Transformative Tips for Polishing Your Writing Style
Whether you realize it or not, you write every day. In your personal life, you no doubt send text messages and emails. Maybe you make lists, send cards, or write notes.
The same is true if you are a student—you must complete reports, papers, essays, and long-form answers to test questions.
What about at work? There are reports to be written, email correspondence to send, and perhaps even PowerPoint presentations, technical manuals, and other material.
You may think to yourself, “Yes, I have to write a little, but it’s not the main thing I do. I’m not a writer.” But the truth is, the quality of your writing can affect outcomes and how others view you in the professional setting. Polishing your creative writing courses style can give your career a definitive boost. And if you’re reading this article, you’re no doubt interested in doing so.
Below, we’ll examine strategies that can transform your writing, no matter the setting.
Choose the Right Words
Did you know? There are about 170,000 English words that are actively used, according to an estimate by the Oxford English Dictionary. On average, though, we use only about 2,000 to 3,000 words in our daily life. How can you choose the right words for your documents and written communication?
Power Words
Power words are strong, descriptive terms that cause the reader to feel an emotion and motivate them to respond. For example, words like “instantly” and “mistake” may illicit anxiety, while “hilarious” brings forth amusement.
You can also use power words to describe skills and abilities. Instead of using passive words like “did,” think of action verbs that paint a picture of what was being done. The same is true of adjectives. Use them to give concise labels to nouns. Use caution, however, that you don’t describe people in ways that may offend. If you’re feeling stuck, use an online thesaurus to find descriptive words.
Technical Terms
Every field has its own distinct lingo or jargon. Academics pride themselves on extensive literary vocabularies, for example, and biologists use Latin-based binomial nomenclature. IT specialists comprehend vast amounts of acronyms and abbreviations, and engineers and construction professionals know the proper names of tools, materials, and methods unique to their trades.
Understanding when to lean into your field’s technical terms and when to use more easily understandable language is important. Consider a few examples.
When you’re consulting and collaborating with fellow skilled professionals, using technical terms will likely simplify the communication of complex issues. If everyone at the table understands the terms, they can be used to concisely convey specifics.
What, though, if you are reporting to stakeholders, clients, or consumers who don’t share your technical expertise? You should change your register, as sociologists put it. Explain things using “layman’s terms”—language everyone is likely to understand. If you must use unfamiliar terms, be sure to clarify them the first time they are used.
Slang and Vernacular
You should also consider whether commonly used causal phrases, abbreviations, and emojis are appropriate in each situation.
If you’re collaborating with a workmate via text message, for example, emojis might help you convey tone and avoid misunderstandings. But these casual forms of writing do not have a place in formal business communications, reports, and the like.
Keep It Clean
We’re not talking about avoiding profanity here—although that is important, too. Instead, we’re talking about something that might seem like common sense—making sure that your writing does not contain mistakes.
We’re often in a hurry to hit “send,” but take a moment to re-read what you’ve written. Look for omissions, misspelled words, and auto-correct errors. If you’re composing an important document, consider having a colleague read it, too. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes can discern mistakes you’ve missed. Also, use a proofreading tool like Grammarly to identify additional issues you may have overlooked.
Why, though, is proofreading so important? It may not be fair, but recipients often judge the writer based on the “cleanness” of the writing. They may associate typos and grammatical errors with negative traits like sloppiness, laziness, or lack of important skills.
Read
One of the best ways to improve your writing style is to read—a lot. When you read the writing of others, you absorb the words they use and the ways they put them together. Focus on reading material specific to your field, and you will find yourself writing more easily in the expected style.
Conclusion
Even small improvements in your writing style can transform how others view you. When you choose the right words and present writing that is free of mistakes, your colleagues will sense and respect your professionalism. When you read the works of accomplished authors, especially those writing specifically for your industry, you will adopt the widely accepted style of your field without even trying. Get started today!
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