WRITING SKILLS

Writing: Introduction

Writing Skills Definition

Writing skills are the skills you use to write effectively. A good writer is someone who can communicate their point to their audience without using too much fluff and in a way that the other person can understand.

Writing skills don’t just include the physical act of writing

Skills like research, planning and outlining, editing, revising, spelling and grammar, and organization are critical components of the writing process. In the workplace,

To write well, students must develop a broad set of skills.

Basic writing skills: These include spelling, capitalization, punctuation, handwriting and keyboarding, and sentence structure (e.g., learning to eliminate run-ons and sentence fragments). Basic writing skills are sometimes called the “mechanics” of writing.

Generating text: Text generation involves putting our thoughts into words, what might be thought of as the “content” of writing. Text generation includes word choice (vocabulary), elaboration of detail, and clarity of expression.

Planning and editing: Especially after the earliest grades, good writing involves planning, revising, and editing your own work. These skills are indispensable in becoming a good writer, and increasingly so as students advance into the middle and secondary grades.
Writing knowledge: Writing knowledge includes an understanding of discourse and genre — for example, understanding that a narrative is organized differently than an informational text. Students also need to learn that they are writing for an audience so they need to convey meaning clearly to the people who will be reading their work.

Becoming a strong writer involves learning, practicing and coordinating all of these skills. Writing may be the most difficult thing, our students learn in school because it requires them to apply what they have learned as readers (phonics, vocabulary, text structure), plus additional skills (planning, considering audience, handwriting, revising, etc.) to generate their own work. But just as explicit and sequential instruction can help ensure that all students learn to read, the same is true for writing. To enable our students to write well, we need to help them by explicitly teaching the components of effective writing.

Here are some tips for writing descriptively:

Focus on creating a dominant impression to set the mood or atmosphere of your writing 

Use words that refer to the senses, such as words to describe how something tastes, smells, or sounds 

Brainstorm a word bank of interesting and descriptive words 

Use pictures and other sensory prompts 

Provide real-life or virtual experiences that give students something to write about 

Encourage students to work in small groups to develop first drafts 

Steps for Writing (Component/Elements)

By just using fine vocabulary and developing writing skills, one cannot make a content presentable. Therefore, there are some rules and formats for writing contents. There are some steps for writing which we need to follow to improve your writing.

Choose a Topic

The very first step of writing content is to choose and decide a topic on which we want to write. Now, the topic can be anything from a burning issue to a sensitive point or any official matter. So, we need to have a clear understanding of the topic which we want to write.

Research and Collection of Information

After knowing the topic, the next step is to research as much as possible and collect relatable information. Collect and note all the random thoughts, ideas, information related to it. Most importantly, research the concerning audience and try to find what they want. Identify the main theme of the content.

Organizing Content

The next step after noting down the information is to organize them in a proper sequence. Creating an outline of the write up helps in appropriately organizing the content. This is because, sometimes, when the article is long enough, outlines help to identify the order and help in breaking the paragraphs to get meaningful information.

Writing

This is the main task for a writer. Always use simple and direct language for your article. The choice of words, the division of the paragraphs, the use of headings or subtitles, facts, and figures create a huge impact on the reader’s mind. Also, try to put the cause and effect, or comparison and contrast, or problem and solution style of writing.

Revising

Do not assume that the first write up is the final one, as you need to revise your content. Such as, adding or deleting, reorganizing your matter.

Editing and Proof Reading

Once you finish your writing, it is the time to do editing, formatting, and proof-reading. For instance, check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, voices, speech, and sentence formation, and other errors.

Also, check for commonly misused words like ‘affect’ and ‘effect’, ‘your’ and ‘you’re’, ‘it is’ or ‘it’s’, some plural or possessive words.

Publishing and Printing

It is the immediate step one needs to undertake once they’re ready with the final draft of their writing. Once, the document is ready it is the time for printing or publishing or putting it on a website for readers.

 

Different types of writing skills are 

Descriptive Writing

Narrative Writing

Persuasive/Argumentative Writing

Reflective Writing

Comparative Writing

Descriptive writing

The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a picture is formed in the reader's mind. Capturing an event through descriptive writing involves paying close attention to the details by using all of your five senses.

Why teach descriptive writing?

It helps students make their writing more interesting and engaging to read.

It creates opportunities for students to practice using new words in meaningful contexts, a key strategy for building vocabulary.

Descriptive writing tends to include figurative language, such as simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia.

Descriptive writing topics

My favorite place in my hometown.

My perfect vacation.

My dream apartment.

My best friend

My mom is the most creative person.

A stranger that caught my eye

My favorite celebrity.

My pet.

My favorite singer

Meeting a famous person.

How do I describe my pet?

When describing your dog, just think of his body shape, his fur, his eyes, nose and muzzle. Also, try to describe his tail and his legs. That should be enough when giving a physical description of your pet dog.

My mom is the most creative person.

My mom has to be best person in my life. Like I 'm so thankful to God to have blessed me with a mother like her. Even though I and mom argue a lot due to fact we are the same person. She is still the best. The simple fact that she is very intelligent and challenged me to the max to reach my fullest potential in academics. By making me read every day, never spoiled me not one bit. She taught me and still is today that the hard work you put in now, you will be awarded later on in life. She just gets just an incredible person due to the fact she puts family before her own self. She rather feed me and my brother and let herself be hungry as long as we are taken of that’s all she cares about. I really love that woman and blessed to have her in my

Furthermore, I considered her my best friend. Whenever I have a problem I can go talk to her. Although my mommy does not do sport, she is running the whole day, from the moment she gets up until she goes to bed. She is a working woman, if you don't have anything to do in the house she will seek something to do. It was summer and I finally got out of school, that same day I got home and I cleaned the whole house so that we would have anything to do the next day. First thing in the morning my mom waked me up and told me that we had to clean all the windows inside and outside. However, she helped me cleaned them and it was kind of fun. In addition, I remember that when we came to the US my mom worked at three jobs; she barely had time for me. At night, overwhelmed by the work, she would grab me in her arms and carried me to her bed. She hugged me and kissed me while I was asleep.

Narrative Writing

Narrative writing is, essentially, story writing. A narrative can be fiction or nonfiction, and it can also occupy the space between these as a semi-autobiographical story, historical fiction, or a dramatized retelling of actual events.

A narrative is another way of saying "story". Narrative writing is a type of writing that focuses solely on the practice of telling stories.

What are the steps to write narrative writing?

Steps to write narrative writing. (Characteristics/Elements/Components)

1.        Plot: The sequence of events that make up the story. This includes the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

2.        Characters: The individuals involved in the story. This includes the protagonist (main character) and other supporting characters who contribute to the narrative.

3.        Setting: The time and place where the story occurs. This helps to create the atmosphere and context for the events.

4.        Conflict: The central struggle or challenge that drives the narrative. This can be an internal conflict (within a character) or an external conflict (between characters or between a character and their environment).

5.        Theme: The underlying message or main idea of the essay. This reflects what the writer wants to convey through the narrative.

6.        Point of View: The perspective from which the story is told. This can be first-person (using "I"), second-person (using "you"), or third-person (using "he," "she," or "they").

7.        Tone and Style: The writer's attitude toward the subject and the way they express it. This includes word choice, sentence structure, and overall voice.

8.        Dialogue: Conversations between characters that can reveal their personalities, relationships, and motivations.

Examples of Narrative Essays

1.     Personal Experience: An essay recounting a significant event in the author's life, such as a trip to a foreign country, a family gathering, or a moment of personal growth.
- Example: "The Day I Almost Drowned" – A narrative detailing a childhood experience at the beach that taught the author about fear and resilience.

2.     A Journey: An essay that describes a physical or metaphorical journey, exploring the challenges faced and lessons learned along the way.
- Example: "Finding My Way Home" – A story about a hiking trip that becomes a metaphor for self-discovery and finding one's identity.

What are narrative writing examples?

Some of the popular examples of narrative writing include essays, fairy tales, autobiographies and news stories.

Novels

Short stories

Plays

Comics

Narrative Essay Topics

An embarrassing experience.

A memorable wedding or funeral.

An exciting minute or two of a football game (or another sporting event)

Your first or last day at a job or new school.

A memorable moment of failure or success.

An encounter that changed your life or taught you a lesson.

Tell about learning to ride a bike or drive a car.

My Most Embarrassing Moment Essay Sample

Just like the peer-reviewed articles, it was one of my friends' birthdays. My friend wanted to celebrate the day beautifully, so he invited many people. Actually, the date of his birthday was October 21st. What happened in my mind I don't know - I just forgot the date and as you know that these happened long past, and we did not have the facilities of mobile phones, and the only way of communication distantly was a land phone, and unfortunately, I did not have any landline in my house. Another problem happened that the school was also closed on some occasions. Because of that, I had no regular communication with my friends. I remember the date as October 22nd though the date was one day behind. I prepared for the day's celebration and bought an expensive gift for my friend, which I felt would pass for a proper my most memorable moment essay.

While I was buying the gift for my friend, he and our friends were celebrating the birthday because the date was October 21st. As I thought the date was October 22nd, I went to my friend's house with the gift. At first, my reaction was very awkward because I saw neither anybody nor any festive look there. I did not understand what happened there, why there was nothing special - thinking that I just tapped on the calling bell of my friend's house. Hearing the bell, my friend's mom opened the door and became amazed to explore me with a gift. She said, "Hi, how are you? Why didn't you come yesterday?" I became perplexed, and I asked her what happened. She replied that yesterday was my friend's birthday. Suddenly my friend, Jimmie, came out and scolded me for not participating in the birthday celebration. I became dumbfounded and explained everything. He was convinced and served me some slices of his birthday cake and other foods which were prepared on his birthday. I was just embarrassed in front of two people - my friend and his mom. I did not know that the worse thing is waiting for me the next day.

Furthermore, I thought that my embarrassment had ended there, but it did not. I think it was all for the success of my most embarrassing moment essay. The next day I went to school and noticed that some of my friends were laughing at me.  I didn't ask why they were behaving like that, but I was beginning to understand.  When I entered the classroom, everyone just burst out laughing.  Everyone already knew about my mistake with my friend's birthday. It is difficult to describe in words what I felt at that moment. But it really was the most embarrassing moment I have ever experienced.

An exciting minute or two of a football game

Football is a very popular game. Whenever I watch this game on television, I get overjoyed. When I watch it from the stadium gallery I feel as if I am playing it with others on the field.

Although I had seen several football matches during my school days, I had not availed of the chance of witnessing a match held between two states. This opportunity came in the month of July last year. A match was played between Mumbai and West Bengal at Salt Lake Stadium. I went there to witness it.

I bought a ticket with much difficulty and occupied the seat in the gallery. The match was to be played at 4 P.M. The Mohan Bagan of Calcutta had worn white uniform whereas the Mumbai had green uniform. There was a vast gathering in the field. The memory of that game is still afresh in my mind. I found the game highly interesting.

At the appointed time, the Mohan Bagan team started kicking the ball from the center. It marked the commencement of the match. The players of the Mohan Bagan team were spirited from the beginning and attacked the Mumbai players.

Of course, the defense-strategy of the Mumbai was very intelligent. But the spirit of co-operation among the Mohan Bagan players brought a chance of scoring an easy goal against the Mumbai. The crowd cheered up the Mohan Bagans.

In fact, the Mohan Bagans were superior to the Mumbai players in all respects. They won the match because of their presence of mind, the speed and position of players and above all due to the lack of intelligence in the rival team. Mr. Meheta, an old football player, conducted the match. He assisted the referee Mr. Kalu Kitholo of Keral.

The goal keeper of Mohan Bagan was a tall boy. He was never nervous. This virtue helped him a lot. He prevented every stroke by the Mumbai players quite heroically.

The referee blew the whistle at the half time. At that time the score was 1-0 with a lonely goal by Nirad Ganguly of Mohan Bagan. The referee was a very strong headed person. He enforced the laws while deciding the disputed points. Sometimes, the linemen standing on the border of the ground helped the referee in giving decisions.

The Mohan Bagans dominated the match particularly in the second half. The center forward with the help of the midfielder scored two more quick goals against Mumbai. The spectators on the gallery stood up and jubilantly cheered up the Mohan Bagan players. The referee blew the whistle. The match ended. The Mohan Bagan won by 4-0 goals.

Reflective Writing

Reflective writing is an analytical practice in which the writer describes a real or imaginary scene, event, interaction, passing thought, or memory and adds a personal reflection on its meaning. Many reflective writers keep in mind questions such as "What did I notice?", "How has this changed me?" or "What might I have done differently?" when reflecting.

Thus, in reflective writing, the focus is on writing that is not merely descriptive. The writer revise the scene to note details and emotions, reflect on meaning, examine what went well or revealed a need for additional learning, and relate what transpired to the rest of life.

When writing reflectively, a writer attempts to convey their own thought process. Therefore, reflective writing is one of the more personal styles of writing as the writer is clearly inserted into the work.

Reflective writing can help you learn from previous experiences and develop new insights and perspectives. It can also help you build upon existing knowledge and improve your professional practice.

Types of reflective Writing

There are two main types of reflection papers.

The first type is experiential – which is an analysis of a personal experience or observation. In the paper, you will summaries and highlight underlying principles that support your analysis of the experience.  

The second type is textual. This type of paper analyses a written text, which can be an article, essay or book. Your opinion, analysis and interpretation of the material will be backed up using specific quotations. 

Here are some tips for writing a reflective piece:

Be analytical: Ask why something happened, rather than just describing it. 

Be objective: Try to stand back from the situation and be as objective as possible. 

Be thorough: Follow the guidelines for your course, and be as rigorous as you would be for any other assignment. 

Select key events: Keep your descriptions brief and to the point, and select only key events and moments to illustrate your discussion. 

Write early: Start to write as soon after the event as you can so you can recall exactly what happened and how you felt. 

Be honest: Admit to any anxieties and mistakes. 

Make connections: Connect your personal feelings and experiences to broader knowledge in the field

Choose any topic of your interest and write a reflective essay, addressing the following components:

Self-awareness

Critical thinking

Organization

Supporting evidence

Reflection

Reflective writing includes several different components: description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and future application. Reflective writers must weave their personal perspectives with evidence of deep, critical thought as they make connections between theory, practice, and learning.

Self-awareness: This involves understanding your own feelings, attitudes, and responses to a particular situation or experience. It's about acknowledging your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

Critical thinking: This involves analyzing the situation or experience, questioning your assumptions, and exploring different perspectives. It's about making connections between your experiences, your reactions, and the theoretical material.

Organization: This involves structuring your reflective writing in a logical and coherent way. It's about presenting your thoughts and reflections in a clear, organized manner that the reader can follow.

Supporting evidence: This involves providing evidence to support your reflections. This could be in the form of personal experiences, observations, or theoretical material.

Reflection: This is the core of reflective writing. It involves looking back on the situation or experience, considering what you learned from it, and how it has affected or will affect your actions in the future.

What are the topics in reflective essay?

Social, political and religious topics

1.        Riches and poverty,

2.        Caste,

3.        Democracy,

4.        Liberty,

5.        Government,

6.        Family life,

7.        God,

8.        Purdah system,

9.        Generation gap,

10.                    Education,

11.                    Marriage,

12.                    Business, etc

The town where you grew up.

A school you attended or a particular classroom, lunch spot, or place you hung out with friends.

The mall or your favorite store.

A place that you have worked, or work now.

Your grandparents' house or the house of a neighbor or friend.

Walking in the rain.

Walking through sand dunes.

Hiking through a desert.

Backpacking in the mountains.

Rock climbing.

Hunting.

Walking through a historic battlefield.

Sitting or walking through a field of wildflowers.

Watching birds build a nest

The town where you grew up.

The place, where I grew up as a child, was a small town. Well, I would describe it more like a city suburb, but it certainly had all the elements to offer happy living to a 7/8 years old child like me. By the way, prior to moving to that city suburb, my parents actually used to live in one of the major cities of my country which was very crowded and noisy for the likings of them. So, they decided to move to a small town, where I grew up as a child, in order to offer us an opportunity to remain close to the environment of the countryside.
Since the town in which I grew up as a child was small, everything was within my reach. For example, the breakfast place, movie theatre, and stadiums to enjoy all kinds of games were all in close proximity to my residence. Besides, if I rode on my bicycle for about 15 minutes on the brick-made pavement, I could easily visit a beautiful lake and cornfields. The streets, although just a few in numbers, were very wide which made it easy for me to play with my bicycle.
Unfortunately, I don’t live there anymore, and I am pretty sure that the place must have changed a lot in time because, after all, everything changes in time.
Anyway, the place, I am talking about, was certainly a good place to grow up as a child. It was quiet and beautiful. It also had a very nice and clean environment. Besides, most of the people there were very friendly, and they didn’t mind the business of their neighbours. All in all, it was a very simple and nice town for a laidback child like me.

Rock climbing.

Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, one that often tests a climber's strength, endurance, agility and balance along with mental control. Knowledge of proper climbing techniques and the use of specialized climbing equipment is crucial for the safe completion of routes.

Because of the wide range and variety of rock formations around the world, rock climbing has been separated into several different styles and sub-disciplines,  such as scrambling, bouldering, sport climbing, and trad (traditional) climbing another activity involving the scaling of hills and similar formations, differentiated by the rock climber's sustained use of hands to support their body weight as well as to provide balance.

Rock climbing competitions have the objectives of either completing the route in the least amount of attempts or attaining the farthest point on an increasingly difficult route. Indoor rock climbing is typically split into three disciplines: bouldering, lead climbing, and top roping.

Persuasive/Argumentative Writing

What is a persuasive/argument essay?

Persuasive writing, also known as the argument essay, uses logic and reason to show that one idea is more legitimate (acceptable) than another. It attempts to persuade a reader to adopt a certain point of view or to take a particular action.

How do you write a persuasive argumentative essay?

Follow these five steps:

Know your audience.

State your position clearly.

Draw a roadmap.

Support your arguments with evidence, including data, examples, and experts.

Anticipate and respond to objections.

Argument and Persuasion Writing Topic 

Dieting makes people fat.

High school graduates should take a year off before entering college.

All citizens should be required by law to vote.

Both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising a child.

Americans should have more holidays and longer vacations.

Participating in team sports helps to develop good character.

People have become overly dependent on technology.

Censorship is sometimes justified.

Privacy is not the most important right.

Drunk drivers should be imprisoned for the first offense.

Comparative Writing

Comparative writing, also known as a comparative analysis, is a type of essay that compares and contrasts two or more subjects. 

The goal of comparative writing is to explain the insights gained from the comparison and to judge whether one thing is better than another. 

Here are some tips for writing a comparative essay:

·   Establish a basis of comparison: Choose a main idea, category, or theme to investigate. 

·   Gather details: Collect details about the subjects you are comparing, especially their similarities and differences. 

·   Develop a thesis statement: Write a sentence or two that states the main idea of your essay and explains how and why you will be comparing the subjects. 

·   Explain the significance of the comparison: Explain why the comparison is important and what it suggests about the subjects. 

·   Assess the subjects: Assess the subjects based on some criteria. 

·   Use linking words and phrases: Use linking words and phrases to help connect your ideas. 

·   Give each text equal weight: Give each text roughly equal weight in your essay. 

Comparative writing encourages critical thinking and helps you make connections between ideas or texts. 

Comparative Essay Structure

A good comparative essay is based on how well you structure your essay.

It helps the reader to understand your essay better. 

The structure is more important than what you write.

This is because it is necessary to organize your essay so that the reader can easily go through the comparisons made in an essay.

The following are the two main methods in which you can organize your comparative essay.

Point-by-Point Method 

The point-by-point or alternating method provides a detailed overview of the items that you are comparing. In this method, organize items in terms of similarities and differences.

This method makes the writing phase easy for the writer to handle two completely different essay subjects. It is highly recommended where some depth and detail are required.

Below given is the structure of the point-by-point method. 

Introduction

Body Paragraphs

·   Paragraph 1: Point 1 (Item A and B)

·   Paragraph 2: Point 2 (Item A and B)

·   Paragraph 3: Point 3 (Item A and B)

Conclusion

Block Method 

The block method is the easiest as compared to the point-by-point method. In this method, you divide the information in terms of parameters. It means that the first paragraph compares the first subject and all their items, then the second one compares the second, and so on.

However, make sure that you write the subject in the same order. This method is best for lengthy essays and complicated subjects.

Here is the structure of the block method. 

Introduction

Body Paragraphs

·   Paragraph 1: Item A (Point 1, 2, and 3)

·   Paragraph 2: Item B (Point 1, 2, and 3)

Conclusion

Therefore, keep these methods in mind and choose the one according to the chosen subject.

Mixed Paragraphs Method

In this method, one paragraph explains one aspect of the subject. As a writer, you will handle one point at a time and one by one. This method is quite beneficial as it allows you to give equal weightage to each subject and help the readers identify the point of comparison easily.