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What are writing skills?
Writing is a technical skill that you use to communicate effectively through the written word. Though these may vary depending on what you’re writing, there are several that transcend categories. Writing skills can more specifically include:
- Grammar
- Vocabulary
- Spelling
- Sentence construction
- Structure
- Research and accuracy
- Clarity
- Persuasiveness
Why are writing skills important?
Being able to write well is a form of effective communication, which many employers see as a crucial job skill. In fact, strong communication—spanning written, verbal, non-verbal, and visual—is among the nine common employability skills that employers seek in job candidates.
Regardless of your role, with good writing skills, you can clearly transcribe your thoughts into meaningful messages, enabling you to share your ideas, build relationships, and strengthen your professional image.
How to improve your writing skills
Writing, like any other skill, is something we can get better at with time and practice. Here are some strategies for developing your own written communication:
1. Review grammar and spelling basics.
Grammar and spelling form the foundation of good writing. Writing with proper grammar and spelling communicates your professionality and attention to detail to your reader. It also makes your writing easier to understand.
Plus, knowing when and how to use less-common punctuation, like colons, semicolons, and em-dashes, can unlock new ways to structure sentences and elevate your writing.
If you’re looking to strengthen your grammar and spelling, start by consulting a writing manual. The Elements of Style by William Stunk and E.B. White has long been considered a staple for writers. You can find similar resources at your local library, bookstore, or online.
Specialization
Academic English: Writing
Transform Your Writing Skills. Prepare for college-level writing and research in just four courses.
4.8
(11,721 ratings)
194,138 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 6 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you’ll build:
Punctuation, Essay Writing, Academic Writing, Writing, English Grammar, Grammar, Creative Writing
2. Read what you want to write.
Knowing what a finished piece of writing can look like can guide your own. If you’re trying to write a humorous short story, read humorous short stories. Writing a book review? Find a few and take note of how they’re structured. Pay attention to what makes them good and what you want to emulate (without plagiarizing, of course). If you’re working on a school assignment, you can ask your instructor for examples of successful pieces from past students.
Make reading a part of your everyday life to improve your writing. Try reading the news in the morning or picking up a book before you head to bed. If you haven’t been a big reader in the past, start with topics you’re interested in, or ask friends and family for recommendations. You’ll gradually begin to understand what subjects, genres, and authors you enjoy.
3. Proofread.
While it’s tempting to submit work as soon as you’re done with it, build in some time to revisit what you’ve written to catch errors big and small. Here are a few proofreading tips to keep in mind:
- Set your work aside before you edit. Try to step away from your writing for a day or more so you can come back to it with fresh, more objective eyes. Crunched for time? Even allotting 20 minutes between writing and proofreading can allow you to approach your work with renewed energy.
- Start with easy fixes, then progress to bigger changes. Starting with easier changes can get you in the rhythm for proofreading, allow you to read through your work once more, and clear distractions so you can focus on bigger edits. Read through your work to catch misspellings, inconsistencies, and grammar errors. Then address the larger problems with structure or awkward transitions.
- If you could say something in fewer words, do so. Being unnecessarily wordy can cloud your message and confuse the reader. Pare down phrases that are redundant, repetitive, or obvious.
- Read out loud. Reading out loud can help you find awkward phrases and areas where your writing doesn’t flow well.
Should you use computer spelling and grammar tools?
Many computer-based tools—like spell check on your word processor, or Grammarly— can help you find and fix simple spelling and grammar errors. These tools are not perfect but can help even the most seasoned of writers avoid mistakes. Take note of any frequently highlighted words or phrases so that you can avoid the same mistakes in the future.
4. Get feedback.
Whether you’re writing emails or essays, asking for feedback is a great way to see how somebody besides yourself will interpret your text. Have an idea of what you’d like your proofreader to focus on—the structure, conclusion, the persuasiveness of an argument, or otherwise.
Approach a trusted friend, family member, coworker, or instructor. If you’re a student, your school might also have a writing resource center you can reach out to.
You might also consider forming a writing group or joining a writing class. Find writing courses online, at your local community college, or at independent writing workshops in your city.
5. Think about structure.
Grammar and spelling keep your writing consistent and legible, but structure ensures the big ideas get across to the reader.
In many cases, forming an outline will help solidify structure. An outline can clarify what you’re hoping to convey in each section, enable you to visualize the flow of your piece, and surface parts that require more research or thought.
Structure might look different depending on what you’re writing. An essay typically has an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. A fiction piece might follow the six-stage plot structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement. Choose what’s best for your purposes.
Specialization
Creative Writing
Craft Your Story Like the Great Writers. Craft an original story that will absorb a reader’s interest from the beginning to end.
4.7
(4,828 ratings)
110,270 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 6 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you’ll build:
Short Story Writing, Fiction Writing, Creativity, Copy Editing
6. Write.
Like many skills, one of the best ways to improve your writing is to practice. Here are a few ways you can get started:
- Start a journal or a blog.
- Join a class or writing workshop.
- Practice free writing.
- Write letters to friends or family.
- Put together an opinion piece for your local newspaper or publication you like.
7. Know some common fixes.
Even if a text is grammatically correct, you may be able to make it more dynamic and interesting with some polish. Here are some common ways you can sharpen your writing:
- Choose strong verbs (for example, “sprinted,” “dashed,” or “bolted” instead of “ran”).
- Avoid passive voice.
- Vary sentence length.
- Cut unnecessary words.
- Replace cliches with original phrasing.
Tips to Improve Your Spelling
There are ways in which you can improve your spelling. These ideas should help to get you started.
1. Keep a list to hand of the correct spelling of words that you commonly misspell
Either pin your list up by your desk, or keep it as a document on your computer, where you can easily refer to it. You can then check it when you need to do so, and add to it when you identify new words that you have misspelled.
Common spelling errors include:
- their (possessive form of they)
- there (in that place)
- they’re (contraction of they are)
- accept (a verb, meaning to receive or to admit to a group)
- except (usually a preposition, meaning but or only)
- who’s (contraction of who is or who has)
- whose (possessive form of who)
- its (possessive form of it)
- it’s (contraction of it is or it has)
- your (possessive form of you)
- you’re (contraction of you are)
- affect (usually a verb, meaning to influence)
- effect (usually a noun, meaning result)
- than (used in comparison)
- then (refers to a time in the past)
- were (form of the verb to be)
- we’re (contraction of we are)
- where (related to location or place)
There are more common spelling errors in our page on Common Mistakes in Writing.
2. Use mnemonics for words that you find particularly difficult
There are a number of common mnemonics (memory supports) in use for difficult words. For example, to help them remember the spelling of necessary, many people say ‘never eat crab, eat salmon sandwiches and remain young’.
You can either use other people’s mnemonics, or make up your own for particular words that you find challenging.
3. Use the technology: it’s there to help you
If there are particular words that you always spell wrongly, particularly when you type, set up the AutoCorrect function on your computer to correct them for you (if you can’t find it, search the Help function). This allows you to input the text that you type, and the corrected text, so that you can automatically set it to change (say) neccesary to necessary, as you type.
4. Get into the habit of using a dictionary regularly
Whenever you see a word that you do not know, or where you are not sure of the spelling, get into the habit of checking it in a dictionary. That will help you to fix both the meaning and the spelling in your head.
You are also likely to spot one or two other interesting words while you are there and expand your vocabulary at the same time!
See our Study Skills section for more.
If you get into the habit of using a dictionary regularly, you will find that your spelling will improve naturally.
8 Awesome Resources to Help You Improve Your Writing Skills
There are so many websites, books, and other resources to help you improve writing skills, study skills, and more. Here are 8 awesome ideas from San Diego, CA tutor Natalie S...
Beginning and completing a piece of writing can be a scary process. To some students, it may feel like there are a lot of unknown variables. It takes a long time to outline an essay. It requires a lot of brainstorming and organization. There isn’t a specific formula. There isn’t a right or a wrong, just a subjective grading system that attempts to follow a detailed rubric. There’s so much pressure to create something that is valuable that many students simply give up in their quest to improve their writing. Luckily, there is a plethora of resources available to help you learn how to write, edit, and grow as both a student and a writer!
1. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
This book is one of the most commonly used texts in college creative writing courses, but it actually applies to any genre of writing, including essays. It gives concise and encouraging advice about drafting prose, and it emphasizes that writers shouldn’t stress over the big picture. Instead, Lamott advises writers to calm down, and take it step by step. This is a quick, simple read that can be used by anyone who wants to improve his or her writing skills.
This online resource offers information about how sentences work and how they should be structured. Use this website to learn grammar rules and to strengthen your prose. Take notes on any grammar tip you didn’t already know, and keep the notes next to you when editing your papers. This is a great resource for high school or college students.
This website quizzes your vocabulary knowledge about the most commonly used words in the English language. This resource works best for high school students, as the lists are often geared toward the SATs. The website includes a leaderboard, blog, and customizable vocabulary lists, so you can learn the words that matter most to you.
4. WriteTrack
Are you having trouble motivating yourself to write even a single word? Improve your writing skills by using a website like WriteTrack, which maps and charts your daily writing progress via your word count. Set a goal for yourself and watch as your graph grows! Need more motivation? Try websites like Written Kitten, Write or Die, or Write or Die 2.
5. The Purdue Online Writing Lab
Purdue has gathered writing resources for all ages and levels on their website. Take some time to browse and you’ll find a plethora of information, tools, and practice tests to help you improve your writing skills. Whether your focus is vocabulary, grammar, or research questions, this database can point you toward the answers you’re looking for.
6. Friends, Family, and Tutors
One of the best ways to improve your writing skills is to get other to critique your work! Are you having trouble in a creative writing class? Ask a friend or family member for some honest feedback. Struggling with a history paper? Speak to a classmate and see if they are willing to brainstorm with you. If you aren’t in an academic setting, and you don’t have any peers to review your writing, try joining an online community. Not sure where to start? NaNoWriMo and Friday Night Writes are great options. Finally, working with a writing tutor can be helpful for any age or level.
This is useful for all English students. Most professors or teachers of humanities courses require students to use MLA style formatting and citations. The MLA style guide will help guarantee that you get full credit for formatting your essays.
8. Read
Most of all, read anything and everything! The best way to become a better writer is to first become a better reader. Find a genre that interests you, and read anything you can get your hands on. Talk to your local library or your teachers for recommendations.
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