How to Write a Masterpiece

Scholarly or teachable writing basically poses a lot of challenges to writers, in that some writers always get it wrong by writing out of context and losing the focus of what they are writing.  At times some find it so hard to write what will be beneficial to the reading populace and as such making readers loose interest in most write ups.  Writing for learning or scholarly write ups are meant to be educative and informative, in addition to being enjoyed by the reading populace.

In writing for learning, there are two main rules to apply:

A.       Write for your audience: always put your audience in mind when writing and write materials that will be suitable for them as you have their picture in mind even before you start writing.

B.       Write clearly: this is very important because writing clearly can be more challenging. Our education teaches us to use sophisticated language, but this may not be the most effective style when writing for people to learn and enjoy.  Follow these guidelines then to help you write good and clear English that will make your audience appreciate your work and also learn from the message you are passing across.

1.      Use easy to understand language:  the richness of English means that it is often possible to use several different words to use to express a meaning.  When you are trying to decide which word to use, try to use the simplest.  For example, in place of facilitate, use help; in place of necessitate, use have to; and in place of alleviate, use ease.

2.      Use personal language:  using the word “you”, makes the reader feel the write-up is aimed at them and increases their motivation.

3.      Use short sentences:  Long sentences are harder to read and understand due to the limitations of our short-term memory.  But do not try to keep all your sentences short.  A blend of shorter and longer sentences improves the rhythm of reading.  Aim for an average sentence length of between 15 to 20 words.

4.      Use short paragraphs:  Large paragraph looks intimidating and difficult to read.  Paragraphs are used to group together sentences with similar content and to provide a breathing space.  If a paragraph is too big, split it up.  Consider ways of breaking up paragraphs using such things as numbered or bullet point lists.

5.      Use the active voice:  Where possible, use the active voice rather than the passive voice.  For example, write “send the form to the customer” rather than “the form is sent to the customer”.  There will be instances where the passive is unavoidable, but to make your writings as clear as possible, make sure you have less than 20% passive sentences.

6.      Use active headings:  Make sure that headings and sub-headings describe some action.  For example, the headings on this page are active; they tell you what to do as well as summarizing the content of the sub-section.

7.      Avoid negatives:  It is always better to tell somebody what they should do rather than what they should not do.  This is because our brains pay more attention to verbs in a sentence than to syntax such as “not”. E.g. it is more powerful to say “use the active voice” rather than “do not use the passive voice”.

8.      Introduce then expand:  A technique used in newspapers to present information is to summarize the content of an article in one sentence or paragraph, and then expand on it.  You can use this technique in writing articles and write –ups.

9.      Be concise:  Remember whom you are writing for and put in only what they need.  Avoid adding extra material that is not relevant.  Go straight to the point in your write-ups or articles as irrelevancies bore your target audience, same goes with unusually long write –ups.

After all said and done, you will get the attention of your audience when you applied these tips to your writings and pass across the message in them without fear of boredom and the same time make your article or write-ups a much sought after by article paying sites and search engines.

Happy writing.