Maybe the word “should” isn’t quite correct here. No one is obliged to be a good writer. But writing is a great skill that helps people while they apply to the job, during composing the warm letters to the loved ones or getting an A for the essays. So if you also think that writing can come in handy in your life – here’s some tips for you!
- Great structure is a half of a great text
We are logical creatures. We love things that have beginning, end and some sort of ordered transition from one to another. Reading the structured text is easy and rewarding – our brain is always glad when it doesn’t have to sort things out by itself.
Try to make your paragraphs shorter. Unless long sentences are a literary device avoid piling them up. One or two per paragraph is enough. Nowadays people try to get as much information as possible in one gulp. Of course, it doesn’t matter that each of your texts should look like an SEO-optimized advertisement!
You may do two simple tests to make sure that your writing is well-structured. Try to describe each paragraph of it with one core sentence. For example: the paragraphs you read above are: “Our brains love structure”, “Don’t overuse long sentences” and “Test your text for its structure”. The second test is equally easy: read your text aloud. If you are able to say each sentence in one breath (no cheating and taking extra deep breaths!) – they aren’t overly long.
- Rich vocabulary does help!
Usually we know much more words that we use in our daily life. Our speech centre in the brain uses patterns to optimize the thinking process and speak at our usual speed (think of it as of simultaneous interpreting from “Brainish” to English and back). But when we write we have much more time to think over the composition of our sentences and make them beautiful.
Almost every word has a couple of synonyms. You may use them to avoid repeating the same word several sentences in a row. You may also think about the melody of speaking, choosing the word or expression that sounds just right. Writing allows us to avoid gathering too many vowels or consonants in one place, think about witty metaphor or comparison. Though it isn’t necessary for just passing the information further, it makes your text more appealing.
At first it may seem difficult. Don’t worry if you become a bit obsessed with harmony, melodics and eliminating repeated words. You can enhance your vocabulary by reading different sources with a wide range of topics from online libraries to even https://lawaspect.com/administrative-law-essays/ (if you need a better professional vocabulary). It is just a phase that will end, leaving your brain with a new skill to choose the exact words without you even thinking about it.
- Know your literary devices
We all use literary devices even without knowing about them. When you say “I ROFLed” in the chat, you aren’t (probably) really Rolling On the Floor Laughing. It is a hyperbola, a literary device that was used by ancient Greeks and Sumerians just like we use it now.
The theory may be quite complicated (and, let’s be honest, even dull), but the literary devices make our speech vivid and our text interesting to read. You don’t have to learn their names by heart, but knowing when they are used and what effect they can cause gives you a great toolbox (it’s a metaphor, see?) for decorating your text and giving your readers both information and emotional context.
- Walk a bit in your reader’s shoes
Literary critics aren’t just the people who hate your text for money. They are professional readers. Unless you have your fellow critic ready to examine your work you have to become one for yourself.
When the text is freshly written, our look at it is biased. We tend to overestimate or underestimate its quality just because we are emotionally connected to our work. Let it cool down a day or two. After that term you are able to read your text as if it was written by someone else and see it more objectively.
Try to imagine yourself a different person. What would a teenager see in this text? A scientist? An elderly person? Non-English speaker with a different cultural background? Who is your core audience and what do you want them to see in your text?
Writing is an exciting process, but a good writing is a result of trials and errors, of hard earned experience and devoted study. It’s easier that it sounds and also very rewarding. Just don’t be afraid to start writing!
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