now, no signup required!
I’ve gone from pestering my mom and sister to read each mail I send out, to proofreading theirs now.
Earlier while writing I was always unsure. How should I make my point? Is my article too long, or maybe too short? How do I make this better? I had so many questions. When asked to write something, I wouldn’t know where to begin and how to end it. I would spiral away from the topic more often than not.
When I joined Harappa Education, an online learning institution as a mentee, I was asked to write a few pieces.
At first, I took a step back. Writing was something I struggled with and shied away from.
However, with a little encouragement, I penned a few pieces but all followed the same pattern: I randomly moved away from the topic, and in the end, nothing tied up together. But this time around, I was asked to work, re-edit and rewrite and then work some more. Over a period of time, I got into the habit of rewriting everything and, I can now confidently say that I am getting better at writing now.
Here are a few writing tips l learned during this process:
1. Always jot down whatever comes to your mind. You can always rework it later.
2. Edit, edit, edit. I realized editing was the missing tool in all my articles. The moment I went back to them and started editing and tweaking things, the pieces started to fall into place.
3. After you’re done writing your first draft, sleep on it. Read it the next day and see what works and what doesn’t.
4. Write and explain everything clearly. Just assume that the reader has no context to the topic.
5. Paraphrasing sentences goes a long way. You don’t want to ramble on about the same point, and risk losing your reader’s attention. It is one of the most essential tips to improve writing
6. Read what you have written out loud. Only then will you be able to look at your writing from a reader’s perspective.
As I imbibed these writing hacks and continued to write, I only got better. In fact, I now help some friends with their email writing. I never thought such small things could make such a significant change in my writing.
I hope that these easy writing tips will provide valuable insights on how to become a good writer.
Hope they work for you too!
Explore topics such as Writing Skills, Process of Writing, Report Writing & Types of Reporting from our Harappa Diaries blog section to build your skills for workplace success.
Oraya Sayeed is a student at Gargi College, Delhi University. Her curiosity drives her to try new and different things. With her hands in multiple cookie jars, she has her own home bakery ‘Oraya’s Oven’, does some freelance social media marketing and is a mentee at Harappa Education.
