Skills for Life: Writing

by Sara Bird
Programme Leader

Good writing skills set you up for life: whether it's writing your CV, a cover letter, a tricky email, a short essay, a sizeable dissertation or a business report or proposal, the skills are the same. Universities expect schools to teach it, but schools can focus on content rather than style - so sometime students have missed this key skill or could do with some tips and ideas.

So here they are.

Good writing 'flows' 

Structure is important but does not happen by chance: good writing requires planning.

Mind maps are valuable tools for this (here are some digital versions, or use a pen and paper).  They allow you to 'mind dump' all your ideas, group them into common 'themes', and then impose an order by scribbling '1', '2', '3' and so on onto themes and sub-themes in the order that you will address them.

Microsoft Word tis also useful: we cover this in Methods of Enquiry at level 2 - or this University of Michigan webpage summarises the principles nicely. Basically:

• Apply styles such as 'Title', 'Heading level 1', Heading Level 2' to your title, main headings and subheadings respectively. The rest of the text is 'normal'.
• Use the document map window to see these headings, navigate rapidly and drag whole sections into the order you want.
• Under each heading/subheading, start dropping in the ideas you want to include as bullet points (including references).
• Once your bullets are in place, put them into a logical order within each section. Break into paragraphs that focus on one topic or viewpoint at a time.
• Only then, write the bullets into paragraphs, linking points into a cohesive argument.

So, instead of writing as you go, you gather and organise all your ideas before you create 'proper' sentences, ensuring you don't waste time going back to edit - and don't get 'stuck' into a structure that might have seemed a good idea at the start, but was not as you gathered more information. 

Good writing is succinct

Why use 10 words when 6 will do? Writing succinctly is good practice for academic work, where you want to include as many ideas in as few words as possible, and in business writing, where you want to convince your reader before their patience ebbs.

Try these tips:

• Never repeat yourself, unless you mean to. This includes phrases such as 'personal opinion' (all opinion is personal), or 'free gift' (all gifts are free)
• Use words instead of phrases e.g. 'week after week' is 'weekly'
• Avoid unnecessary clarifications e.g. 'The journal article by Humphreys  (2010) concludes that...' could be reduced to 'Humphreys (2010) concludes that...' (of course Humphrey's opinion is in a journal article if it's a literature review! No need to emphasise this)
• But also avoid generalisations and stick to the specifics, e.g. "On the whole, marketers use a mix of integrated communications for instance PR, social media, online advertising and press advertising' could be reduced to 'Marketers use PR, social media, online advertising and press advertising'
• Avoid common phrases, such as 'the proof is in the pudding' - they sound unprofessional and use more words than alternatives
• Find the exact word, for instance why say 'the literature is outdated and no longer relevant' when you an say 'the literature is obsolete'? This may require expanding your vocabulary - a thesaurus can help.

Finally, read and re-read your work with such principles in mind - looking at whole paragraphs and sentences and culling all unnecessary words and phrases - and rewrite as short and readable sentences. There is a temptation, especially in academic writing, to use long words and old-fashioned, long-winded phraseology - however, this usually just makes it harder to read.

Good writing guides your reader

This links to the first point, of a good structure, but aims to guide your reader through your writing. A good introduction outlines what to expect, 'signposting' between sections explains how they link, and a brief conclusion ensures key points are emphasised. Readers will understand your work better if they know what you are aiming to achieve.

In conclusion...

Writing is a skill, not a talent. You can learn to write better by applying these principles and watching how others write well (or not - and avoiding their mistakes). Finding the right word, creating a convincing argument, and using the right language and tone are key skills for marketers, managers and academic alike. Use this time at university to practice this skill - and then use it for life.

More useful sources:

Mark Nichols' Daily Writing Tips blog

Rowena Murray's 'How to Write a Thesis' (available as an e-book via UWE Library)

UWE Library's Writing Skills pages