Writing Tips To Make Your Writing More Effective & Enjoyable

Posted on: January 4, 2022 | By: Julia Bleakney | Filed under: Invention Techniques, The Writing Center, Visiting The Writing Center, Writing Process

Hello! My name is KJ, class of 2023, and I’m a Writing Center consultant, double-majoring in Art and Art History. I participate in Elonthon and am a member of the Colonnades Literary & Art Journal reading committee.

Here are my tips for making your writing more effective and enjoyable!

First of all, find something to connect to in your topic. The best writing comes from the heart! It’s harder to stay motivated and engaged when you lack interest in your topic. If possible, write about a subject you enjoy, so you don’t begin with a feeling of dread for the steps ahead. However, if not given the choice, flexibility and an open mind can go a long way. Try to find a personal connection or apply what you already know from other experiences.

How the Writing Center can help: we love to brainstorm! Make an appointment to bounce ideas and get excited about your work.

Secondly, create an outline of your ideas before jumping into writing. Preparing an outline has these benefits: Planning out your ideas can help you think more clearly. Outlining can help you keep track of your ideas. Where are you confident? Where might more research be beneficial? Outlining helps you make connections (from prior experiences) to your assignment. If a non-linear mind map is more your style, go for it! A tangible document with points you want to explore helps you avoid writer’s block. Then, when you start writing, if you feel tired of one element on your mind map, you can move on to the next to keep your thoughts rolling.

The Writing Center loves writing at any stage of the process. We can help you make an outline from scratch or reorganize a completed draft for clarity’s sake. We don’t mind how messy it is–we don’t judge.

It can help to consider your reader’s perspective. To come across as clearly as possible, establish who you are writing to. Consider tone: informal, formal, serious, humorous, etc. Provide examples to give the reader a better overall understanding. Explaining your ideas to a real audience can help you identify your key points. Writing to a real audience also helps you stay motivated and engaged.

In The Writing Center, we listen to you and jot down our understanding of your ideas, providing a reader’s perspective. 

Finally, ensure that the points within your paragraphs align with each topic sentence. To stay on track, form a solid thesis statement. It might change as your thoughts develop, but even a working thesis provides valuable focus. Turn main points from your outline into topic sentences — these prime your audience for each section of information they are about to read. Lastly, make bullet points that support your topic sentences, and you should be rolling in no time. Have a rough draft but aren’t sure if your argument is clear? A great strategy for strengthening your paper’s structure is reverse outlining, which is preparing an outline of a paper that is already written.

Make an appointment with the Writing Center to work on a reverse outline or check out this post on reverse outlining to learn more.

 

 

 

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