How to Become an Effective Writer, Traits of Good Writing

Becoming an effective writer is not as difficult as one might think. Good writing is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice. In order to become an effective writer, it is important to understand the basics of writing. This includes understanding grammar and punctuation, as well as learning how to construct a sentence and paragraph.

In spite of Shakespeare’s claim that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” the pen alone is not enough to make one an effective writer because writing requires learning and relearning, hard work, and patience.

People often ask of what it takes to write effectively, the qualities and characteristics of good writing, and how to become a great writer?

However, this article will outline the traits of good writing as well as how to become an effective writer.

How to become an Effective Writer.

Becoming a good writer requires constant practice like every other skill (drafting and re-drafting) and an exploration of other people’s work. It could be articles, poems, essays, short stories, novels or anything you can lay your hands on.

First of all, you don’t need a degree in a special field to become a writer. Writing is an ardent exploration of words and languages. So, you’ll have to learn the basic knowledge of a language, excellent written communication skills, and the ability to use your initiative, persistent and determination.

Most good writers today were once a novice but being enthusiastic in learning and practice helped them to where they are today. With these, I could share a few tips that is needed to write effectively:

These are some of the writing genres for you as a beginner: poems, articles, essays, short stories and even novels.

Poems: In poetry, rhythm and emphasis can be determined through syllabic beats, rhyming lines, and meter. It is also possible to write freeform poetry, in which there is no formal structure. Generally speaking, a poem is composed of verses called stanzas.

Articles: Articles come in a variety of types, such as news stories, features, profiles, instructional articles, etc. Despite having specific qualities that make them unique, all articles share certain characteristics. The process of writing an article can provide you with an opportunity to share important and compelling information with your readers from forming and researching your idea all the way to writing and editing.

Essays:  Refers to writing of a short piece about a specific topic. The purpose of an essay is to persuade the reader by using selected research evidence (“Essay,” 1997).

There are generally three parts to an academic essay:

1. Introduction: This provide the reader with an overview of what they are about to learn, and they present an argument as a thesis statement.

• Body: In the body, the writer provides evidence to support his or her own point of view and persuade the reader to accept it.

• Conclusion: A summary of the essay’s content and findings is presented in this part.

Short stories: Typically, a memorable short story is brief but resonant, brief but not superficial. By using few words on a page, it creates the illusion of more worlds and experiences. The best short stories are worlds in themselves, one that the reader can hold in the depths of their minds as they read.

Novels: A novel is a book-length work of fiction that tells a complete story (or multiple stories) through the elements of fiction. By immersing the reader in a world with complex characters, settings, plot points, and themes, novels emulate real life and impart wisdom about the human experience.

How do you choose a topic?

• Personal Experience: your memories provide you with an immediate point of view as you can recall the day you throw a pot of soup while trying to steal meat, how you got into a fight with a peer, how you jumped fences to play football and all that. Moreover, your own story should be your first inspiration.

• Thinking about trending Issues in contemporary society can be a great way to come up with non-fiction pieces. Rendering a piece on an issue you have a strong point of view or opinion on is a great way to start.

• Brainstorm several creative storylines and find the most compelling one and also think about what would keep a reader engaged.
• However, one of the mistakes beginners make is seeking perfection. They would want to have a flawless first draft. It doesn’t work that way, write and rewrite. Add and omit words, over and over again. The more you go through, the better you get.

One of the mistakes beginners make is seeking perfection. They would want to have a flawless first draft. It doesn’t work that way, write and rewrite. Add and omit words, over and over again. The more you go through, the better you get.

Traits of good writing

It creates a common vocabulary and guidelines for teachers to use with students so that they become familiar with the terms used in writing.

There are various Traits of writing which depends on the topic you’re writing, they include:

• Voice
• Organization
• Word Choice
• Ideas
• Presentation
• Conventions
• Sentence Fluency

Qualities of good Writing

Before you decide to pen down any idea, you have to know what good writing is all about….. So, what is good writing?

The question may sound easy and straight forward but it is really not easy to give an answer. There are several traits that combine together to constitute a piece of good writing, and these traits may greatly vary depending on the writer, the reader, and the context.

While there are no hard and fast qualities of good writing on the basis of which a piece of work can be regarded as good, average, or bad; there do exist several writing traits that are generally considered to be the core ingredients of good writing. These traits apply to all forms and genres of writing, and are universally regarded as ‘best practices’.

In essence, when writing for any purpose, either an essay, short stories, a blog, novel, or a letter to a friend or an application letter, here are some important qualities to look out for that can make your writing really stand out:

• Simplicity
• Focus
• Unity
• Authority
• Grammar
• Conciseness
• Word choice
• Style
• Writing Form
• Reader-Oriented

Characteristics of effective writing

All writing—from paragraphs to essays to reports, stories, and so on should exhibit these Characteristics: structure, ideas, and correctness.

Effective writing is also characterized by the readability, clarity, accuracy and conciseness. Always keep your readers in mind when writing any piece and try as much as possible to write in a straight forward and unambiguous manner that will help your audience understand effortlessly.

Importance of good writing

It is often said that communication is the key to any healthy relationship. Therefore, improving your writing helps you become a better communicator and it also improve your reading skill.

What is the importance of good writing?

Writing skills can help you smoothly and quickly communicate updates, projects, events, or other important topics to anyone without requiring additional time for clarification or questions. Writing is the process of explaining our ideas to ourselves and to others while preserving our personal experiences and our memories.

To this end, Writing expresses who we truly are, even after our life time. It makes our personal aspirations, knowledge, and our work visible to others.

Examples of good writing

Anyone who always read, conduct research and take notes for study purpose is arriving there, meanwhile the examples of good writing are as follows:

• Good writing startles, provokes, or makes the reader curious
• Good writing doesn’t tell you what to think or feel
• Good writing shares the writer’s insight, change, or realization
• Good writing shares personal experience that is real – but not too heavy

Why should I learn how to write effectively?

There are multiple reasons why you should write effectively because it increases your knowledge, build your imagination and helps you in the aspect of being creative.

Effective writing ensures a writer to be smart enough as he/ she writes with his experience as well as creativity. It can also help you to write a well-crafted application, resume, and cover letter which in most cases is the first step to getting a job.

What can you learn from effective writing?

The process of writing strengthens your ability to analyze yourself and external situations. When you learn to write effectively, you can also think effectively. The more you write, the better you understand yourself, the choices you make, and the external world generally.   

Always remember to write coherently and avoid ambiguity, write what you mean and mean what you write for the purpose of your readers.

After all, becoming a better and flawless writer is a lifelong pursuit. So you’ll want to:

Read, commit to a writing routine, take writing courses, join writing groups, explore different types of writing, do a lot of research, network with others and read more.