Improving your skill at writing efficiently is not difficult. In fact, you will see an improvement in your writing skills quickly, if you practice the following tips consistently.
1) Improve every aspect of writing
What makes up your writing skills? Well, spelling and grammar are the basics, and they’re basically two of the most important skills you can learn. Unless you master the fundamentals you cannot advance in your program of improving your writing efficiency.
Enrich your vocabulary and ensure you perfectly know how to punctuate sentences. Never use words whose meaning you don’t know, especially if you’ve never seen them used in writing before. Avoid using big words just for the look of them, and try to refrain from using overly-complex and long sentences. Keep it simple and clean!
2) Read like there’s no tomorrow
Good writers are first and foremost avid readers. Reading everything from magazines to menus, scientific journals to science fiction, improves your vocabulary, your ideas, and your overall knowledge.
Reading also exposes you to different types of content, from literary to business topics, and ensures you have ample opportunities to advance in your own writing skills: first by copying others and then by building upon what you creatively emulate.
3) Interact with others through written communication
The Internet is your playground for personal improvement as well as games. Forums and site comment sections offer you the opportunity to practice your writing, and to refine your ideas and critical thinking skills in the process. Discuss your opinions on videos, lectures and other forms of media online to fine-tune your writing skills; by watching those lectures or other content available in MOOC you’ll learn new and exciting things while you’re at it.
Make it a goal to always engage in conversation with intellectually stimulating people. It will offer you plenty of insights on how to better express your own thoughts in written format, as well as when you’re speaking.
4) Edit and proofread thoroughly
Remember the five C’s of effective writing: clarity, control, correctness, conciseness, and coherence.
Clarity refers to using the right word in the right context to communicate the intended meaning.
Control refers to how well and intuitively organized your writing is.
Correctness is your ability to abide by the rules for a language’s spelling, grammar, and syntax.
Conciseness means writing economically without fluff, repetition, or wordiness.
Lastly, coherence is the ability to present your ideas and thoughts in a way that flows smoothly and doesn’t impede the reader’s processing and understanding of what they read.
5) Have fun with your writing practice
Writing shouldn’t intimidate you. See everything as a challenge to improve your writing, and look for opportunities. For example, you can participate in writing improvement activities such as short story contests. Play games that help you enrich your vocabulary, or brush up your spelling skills through a smartphone app.
Keep an online or paper journal. Write letters even if you never get around to posting them. Simply put, make writing a daily habit. As the adage goes, practice makes perfect!
Apply these five skills regularly and consistently, and you will soon see an improvement in your writing skill efficiency.
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