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Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer One of America 's most influential writing teachers offers a toolbox from which writers of all kinds can draw practical inspiration. "Writing is a craft you can learn," says Roy Peter Clark. "You need tools, not rules." His book distills decades of experience into 50 tools that will help any writer become more fluent and effective. WRITING TOOLS covers everything from the most basic ("Tool 5: Watch those adverbs") to the more complex ("Tool 34: Turn your notebook into a camera") and ... [Find out more ...]

Effective writing is much more than just knowing how to write and writing with correct grammar. It is writing that responds to the needs and interests of your readers. There are several guiding principles that can make your writing more effective. These describe the most crucial effective writing techniques.

Consider Your Audience

Who you are writing to? What expertise and knowledge do they have? What do they need from you? If you believe you have more than one audience, select one as the primary audience and write accordingly.

Organize Your Writing

The key to clear writing is to present material in the order that is most useful to the reader. If you are dealing with a process, organize it chronologically, first step to last. You can also organize you writing by putting the most important points first and the minor ones at the end. Sometimes a combination of these organizational methods is useful. Whichever method you use, keep your reader in mind and be consistent.

Use Active Voice

Voice is the form a verb takes to indicate whether its subject acts or is acted upon. When the subject of a verb does something (acts), the verb is in the active voice. When the subject of a verb receives the action (is acted upon), the verb is in the passive voice. Because the active voice emphasizes the doer of an action, it is usually briefer, clearer, and more emphatic than the passive voice. Whenever possible, use active voice in your writing.

Write Informative Headings

After good organization and active voice, informative headings are the most helpful way to guide readers through your writing. Your reader should be able to decide, based on the heading, if they need to read a paragraph. Do not waste a reader’s time by using headings that are not informative. Instead, headings should give the reader a synopsis of what information follows.

Write in Short Paragraphs

Each paragraph should cover only one topic or idea. Generally, limit paragraphs to seven lines or fewer.

Introduce Each Paragraph with a Topic Sentence

A topic sentence ensures that each paragraph is cohesive. It should capture the essence of what is in the entire paragraph. The rest of the paragraph supports and expands on the topic sentence. A reader should be able to follow the basic points of your document by skimming the topic sentences.

Use Short Sentences

Your average sentence length should be 20 words or fewer. Use a list instead of running items together in a long sentence, and apply the 20-word rule to each item in the list. You rarely need a sentence over 40 words long. Vertical lists are quicker and easier for readers to follow and are an ideal way to explain a series of facts.

Avoid Wordiness

Excess or elaborate words make your writing weaker. And unnecessary qualifiers add no additional meaning to a sentence.

Limit Abbreviations, Acronyms and Technical Jargons

You can use a short form for the main topic but do not use abbreviations for several other ideas. Either write out the full name or use a short form of the name that will help your reader remember what you are writing about. If you use a term only a few times, write it out every time.

Use Graphics and Tables

Use figures such as charts, tables, and other illustrations. Mention or introduce every figure in the text before it occurs and place the figure close to the text that explains it. Make sure all figures have informative headings

References: Federal Aviation Admistration. (2003). FAA Writing Standards.

Phonics Poetry Using Digraphs: Grade 1-3

Rhyme and repetition are engaging and effective strategies for teaching phonics skills. Cute, simple poems emphasize specific consonant digraphs and blends. Each poem is followed by reproducible ... [Find out more ...]

Crescent and Dove: Peace and Conflict Resolution in ...

In the face of overwhelming attention to extremist movements and the fundamentalist Islam they often espouse, exploration of peacemaking and conflict resolution in Muslim communities is ... [Find out more ...]

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