Six Tactics I Use to Improve My Writing

⌛ By Isabella Mershon ⌛

Before I started working in PR, I was a self-proclaimed “good writer.” For school, I have had to write many papers of different styles. Because of this, I have learned how to crank out papers like a well-oiled machine. When I started working at Hourglass, I started to realize that my writing was okay, but I had so many areas that I could improve. Through this process of trying to improve my writing, I have found tactics that have helped my writing skills grow.

Online Resources 

Between school and work opportunities, I have written in different styles and formats. The most common formats I have used are Modern Language Associate (MLA), APA, and Associated Press (AP). Each of these have their own rules and guidelines, so they are easy to confuse. A big help for my writing an online resource called Purdue Owl. Purdue Owl has been a great resource that I use almost every time I write. Some of the topics they have information on are: citations, plagiarism, style guides, grammar, resources, and more. If I ever have a question while writing, Purdue Owl is always the first place I look, and more times than not they have the answer. There are other websites and resources available that offer similar services, so if you are not set on Purdue Owl there are other options available.  

Outline

I used to be the person that would do very little “pre-writing,” as I like to call it. I would start with a blank document and just write. When I did this, I found myself struggling to stay on task, my writing was not organized, some of my ideas were not being presented in the most efficient way, etc. Now, I swear by outlining. Before I start writing, I first think about what I am writing about. I come up with a topic and an end goal -- the message that I want to communicate. Then, I come up with topics that I want to discuss throughout the paper and separate them into sections. This way, I tackle one section of the paper at a time which helps me stay focused and organized. Once I finish writing the sections, I organize them together so they are presented in my desired order, they flow with one another, and the message is clear. 

Grammar Resources 

Unfortunately, my K-12 education did not focus enough time on grammar. Most of the time, teachers, including some college professors, would ignore grammar mistakes and instead focus on the message being presented. Because of this, I still struggle with grammar and punctuation rules with my writing. I have learned how important proper grammar in writing is -- if your writing is not correct and easily understood, it can take away from the message. A resource that I have used is Grammarly. I found out about Grammarly through a journalism professor at Ohio University. Since I am constantly searching for ways to improve my writing, I decided to take a journalism class over the summer to learn the fundamentals of writing and journalism. In this class, the professor recommended that everyone enrolled in the course download Grammarly onto their computers/devices. Grammarly is an application that you can download that will proofread your writing. Once it is downloaded onto your computer, the application will proofread everything that you type -- whether it’s texts, emails, papers, assignments, notes, etc. -- and shows you if there are grammar/punctuation errors, if the sentence makes sense, and even gives ideas on how to improve the sentence structure and clarity. 

Self Editing

A bad habit that I struggle with is not wanting to edit my work. Sometimes, I spend so much time on a piece that I am working on that once I am done with it, I do not want to read or look at it anymore. Something that has helped me with this issue is taking breaks while writing and editing my work. Once the first draft of my work is complete, I put my computer away and do something else. Either later that day or the next day, I will reopen my work and read it fully. By giving myself a break from it and coming back with a fresh perspective helps me catch errors that I overlooked originally, helps improve the clarity and flow of my writing, and gives me an opportunity to add information that I might have forgotten to include in my first draft. I try to repeat this editing process until I have work that I am confident in turning in. 

Peer Editing

For me, I have learned the most from peer editing. Once I am done with the editing process I discussed above, I like to send my writing to someone else to proofread it and give me feedback. I like to do this because even when I edit my own work, sometimes I overlook mistakes or there are sections of my writing that could be improved. I have the mindset that there is always room for improvement, so I try to absorb every critique I get from peers, mentors, professors, etc. When I receive feedback, I not only adjust the piece of writing said person reviewed, but I try to keep this in mind for future pieces of writing. For example, if the way I structured my writing came off unclear, I will avoid this structure in the future. There are some instances where I simply leave others feedback as suggestions and do not integrate it into my writing. In these cases, it is when a person’s suggestions will change my unique and personal style of writing. I try to stay true to myself, so I do not want to lose this piece of my writing and identity to adhere to others’ wants. 

Confidence

The last tactic I want to highlight is gaining confidence in writing. Personally, this has been an obstacle for me. For school, it was not as pressing of an issue as it is in my career. This is because only a couple of people would read and grade my school assignments, but for published work in my career, the audience was much larger. This created anxiety for me -- I was scared to share my writing and have it be read by so many. The more I improve my writing skills, the more confidence I gain. The biggest lesson I have learned with this is no matter how many times you edit and proofread your work, there may still be a misspelled word or a sentence that could be formatted differently to flow better. At the end of the day, this is not the end of the world. Perfection is not attainable, so instead I strive to produce my best work. The pieces of writing, excluding writing for school, that I am most proud of are two other blog posts that I wrote for Hourglass media: Bringing light to the unconventional side of mental health and My contribution to IWD’s #choosetochallenge. I am most proud of these pieces of work, because these were pieces of writing that I worked very hard on but was still scared to share with others. When these pieces were posted, I received positive feedback from my peers, my family, and my community. This was reassuring for me -- it proved to me that my work was worthy of reading and that other people were moved by my pieces.

Isabella Mershon is a senior at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She hopes that her drive along with her passion for leadership and advocacy will help promote success in her career and make a difference in the lives of those around her. Connect with her on LinkedIn!