accomplish through your writing and try to decide what kind of readers you want to reach with your writing.
Know your audience
It’s not just about knowing the person you want to reach with your writing; it’s also knowing their reading level. Let’s say you want to reach a general audience, as most bloggers do. That’s great, but that also means you have to figure out their reading level. Every person has a reading level based on how much formal education they have, the types of books they normally read, and how fast they read. Most reading materials are written at a 7th-grade reading level, meaning a 10-year-old could understand them. To figure out the reading level of your audience, take a well-known writing sample from one of the top publications in your niche (New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, etc.) and have it read out loud by a computer program. Then, look at what grade the program gives the sample.
Know your point before you write
The more clear you are about what you want to get across in your writing, the better off you’ll be. This clarity of purpose will manifest in your first sentence as well as in your transitions between ideas. The whole point of having a clear purpose is so you can make sure that each sentence you write is part of that larger goal. If you just write without a purpose, then each sentence could go in any direction. It could be part of your larger point, or it could be completely irrelevant to your overall argument. That’s why it’s so important to make sure each sentence you write has a purpose. If it doesn’t, it needs to be cut from your writing.
Don’t be afraid of short sentences
To show off your impressive grasp of the English language, you might be tempted to write long, complex sentences. They’re unnecessarily wordy and confusing. You might think that long sentences are more sophisticated, but they aren’t. They’re just wordy and unnecessarily confusing. Don’t be afraid to break up your sentences into two or three shorter sentences. It’s perfectly fine, as long as the two or three sentences are connected.
Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs
This is essentially a continuation of the points above. Short sentences are more clear, direct, and to the point than long, winding sentences. Short words are the same way. They’re direct and to the point, whereas longer words might be more complicated. Short paragraphs are more clear than long paragraphs. Short paragraphs are direct and to the point, whereas longer paragraphs might have more winding thoughts and be more complicated. Long paragraphs are also hard to read. Short paragraphs are easier to read and easier to understand.
Don’t use adverbs in your writing
Adverbs are useful for describing adjectives and verbs in your writing, but they’re not necessary for describing nouns like names and places. Avoid them as much as possible in your writing. Adverbs can be used to describe someone or something, like “he walked slowly.” But they aren’t necessary and they can muddy up your writing. Shorten your sentences and use strong verbs instead. “He walked slowly across the room.” That’s much more clear than “He walked slowly across the room.”
Don’t use more than 2–3 sentences in a row with the same subject.
This is a slightly different take on the last point. If you have two or three consecutive sentences that are all about the same thing, they should be merged into one sentence. These sentences don’t need to be merged into a larger sentence because they aren’t about different subjects. They’re about the same thing, and that’s why they should be merged. That’s the best way to make your writing cleaner and more straightforward.
Conclusion
Reading and writing are two completely different skills that require different tools and approaches. For writing, you need to know your purpose, know your audience, know your point, and avoid being wordy. You also need to use short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs and avoid using adverbs in your writing. Don’t be afraid of short sentences, and don’t use more than 2–3 sentences in a row with the same subject. Cut down on your wordy sentences, cut out the adverbs, and simplify your writing. That’s how you improve your writing. With these writing tips, you’ll be able to write more clearly and more concisely than ever before!