Writing is one thing I did for fun.
According to National Literacy Trust, only one in three people said they enjoy writing which is about 34.5%.
I got an opportunity to start earning from my wiritng. However, I had to undergo trainings and effect the writing strategies that were taught to become proficient in it.
In this article, I’d discuss some of the best effective writing strategies I’ve employed over the years and elaborately describe its impact to your work.
What are writing skills?
Writing is a technical skill that is used for communication through words.
Writing skills may include the following;
- Grammar
- Vocabulary
- Spelling
- Sentence construction
- Structure
- Research and accuracy
- Clarity
- Persuasiveness
Why are writing skills and strategies important?
Strong writing allows you to present your ideas concisely, ensuring that the reader understands your message. This is essential for efficient communication in every situation, including emails and reports, social media posts, grant and creative writing.
Polished writing demonstrates your attention to detail, critical thinking, and ability to properly organize information. This promotes a positive professional image and increases your credibility in the workplace.
Clear and empathic writing increases communication in personal relationships, allowing you to build trust and understanding with friends, family, and love partners.
Writing entails organizing your thoughts, analyzing material, and presenting it logically. This improves your critical thinking skills and capacity to arrange thoughts, which will help you in a variety of areas of life.
Writing allows you to find yourself and explore your thoughts and emotions. It can be a kind of creative expression that promotes personal growth and a better understanding of oneself.
10 Effective Writing Strategies to Enhance Your Writing Skills
#1 Outline Your Work
It is okay to just say it as you feel if the work will end in your journal. But if the intent is to communicate with an audience who will not see you. It is imperative to give your work a structure.
According to Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
An outline doesn’t need to be complicated. You might only need to include a brief overview of what’s in each part and a general idea of the order in which the sections should go. If the topic you’re writing about is complicated, your plan might need to be more in-depth.
But making an outline before you start writing is like putting a road map in the glove box of your car before you go on a trip. If you get off track, look at your sketch again and get back to beating people up and calling them names.
Again, an outline helps you see how your composition flows and identify places that require additional attention or inquiry.
Using an outline, you may organize the ideas you want to cover in your paper and make sure the project makes logic from the start to the finish. Without an outline, you risk forgetting the primary focus at a later time.
Writing an outline even before you begin writing is one of the most important writing strategies that will enhance your writing skills and game.
#2 Know What Audience Wants
Tailor your writing to your intended readers’ needs.
Consider their age, interests, and level of knowledge.
Use language and examples that they will understand and find relatable.
Then, consider the text you’re putting out for them to read. Do they have enough information to understand what you’ve written? If not, flesh it up.
Good writers pinpoint what their audience seeks and ensure their piece of writing will help them achieve that.
As a good writer, you can use some keyword research tools to ascertain the needs of your readers. Let me explain.
When you run keyword research, you can check for the demography of the searches; which includes their age, location, preferences, and devices used. With this information, you can tailor your tone language, and structure to fit them.
This is an essential writing strategy you should inculcate.
#3 Use a Strong Opening
There is a saying that the beginning of your work will either draw the reader’s attention or make him dislike your work irrespective of the information it contains.
Your agreement paragraph should be a hooker! It should make one want to read the work.
Some personal ways I use to achieve this is by sharing a personal story. This draws both the attention and emotion of my reader to the work.
Another writing strategy for writing a strong opening is to give a striking fact. It can be a fact from journals or some powerful did you knows’.
This can be followed by some statement that will create a sense of need in the reader’s mind.
The opening should be short, and interesting with a clear CTA.
#4 Review your Grammar and check Spellings
Spelling and grammar are the cornerstones of effective writing. Writing with correct grammar and spelling shows your reader that you are a professional and that you are detail oriented. It also facilitates reading your writing.
Additionally, using less common punctuation correctly, like as colons, semicolons, and dashes, can open up new sentence structures and improve the quality of your writing.
If possible, stick with simple vocabulary especially the ones you know their meanings and use.
There is a difference between rich vocabulary and using ambiguous words to show off.
One word of advise; if your work is not poetic, keep the language simple.
Additionally, if you don’t want your writing to sound stiff and formal, use contractions – I’m, we’re, can’t, etc.
Other Grammar Errors to avoid
Run-on sentences: Sentences can be run-ons, which join two whole sentences without a period or a conjunction/fragments, which leave out important details of the phrase. They’re both wrong. A sentence must have a complete notion, a subject, and a predicate.
Use of commas: Commas can be difficult. Good writers know when to use it. It is for linking two separate clauses with a conjunction and after the introductory phrase.
Subject/verb agreement: The number of subjects and verbs should match. Just as singular subjects and verbs require plural verbs, so do plural subjects.
Misplaced modifiers: Words or phrases that modify another part of a sentence are known as modifiers. Misplaced ones hinder clarity. As the meaning to be understood, the modifier must be positioned close to the term it modifies.
READ ALSO: 15 Productive Apps for Freelance Writers
#5 Learn to Write
Before getting on to write concisely, just write.
Start by writing. Just write.
You’ll have to understand that the first draft doesn’t have to be perfect.
Depending on the topic, conduct research and write down all your findings. From a mile away, readers can recognize a thoroughly researched piece. Include data; the numbers! It makes your work unique and authentic.
This is so that your arguments are supported, and your statements are given more credibility.
The process of writing is not linear. Don’t be scared to take risks, try new things, and make errors. The real magic happens during revision and editing; the initial draft is simply the beginning.
#6 Learn How to Write Concisely
It can be useful to write the way we speak. It preserves the conversational tone of our writing. However, writing that is overly wordy and rambling might make your work difficult to understand and create an impression that you lack conviction.
This makes the need for concise writing one of the best strategies to employ to improve your skills.
Concise writing is another indication of good communication. Sentences that are concise, clear, and strong are effective. Long phrases are sometimes weak.
Another writing strategy to employ here is to eliminate fluff; filler words and phrases.
Some words are always in our writing but they do not contribute anything. One of such words is “typically” and its beloved “basically”.
Although filler words and phrases sometimes add color to our work, they can be done without.
Some of the word you can eliminate include; at all times, each and every, as yet, in order, literally, quite, simply, as a matter of fact, being that, for the most part, point in time, and during the course of.
As a result, you should master self-editing.
Understanding the differences between passive and active voice is one approach to write concisely. The action taker is positioned as the sentence’s subject according to active voice structure. The subject of the sentence becomes the object in passive voice.
#7 Choose Strong Verbs
Mastering word choice is one of the most basic writing strategies to employ. Good writing employs strong, energetic language that quickly convey the intended message.
If you’re having difficulties coming up with the right words, use an online paraphrase tool. They will suggest new word choices, tone changes, and syntactical ideas.
Strong writing uses strong verbs. Use the most descriptive verb for any action you want to describe. For instance, instead of saying ‘He went to the store’, you can say, ‘He drove to the store.
The verb drove tells more about the action than went. With went, the reader could picture walking or biking rather than driving.
#8 Read Your Work Out Loud
Reading your writing out loud is a powerful writing strategy.
Typically, our brains work much faster than our mouths. Reading out loud makes the brain slow down so that it can examine the work carefully from a different perspective.
It will let you in on the mistakes in the work such as grammatical errors, spelling and all.
Reading out loud engages many senses at the same time, for instance the sense of seeing and hearing work simultaneously to pick up errors you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.
Writing involves flow. When you read out loud, you’d be able to notice if there’s flow or lack of it.
As a side note, pay close attention to sentences that are not easy to read and assimilate. This may be a pointer to the parts of your writing that need revision.
In addition, when I read my work out loud, I see parts of the work where the ideas could be better organized. I tend to move some sentences to other parts of the work I wouldn’t have imagined.
#9 Use Effective Writing Tools
In recent times, the internet has become an indispensable tool for writers. Some of these tools are chrome extensions while others are apps that make your work succinct.
Be on the lookout for the best tools the internet can offer.
Of the best for this is the Hemmingway App. It is simple to use; paste your work and it will highlight the wordy sentences, passive voice and overall readability.
Grammarly is my best. I won’t explain its use, just check out the free version to catch a glimpse of the functionality of the paid version.
The goal of Grammarly is to protect your work from grammatical errors that make your work bland.
This is one of the best and effective writing strategies to employ.
SEE ALSO: 10 Best Apps for Managing a Team of Remote Workers
#10 Revise, Edit, and Proofread
To make your work immaculate, carry out post writing also known as editing.
Become a good editor so that you can spot out imperfections and tighten your work.
Editing is not a skill developed in one day, with practice and observation, you will improve.
The goal of editing is to check if the words match the intent of the writer. That is, if it properly communicated the idea in the best language possible.
This is the final step of the writing process and strategies, fact-checking and proofreading.
This ensures that all details are correct.
Ensure your work is grammatically, structurally, and factually correct. Proofread your work to make it standard.
Conclusion
Writing down without strategies is like building without a plan.
We hope this guide helps you to acheive better writing experience and probably become a pro.
These are the best effective writing strategies that will greatly improved your writing.
References
- Become a writer today – effective writing strategies
- Quillbot – effective writing strategies
