HOW TO WRITE BETTER

What I'm going to write below is dedicated to all my students, especially my current students of Semester 3, 07/08 (short-semester). I will display some tips or techniques on how to write better:

When we want to write (in any form from essay, report, letter to journal), we need to first plan our writing beforehand. For some lucky or gifted writers, planning apparently takes place subconsciously. The structure of their writing seems to present itself fully formed to their mind. One well-known example is J.K Rowling's "Harry Potter", in which she first developed the plot spontaneously while she was on train. Sometimes, these creative writers may have such a disciplined mind that , in consciously devising plans, they can work out and rearrange the most complex details without having to write anything down.

However, the above situation rarely or never at all happens to university students. Thus, we need to have a well structured planning of our writing before we start scratching on our paper that will be later submitted to our lecturer. This is considered as one of the most essential techniques in producing good written work. A writer's plan or outline is in some ways like a traveller's itenerary. Follow the instructions, and you will produce a well-ordered document, just as the traveller will catch his trains. But the writer's outline is not really as strict as a travel plan. It is a set of guidelines rather than a set of rules. It enables you to convert your thoughts fairly smoothly into words, but at the same time it allows you to make tactical adjustments as you go along.

There are few steps you need to take into consideration while planning your writing. The followings are simple steps which I think mostly relevant to you as you plan your written assignment:

1) Jot down all the necessary points depending on what the topic given to you. At this stage, the points may not be in correct order, don't worry...this is just the beginning of outlining your work. As you go along, you may need to rearrange the points following their order of importance.

2) Read them through, this will generate more ideas and you can start rearranging your points as you read through.

3)Edit them. Go back to the main question or topic. Have you answered the question? Do you provide enough details to support the topic? Are the points given related closely to the topic?

4)Write your first draft. Don't forget to follow the organization of your writing. (Every writing has its own distinctive features, for instance, a financial report is not similar to an argumentative essay).

5) Study your draft well. Is it neat enough, or are there straggly strings or unintegrated items? Some changes may need to be done at this stage in terms of spelling, grammar usage and writing style. Thus, it is important to get assistance from your peers as people said "two heads are always better than one head".

6) Finally, write your complete work as the final outcome of a well thorough plan.

(adapted from Reader's Digest-1998)

REMINDER:
Even the most experienced professional writers suffer occasionally from "writer's block". Either their inspiration dries up, or they cannot settle down to the task,despite an abundance of ideas....yes! Ideas! Whatever you want to write, whatever techniques you use in outlining and planning your work, having prior knowledge about what you want to write is extremely important because the more knowledge that you have about the topic, the more and better ideas you may produce in your writing. Therefore, reading is significant as good writing comes from good reading. So, do read in order to improve yourself...ALL THE BEST!