Writing simply means putting your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and emotions into a text form—one where others can understand the concept you’re trying to convey. In today’s time, education and knowledge are more accessible than it has ever been before. Now, even those who are undergraduates are able to compose and earn a living in both Administrative jobs and other written narrative fields. However, before submitting your work to a potential employer, there are a few things that need to be reviewed.
1) Review grammar and spelling basics.
Grammar and spelling are the core basis of good writing. Writing with proper grammar makes your work easier to understand and shows professionalism. While spelling is essential for the same reasons, i.e., to communicate. These two make your writing easier for the audience to understand and grasp your message.
Don’t avoid less common punctuation, like colons, semicolons, and em dashes. These can elevate your writing and present new ways to structure your sentences.
Finally, after you finish your piece, don’t hesitate to give it one final review. Whether you are working on a presentation, a novel, or a simple email, reviewing spelling and grammar before submitting is important and something every writer does.
2) Get inspiration from other pieces.
This step is essential for any type of writer because it guides us into the kind of author that we aspire to be. There are many types of writing styles to choose from, all accompanied by different genres. For instance, read funny stories if you’re trying to write a humorous short story. Want to write news articles? Find a few and take note of their structures and writing style. Pay attention to what makes their writing good and try to emulate the style.
If you think this step is difficult to learn, then don’t worry. Plagiarism is easy to avoid. Even though the writing differs from subjects like maths and science, i.e., being allowed to incorporate others’ formulas, this doesn’t mean writing is more complicated. All you need is to learn the writing style of the pieces you wish to incorporate. Once you start making your piece, then the story, idea, and written imagery will be yours.
3) Think about the structure.
In many cases, forming an outline will help solidify the structure. It’ll help you clarify what you hope to convey in each section, i.e., paragraphs and chapters. This would enable you to visualize your piece’s flow and surface parts requiring more research or thought.
The structure would look different depending on what you’re writing. An essay typically contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. A fiction piece might follow the six-stage plot structure: exposition, the climb, climax, decline, resolution, and denouement. At the same time, a letter or email follows slightly different rules. Choose what’s best for your purposes.
4) Eliminate unnecessary work and use simple vocabulary.
A common mistake writers make is writing complex words and sentences. When writing, it’s important to understand that our job is to convey a message to our target audience. And make it easier for them to read in a flow. By choosing complex words and long sentences, readers would become less interested in the piece and search for other alternatives.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean we need to focus on simple ones from school textbooks ( unless you’re making a children’s book ), but words that your target audiences are familiar with. Words that are more likely to come up in everyday conversations.
5) Do your research.
Aside from plagiarism, nothing is there to undermine your work. So, don’t hesitate to research on your own for accurate information related to your writing piece. And don’t solely obtain them from a ‘he said / she said’ situation.
Many individuals try to take shortcuts with facts, which results in obtaining information that is not factual. Be careful because this could lower your credibility.
Remember, everybody makes mistakes, and you don’t need to spend weeks cross-referencing every last statistic. Still, common sense should prevail here – avoid sites like Wikipedia and use current, primary sources whenever possible.
6) Write!
One of the best ways you can improve your writing is to practice. Besides taking classes, there are a few ways that can help.
Write a diary every day that includes episodes and emotions of your life in your day-to-day life.
Make a review or summary of the shows you watch.
Write letters to friends and family ( you can use digital letters for ease ).
Go to the internet and search for a topic to write on.
Start a blog.
7) Edit your work.
Editing involves reading your piece from another person’s perspective and considering how well it suits your goals. When editing your work, check grammar and spelling, review word choice and tone, and remove irrelevant phrases.
Conclusion
Writing can be as easy as conversing with friends. All it takes is knowing the language and format. With enough practice, you can excel in any form of writing career.