Writing Tips for students

Question

What one writing tip have you been given that vastly improved your writing?

Answer 1

Writing

One of my teacher once said, 'if there are 1000 readers in the crowd of one million, then there is only 1 writer in a million", so imagine the scale of the uniqueness of writing skill, and consider it as your most precious gift.

Plus, it is only the human being that possess this ability to write, animals, birds and other species on the face of the earth do not possess this rare and unique skill.

It all depends upon us how we groom and polish this unique skill of ours.

1- BEST TIP: READING, READING, READING--- Reading is the root, writing is an off shoot of reading. The more you read, the more you will able to write effectively and efficiently.

2- Practice, Practice, Practice--- 'PRACTICE MAKES THE MAN PERFECT'

Each skills shines with practice. Therefore, practice as much as possible by keep writing.

1. write what you like to tell your readers
2. write about all the thoughts that come to your mind especially if something bothers you, because it is a medium of expression like others for example, painting, sculpturing etc
3. if you are good with technology use blog writing, it is your digital publication and its global.
4. write your daily diary if possible, maintain a journal and you can share it with your friends to give you the real confidence.

Wishing you happy writing!

Answer 2

Many years ago when I had just begun my college career, a tutor gave me some great advice. When writing for academics, avoid the passive voice. Doing so adds strength to your writing. Rather than seeming like you are sitting on the sideline asking questions, writing in the active voice makes you the authority on the topic. Passive voice in writing is when the subject is being acted upon by the verb. Active voice is when the subject is acting on the verb. For example, a passive voice would be writing something like, "The balloon was chased by the boy." The active voice example of this would be, "The boy chased the balloon." This does not mean you should never write in the passive voice, but it should not be the primary voice of your writing.

Answer 3

Audio-Record or Write Word-for-Word What You Would Say

1. Published on February 17, 2015

Charles Fabara

Writing Instructor

Though writing well is as easy as telling something to your best friend, the fallacy that writing is inherently as difficult as—for example—playing the piano has crept into society and prevents people from writing well. 

That fallacy kept me handcuffed, until one day at York College (CUNY) a writing tutor asked me to read her a paper I was having trouble writing. As I read it she asked me, "What do you really want to say?" After I easily told her exactly what I wanted to say, she asked me, "Why don't you write THAT?"

Her question stunned me! The more I asked myself, "What do I want to say?"; the more I realized that I knew exactly what I wanted to say and could tell it to anyone, but as soon as I began writing those things down I would begin encoding it to present myself as being better, wealthier, more educated, and more accomplished than I was. From that day on I write word-for-word what I would say if I were talking with my best friend. 

The second misconception about writing is that good writing has to be perfect. Not so. Like other works of art, good writing can be simple, spontaneous, honest, gutsy, real. In fact, I love to read sentences that capture the way people really speak—especially when they speak in a dialect. 

The third misconception about writing is that one needs to write the final draft the first time one writes a paper. That is not the case. A well-written paper needs to be edited several times. The more the better; up to just before the point of diminishing returns. So, edit your paper to find and correct your errors, then rewrite it to express your thoughts in the best and most concise way possible. 

When you write, never censor your feelings or thoughts. Get-outta-the-way! Let your soul steer your hand. What you write will amaze you!

Decades later, I discovered that the best way to capture my thoughts in the tonality I expressed each word is by audio-recording myself saying what I would have written. Writing makes feelings and thoughts visible; audio-recording them makes them audible. To make your recorded thoughts visible, transcribe them, then perfect the order of your words.

© Charles Cox 2020

Answer 4

Don't be afraid to write garbage! Just get the first draft down, no matter how bad it looks. Create a "safe zone" for yourself, where it's okay to write poorly, and just the get words down onto paper. Then, when the first draft is complete, go back and fine-tune your writing for clarity, style, mechanics, and tone. And before you publish any work of writing, read it out loud to yourself and pay close attention to the flow and the transitions before submitting it.

Answer 5

Know your audience, both where they are and where you want to take them with your article or story.

Answer 6

As a tutor, teacher, and author, I can't think of one writing tip per se that stuck with me over the years. But I did have some great English teachers in elementary, middle, high school, and college who encouraged me and my writing in different ways simply by being morally supportive of my writing style and ideas while helping me make sure to correct my writing mechanics every step of the way. Basic edits of my writing on their end usually did the trick little by little when it came to helping my writing improve gradually over the years, which I remain grateful for to this day.

Personally, I believe that when one writes about topics they are interested in, passionate about, and knowledgeable on, the writing process itself comes about all the more smoothly from beginning to end, in turn making the writer feel all the more fulfilled internally and allowing their best work to shine through in the process. Plus, reading, being read to, listening to music, watching theatrical plays, movies, and engaging in thought-provoking online conversations with others can help anybody naturally develop their vocabulary upon using and recognizing different English words both orally and on paper.

Good luck with your writing endeavors!