Effective Student Writing Skills

In the Northwest, during the period of the 1980's, teachers in this region discovered various characteristics of an effective student writing skills. This included convention, fluency, word choice, ideas, content, Voice, and Organization. This was later known as the good qualities of writing. Later on, the presentation was added by other educators, as a trait in keeping with the state of the national standards of writing. After realizing this, I noted a few points to improve on my writing skills, so as to write a better essay. I realized some of my essay mistakes that I needed to improve on, some that I needed to avoid, in order to be writing good and better essays.

The trait of Content and Ideas, the foundation of the other characteristics of effective writing lays in this trait. One needs to know, how to organize and develop the ideas and present them in a clear manner. This will enable the person reading it or the people whom the essay is being read to, to understand the essay without having to ask so many questions, after the essay has been read due to lack of understanding. One should, therefore, seek new knowledge, gather some new ideas, research and have their information organized, before they begin writing an essay. I have also realized that one has to be an expert, in what they are to write about, they should have a good idea.

Successful writers, write about what they know or have experience or knowledge about. In practicing the idea and content trait, one would identify the topics that they have prior knowledge on; one should explore the topic further and investigate it by conducting an additional research If need be. This will enable me to write on the idea that is relevant, not only interesting but also has specific details and one that develops, as the story goes on.

Another important trait is word choice; one can be able to write effectively by paying attention to this trait. There are two elements of word choice, which include; descriptive writing and strong visual imagery. In order to communicate exactly what you want to your listeners or readers, a writer should learn how to use precise and accurate words. Distinct meanings are conveyed by specific words, a good writer should use good grammar, i.e. the use of descriptive adjectives, verbs, and nouns. The writer should use action words in his essay writing, using this trait in writing, implies that the writer is familiar with the language in use. A good and effective writer will listen to how a word sounds in a sentence, by using some words that are natural and add them to the meaning of the writing. A writer who is learning to use the trait of word choice in his essays, normally practices writing descriptive stories, articles, and essays with dialogues and action verbs. Hence, it will help in the listening, as well as, through observation and writing, through this a writer expands his/her perspective.

Fluency is a trait that is incorporated in writing; a writer should be able to express himself in sentence form that is clear and one that makes sense. This is enabled; as one integrates the flow of their writing and the natural rhythm, by making sure that the ideas begin decisively and connect to one another. This writing trait adds to the final characteristic of writing and that is the reading out a loud test, hence fluency is very vital while writing.

Voice as a trait or writing is one of the most vital aspects to better an essay; it is the soul of the article or essay. It is this aspect that differentiates one writer to the next, his style of writing can be seen and heard while reading his article; this is because one can feel and hear her convictions as they are put in the words. Through this trait, a writer will and can express his thoughts and his point of view on a topic clearly. The voice that is used while writing the article or essay has the power to keep the reader or listener interested in the topic. The voice also has the will to encourage the reader to respond to the topic that is being discussed. The writer can demonstrate the aspect of energy in his writing, depending on the topic, and also through this trait, the writer can put emphasis on his type of personality in his writing. Hence, voice as a trait in writing is very significant and should be used wisely; the voice used in your writing will either attract or repel your readers from your essay.

Another significant trait in writing is conventions; this is basically the stage which the written article is edited, in the form of spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, in order to make the article clear and the content in it. Editing is done at the end, after writing and finishing the essay, and then conventions are done. This can be practiced since a good writer knows that a good article is one that has been revised and has no mistakes.

Organization of the article is a trait that should be carefully looked into, since a reader captures the interest of the essay written, how the article is introduced and also giving the reader what the article or essay is about. Lastly is the presentation trait, this trait mainly and basically lays its focus, on how the article looks or how the final product looks like. The presentation also determines whether, it will scare or welcome the readers, the presentation has to show the readers that the writer cares about their interest, by the way, he's presenting his article. This is because most people judge what they see first than what they hear. Hence, the presentation has got to be superb. Through these seven traits, I believe that I have improved my writing skills without any doubt since I have now realized my mistakes from my previous essays.