Writing is really hard. It’s a skill that is important for just about everything, yet not very many people know how to write well. It is a continual process because we aren’t born knowing how to write well, and we can always learn how to get better. Bestselling author and novelist Joe Bunting provides a few methods to improve your writing prowess, let’s explore these tips below!
Convince your Audience
The first way is to envision the essay as a way to tell a story that will surprise or try to change the opinion of your reader, rather than just an academic assignment. Have you been able to resist your favorite tv show, video game, or live sports event? No? Yeah, we haven’t either! Dig into your essay with this perspective, and you are sure to engage your reader (and probably conquer tons of boredom too)!
Self-Reflection about the Essay
Bunting suggests asking yourself “What surprises me about this project?” as the next method to enhancing your writing skills. Creating a personal reason you care about the project through finding what piques your interest will advance your enjoyment of the process! By trying to find your own personal answers to problems, you will want to get to the end of your essay just because you need to know what happens next or how to solve a problem.
Outline Your Essay
Writing five topic sentences (thesis statement, body paragraphs, closing sentence), including and explicating many sources, and altering the writing steps are some other, more traditional essay writing tips. Bunting proposes that you should write the body paragraphs first, then the closing, and finally the opening paragraph to truly understand the main point of the essay. Bunting continues, “Most essays answer the question, ‘What?’ Good essays answer the ‘Why?’ The best essays answer the ‘How?’” In other words, focusing on the “How?” of the essay eases the stress of essays and will give you the best results.
Start at the End
Characterizing writing as a “dance,” Bunting recommends not being afraid of following a nonlinear progression of writing; you don’t have to write in a straightforward manner. In fact, some writers start their essays by writing the conclusion first! Have you ever started your essay with the conclusion?
Be Original
Next, you should avoid using clichés, “to be” verbs, and using words such as “some, that, and thing(s).” Good writing is all about laying out the details for your readers. I mean, think about these two sentences: “The boat is in the rain” v. “The swaying and rocking boat banged the dock in the inclement weather.” Which one of these formed a picture in your mind? Why? What was the difference in the language used?
Wikipedia is Okay in Small Doses
Finally, Bunting states that it is okay to use Wikipedia only to find sources or do background research. It’s a good launching-off point, for sure, but as you may have been reminded by every single English teacher since 6th grade, Wikipedia can be altered, edited, and changed by anyone on the internet. You can’t always verify the information that is on Wikipedia is true. That’s why you can certainly start there, but be sure to check out the citations at the bottom of the entry and do your own research!
The writing process can be daunting for anyone, but with the provided methods, it can be a breeze. With Buntings suggestions, writing can be a fun and enjoyable process.
Have you tried any of these tips? Let us know in the comments below!
This blog post was co-written by Rachel Stuart and Amon Pierson
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