How To Improve Your Writing

It is hard to believe the fall semester is already underway. Assignments, essays and other homework is starting to pile up. For many PR students, these assignments will consist of writing, writing and more writing! Personally, I always seem to, in the three short months of summer, completely forget how to write.

Writing is hard work. It takes a good understanding of English, plenty of practice as well as a lot of rewriting and editing to produce interesting material. The following are some good tips found in an article by Katie Badeusz on www.Ragan.com.

1. Be Clear: The best advice I ever recieved from a professor was to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Avoid using techinal terms or convouluted sentences. It may sound great to you, but if people cannot understand what you are trying to say then it won't matter anyways.
2. Apply Active Voice: Avoid writing in the passive voice! Sentences in the active voice are more concise and direct. Noun-verb construction is best. Say "She made a pizaa," not "A pizza was made."
3. Include Quotes: But avoid using too many or long-winded ones. Instead, incorporate quotes that sound authentic and reflect what a person might say in a normal conversation.
4. Write With Your Ear: The best way to edit your writing is to read it out loud. This way, you can hear what actually works in terms of sentence structure and pacing.
5. Allow Yourself To Write Crap: Don't focus on perfecting your sentences. Let your thoughts go and then fix them. Good writing involves rewriting!
6. Take Chances: Writing is all about creatvity. Don't forget to have fun and think outside the box.

Do you have any other writing tips you use? Let us know!