For most students, the word “writing” evokes memories of composing essays in English and Literature classes. However, writing is not only crucial in the world of English. Students that have good writing skills will not only be more successful in their classes but will also be more effective communicators. Here are some ways to improve your students’ writing skills.
One of the best ways to drastically improve your students’ writing is to encourage them to be better readers. For students to be better writers, it is vital for them first to grasp the reading material. It isn’t easy to think critically about a piece of writing without first understanding what it says. Students that do the assigned reading will have an easier time articulating their thoughts. When it comes time to write an argumentative or persuasive essay, the students that took the time to understand what they read will have a treasure trove of evidence to use for their paper.
Another way to encourage students to become better writers is to help them organize their thoughts. The main goal of writing is to communicate an idea. Sometimes it is easy for students to get lost in grammatical rules and sentence structures. One way to facilitate students’ communication skills is to introduce them to an outlining format. Depending on the subject, the outline structure may vary, but the goals are the same: organize thoughts. At its core, an outline should help the writer figure out precisely what they want to say. Encourage students to figure out what their main idea is. Knowing exactly what they are writing about will help students to become better writers.
A great way to improve writing skills is to write every day. Incorporating some a writing activity into the day-to-day class structure is a great way to stimulate students’ brains as they work to develop their writing skills further. Perhaps just as important as practice is feedback. Offering feedback on students’ writing pieces will allow them to make adjustments and hone in on mistakes that they otherwise might not have been aware of.
One last way to help students to become better writers is to encourage them to proofread their work. Proofreading and editing are the most frustrating and time-consuming parts of writing for many people. However, taking the time to go over a first draft, one or two times can drastically improve the quality of the work. It is incredibly annoying to get a paper back and realize that there were a handful of spelling and grammar errors that even Microsoft Word didn’t catch. Motivate your students to proofread their pieces at least two times before submitting them to be graded.
Encourage your students to be better writers by emphasizing reading, teaching them how to outline, having them practice every day, and asking them to proofread their work. Writing is an essential form of communication, and students who learn to be good writers will learn to be better communicators.
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