6 Ways to Hone Your Writing Skills While Still in College
BY SERENA DORF
Introduction
According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, good writing skills are of paramount importance. The survey results indicate that 80 percent of employers listed good literary capabilities as one of the most important candidate attributes. This means that simply having a College degree won’t get a job applicant any closer to landing a job without strong writing capabilities. Therefore, students should place an additional effort in mastering the art of crafting compelling textual content. For all of those that need some extra help in developing their writing skills, here are 6 easy ways to sharpen up your pen.
Readers make good writers
Spend a lot of time reading various types of content like poems, news, blogs, novels, etc. Not only will reading extend your vocabulary and give you the chance to improve your spelling, it can also help you develop your own style. Furthermore, reading different types of content reveals techniques regarding sentence structure, tone, and wording. You will be able to separate informative writing style from entertaining or promotional materials, which will allow you to use that insight for your own written assignments.
Follow the protocol
Writing is a process and as such it is best managed when separated into different stages. The first stage is Prewriting and it includes gathering research material, creating an outline, and arranging the content before you start writing. The second stage involves writing down your thoughts, modifying the text, and writing it all again and again until you are satisfied. The second stage repeats several times and each time you finish writing, Revision, the third stage kicks in to let you know if you should move on or start drafting again. The final stage is editing, and this is where you fix all the spelling issues, grammar, wording, etc.
Know when to stop
Sometimes it’s difficult to start writing or move on to the next topic that your writing assignment should cover. Writer’s block happens even to the most prominent of writers and it’s nothing to be afraid of. The experts from EssayOnTime recommend that in such cases you should take a pause, go out and spends some time just clearing your thoughts before you head back to work.
Lose distractions
Some people can’t work unless they eliminate all the distractions that keep them away from focusing. Find a place where you’ll be on your own without a smartphone or anything else to turn you away from your task. When you’re alone with your work it will be easier to concentrate and create a valuable textual content.
Use writing tools
There are dozens of useful online and offline tools that you could use in order to improve your writing skills. Proofreading tools like Hemingwayapp or Grammarly will help you fix any writing mistakes and allow you to improve the readability of your content. In time you will learn to fix those mistakes yourself.
Audience feedback
Have some friends or siblings read your work and provide some constructive feedback. It will help you see those issues that perhaps you weren’t able to see by yourself. Moreover, they could create a spark that would fire up your inspiration further.
Conclusion
It takes a lot of time and effort to master any skill, the same goes with writing. The important part is to keep improving your abilities no matter the pace of your progress. Writing is an essential part of everyday life which nobody should neglect.
Serena Dorf is an enthusiastic content writer in Los Angeles. She is thirsty for knowledge and is always on the lookout for amazing writing tips to share with her readers. In her free time, she is reading classic American literature and learning Swedish. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter.
