Unit 6 - Writing Skills

Unit VI

Writing Skills

1.                      Elements of Effective Writing

There are so many people in the world who engage themselves in writing. Some of them do so as a professional requirement while others as a hobby. It is common knowledge that all of them are not equally successful in their job. Those who excel do so because they follow certain rules of the game. There are some elementary rules which every writer has to follow if he wants to make his writing effective. Even born writers have to follow these principles. It is another matter that they come to them naturally without having to labour much. Writing is an art which has to be cultivated and practised to achieve perfection.

Writing is an important part of the duties to be performed by people working in business organisations, especially those occupying senior positions. Different kinds of reports, presentations and a variety of other documents have to be drafted regularly as part of their assignments. They can do these assignments successfully if they follow the following rules:

1.      A clear understanding of the purpose -The first requirement is to have a clear understanding of the purpose of writing. A good writer never loses sight of his purpose. Every word, every sentence every paragraph in the written document must be focused on the purpose and contribute to its achievement.

2.      Unity of theme - Unity of theme is another requirement. There must be one important central idea round which the whole piece revolves. And it must be sufficiently limited to have any meaningful discussion. Any treatment of too broad an idea can confuse the reader. The central idea should be clearly stated in the opening paragraph. This statement should give the reader an idea of the line that the author is going to follow in the rest of the piece.

  There are bound to be some subordinate ideas but they must contribute to the development of the central idea. Any writing in which several unconnected ideas are presented without there being any unifying connection among them is bound to result in chaos. The reader fails to comprehend what the writer wants to say in the absence of any unifying thread.

3.      Logical organisation - 

i.                    All the material in the document should be logically and systematically organised. The piece should be divided into three broad parts – the beginning, the middle and the end. The beginning should introduce the topic and explain its meaning and importance. The middle should be devoted to the discussion of the topic. It should contain the details of the subject, the arguments, the examples, the causes, the remedies suggested, the evidence etc.  The ending should contain the conclusions and the recommendations.

ii.                   The material should be clearly classified into different classes. All the matter pertaining to one class should be given at one place. There should be no mixing up of the different classes of information as it can lead to confusion.

iii.                The main ideas contributing to the development of the central theme should be dealt with in different paragraphs. The main idea should be stated in the topic sentence of the paragraph and should then be followed by the supporting sub-ideas. There should be no jumbling of the main ideas and the sub-ideas.

iv.                There are different ways of arranging the information provided and the choice depends on the nature of the topic. It may be arranged chronologically or as cause and effect or as problem, causes, solutions or idea, arguments for and against followed by conclusions or in the increasing or decreasing order of importance. Any unsystematic and illogical presentation of information will confuse the reader instead of enlightening him.

4.      Sufficient supporting material – The supporting material is the soul of any piece of writing. The author must provide sufficient supporting material to justify his line of thought. There must be sufficient arguments, examples, statistics, quotations etc. to illustrate the writer’s thesis, to convince the reader of the correctness of his ideas or to persuade the reader to accept his line of argument. Without enough supporting material, any piece of writing is like a body without a soul.

Moreover, the supporting material should be completely relevant, detailed, specific, clear and convincing. It is no use beating about the bush. Every detail of the supporting material should be like a blow on the head of the nail and have the force to drive home the main idea.

5.      Audience oriented – To be effective, any piece of writing should be audience oriented. The author must have a clear understanding of the educational and intellectual level and the needs and interests of the audience for which he is writing. The ideas and the information provided must also match their needs and interests and the language used should be such as they can easily understand.

6.      Coherence – It is necessary to link the different parts of a piece of writing with one another clearly and to show the links. Appropriate linking devices should be used to refer back and forward. Each sentence in a paragraph should be connected with the preceding and the succeeding one. Similarly, every paragraph should have a clear connection with the previous and following paragraph. The entire document should give the impression of being one unified piece rather than a rambling collection of ideas.

7.      Transitions – All transitions – from one idea to another, from one class of information to another, from one part to another should be natural and spontaneous. They should be suitably signalled so that they do not come to the reader as a shock.

8.      Variety – Variety is the sauce of writing and makes it enjoyable. It is advisable to vary the length of paragraphs, the type of sentences, the use of tenses and of voice. Similarly, you may also use a different word sometimes to convey the same idea instead of repeatedly using the same word because it sounds boring.

9.      Humour – Humour again is an ingredient that makes your writing interesting and enjoyable. It is always good to sprinkle your writing with bits and pieces of humour to keep your reader amused as he is being enlightened. It helps to hold his attention longer, and prevents him from feeling exhausted.

10.  Language –

I - Appropriate to the type of writing - The language used should be appropriate to the kind of writing. In technical writing, the best thing would be to use simple, clear and specific language. However, in literary writing, ornamental idiomatic language embellished with figures of speech and appropriate imagery should be used.

Ii - The choice of words must be proper and accurate enough to convey the intended meaning. The use of even one inappropriate word can spoil the whole show. Cliches should be avoided. If you are writing for an audience belonging the same technical field, you may use the jargon belonging to that field. If the audience is a general one, jargon should be strictly avoided.

Iii - Conciseness – You should make every effort to avoid all unnecessary wordiness. The best thing is to say what you want to say in as few words as possible. The reader gets lost in the maze of wordiness and loses sight of the essential argument being presented. As a result, he loses interest and stops reading.

iv - Freedom from ambiguity – The language should be clear and easy to understand. It should not lend itself to multiple interpretations. Otherwise, the reader is likely to get confused and will be unable to make head or tail of what he reads.

v - Spelling, grammar and punctuation –

I - Care must also be taken that you use the correct spelling. If you write ‘power breaks’ instead of ‘power brakes’, the reader will find it hard to follow what you want to say. Even a slight difference in spelling can mislead and confuse the writer.

Ii - You must also follow the generally accepted rules of grammar and syntax. A departure from these rules can lead the reader astray and make him put a different interpretation on the writing from the one intended by you. Rules regarding noun/pronoun agreement, subject verb agreement must be followed strictly. You must also be careful about using the correct tense forms, correct voice, correct case of pronouns and correct possessive forms.

Iii - It is also important to use correct punctuation because wrong punctuation can sometimes change the meaning and thus mislead the reader.

2.                      Writing Style

Style is the manner of expressing thought in language characteristic of an author, period or school. It refers to the choice of words, sentence structure, paragraph structure, figures of speech, imagery, symbolism etc. to express meaning. The writer is bound by the rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling but beyond that, he is free to choose the way of expressing his ideas, thoughts or emotions. The quality of a good style is that it communicates the content clearly, unambiguously, convincingly and beautifully. Besides, it keeps the reader attentive, engaged and interested. From the point of view of style, you should keep the following things in mind.

1.      Choice of words –

i.                    Choose words which are neither too easy nor too difficult.

ii.                  Choose words that express the thought precisely, exactly and unambiguously.

iii.                Avoid jargon and clichés.

iv.                Avoid redundancy and circumlocution. Use as few words as possible and say things in a straightforward manner.

v.                  Avoid obsolete, archaic and fancy words. Also avoid slang.

vi.                Use words in their established meanings.

vii.              Do not use offensive and obscene language.

viii.            If you use figures of speech, make them clear and vivid.

2.      Sentence Structure

i.                    Use simple sentences that convey the meaning clearly. Avoid complicated sentence structures which are difficult to understand.

ii.                  Prefer active voice to passive.

iii.                Use a variety of sentence structures to avoid monotony.

iv.                 Do not make your sentences too long. Break them up into shorter ones to increase clarity.

v.                   Use coordinate structure to show that things belong together.

vi.                 Use subordinating structures to show the difference between main assertions and qualifying statements.

vii.               Be concise but not at the cost of clarity.

viii.             Use repetitions but only to emphasise things.

ix.                 Make your sentences rhythmic.

x.                   Keep in mind that your main purpose is to convey the meaning. But at the same time, you must not allow the reader to be bored.

3.      Paragraph structure

i.                    Devote one paragraph to one idea. Give the main idea in the first sentence and use the remaining paragraph to develop it. Do not crowd a large number of ideas in a single paragraph.

ii.                  Choose a suitable pattern for the development of the idea. And follow it consistently.

iii.                Vary the length of the paragraphs. Do not make them equally long.

iv.                 Link the sentences in the paragraph to the preceding and succeeding sentences suitably.

v.                   Keep moving between general statements and supporting details. Give the supporting details immediately after the general statement.

vi.                 Similarly, link the paragraphs to those which go before and come after them.

4.      Development of argument – Consistency in the development of the argument is very important. Do not allow the argument to break down at any point. Keep building it up till it reaches the climax.

5.      Persuasive Language - Use persuasive language to carry the reader with you.

6.      Grammar – Follow the rules of the grammar of the language. Be careful about noun/pronoun agreement and subject verb agreement. Use correct tense and voice and correct case of pronouns, and correct forms of possessives. Try not to split the verb phrase, especially the infinitive.

7.      Spelling - Be careful about the correctness of spelling. A wrongly spelt word is likely to confuse or mislead the reader.

8.      Punctuation - Use correct punctuation. Wrong punctuation can distort the meaning and mislead the reader.

9.      Appropriate style - There are four main styles of writing – expository, descriptive, narrative and persuasive. The expository style is used to explain and clarify things. The descriptive style is used to describe events, places or people. The narrative style is used to tell a story. And the persuasive style is used to make the reader accept and agree with your point of view. Use the one which is most appropriate to the type of the document you are writing.

10.  Simple and unembellished language - In literary writings, ornate language decorated with figures of speech and appropriate imagery and symbolism is often used. But in technical writing, simple and direct language should be preferred.

11.  Illustrations like graphs, figures and tables - These should always be numbered and given suitable captions (titles or names). Columns of tables should clearly show what is where. The same is true of the curves of a graph. Everything should be made clear so as not to leave the reader in doubt.

12.  Logical Structure - The whole piece should have a logical structure. It should have a beginning, a middle and an ending. The beginning should introduce the topic, the middle should contain the detailed information, the arguments and the discussion and the ending should give the conclusions and the recommendations.

3.                      Technical Writing 

(Principles of Scientific and Technical Writing)

Scientific and technical writing is different from general or literary writing. Its purpose is to share the results of scientific and technical research or to explain scientific or technical concepts and procedures. The requirement here is not to please by the beauty of the language but to make things clear by using simple, clear, unambiguous and easy to understand language. Science and technology are looked upon as difficult subjects. But a skilled writer can make them easy to understand even for the layman by following some principles concerning the organisation of the contents and the choice of language and style.

Scientific and technical writing should keep the following things in mind:

1.    Recognising and keeping apart the different elements:

Any scientific writing should be divided into the following parts:

i.                    Title and author – It should be given a brief but informative title which tells the reader what he should expect from it. The title should be followed by the name(s) of the author(s) along with their affiliation. The whole information should be centred.

ii.                  Abstract – The abstract contains a brief summary of the findings of the research. It also tells why the writer undertook the research.

iii.                Introduction – The introduction gives information regarding the background of the issue by referring to the previous studies and their results as well as the purpose, scope and limitations of the present study.

iv.                 Materials and Methods – In this section, the author gives information about the materials he has used in his research and the methods and techniques he has employed.

v.                   Results – This section includes the information or the data obtained from the experiments. The data should be classified, organised and presented in a way that is easily understandable. It is better to use tables, figures, charts and graphs for presenting the data and give them clear headings.

vi.                 Discussion – This section interprets the results, analyses them and tries to arrive at some conclusions after the discussion.

vii.               Acknowledgements – In this part, the author thanks all the people and agencies that have been helpful to him in any way in conducting the study and presenting its results.

viii.             Literature cited – Here, the author gives information about the literature on the issue which he has referred to in his paper. Citations in the text give the name of the author and the year of publication of the book or the paper. In the references section at the end, the name of the author(s), year of publication, title, name of the journal, and page number(s) are given in that order.

ix.                 Appendix/Appendices – Full text of the documents referred to in the paper which some readers might like to read is given in this section.

x.                   Glossary – Here, the writer explains the technical terminology used by him with which the readers might need help.

xi.                 Figures and Tables – If there is a large number of figures and tables etc., they should be given at the end. They should have clear headings and other information to enable the readers to understand and interpret them.

2.     Procedure to be adopted:

i.                    Writing a scientific or technical paper involves several tasks like brainstorming for ideas, classification of the data, organisation of the data, explanation, drawing conclusions etc.. You should do one thing at a time.

ii.                  Write the body of the paper first. Then write the conclusions, the introduction and the abstract in that order.

iii.                Prepare a rough draft first and revise and refine it after you have completed the paper.

3.    Language and style:

i.                    Do not try to use an ornate style. Your prime consideration should be to present the information in clear and easily understandable manner.

ii.                  Do not use an overdose of jargon. Avoid fancy words, slang and offensive expressions. Keep a balance between formality and informality.

iii.                Try to use the active voice and use the passive only when necessary.

iv.                 Define all symbols, specialised terms and abbreviations.

v.                   Do not pad your paper by including matter which is not necessary. Give only the information which is necessary to prove your points.

vi.                 Discuss and explain the tables, figures charts etc. that you present. Without a suitable explanation, they carry little meaning.

vii.               Always keep your focus on the main theme of your paper. It is necessary to justify and support every point you make in your paper.

viii.             Be specific instead of generalising things.

ix.                 Be careful about grammatical correctness, spelling and punctuation. Mistakes of grammar, spelling and punctuation can make your paper difficult to understand and even misguide or confuse the reader.