As part of your studies, you will be required to perform a number of activities involving writing. However, there is more to good writing than putting pen to paper or typing on your computer. To be successful, you will need to:
- gather information from a range of sources
- process the information so that your understanding of the course material can be assessed
- present appropriate information to someone else who will read it, and assess it on the basis of what you have written
The purpose of your writing should be to communicate what you know about a subject. Your success in this course will depend upon how well you communicate this knowledge and demonstrate your understanding of the subject matter.
However, just because you have expressed your ideas in writing, there is no guarantee that you will have communicated your meaning successfully.
Writers and readers might see the same words on
the page, but they might not draw the same meanings from them.
In part, this is because words can have more than one meaning. More important, however, is the fact that your readers will interpret your words through their own frame of reference. Your readers will bring their own ideas and understandings to your words. It is thus up to you to ensure that you have organized the words on the page in such a way as to guide the readers' interpretations of them.
To guide your readers effectively, you will need to understand the type of writing style that will be suitable for :
- the specific subject matter
- reading by the target audience
All writers develop their own particular writing style. A writer's 'writing style' is determined by several factors:
- the writer's choice of words
- the various ways in which those words can be arranged (in sentences and paragraphs) to create meaning
- the writer's assumptions about who is likely to read his or her work
- the conventions appropriate to the context in which the writer is working
Producing good writing is not as difficult as it might seem. There are a number of simple principles that can guide you towards your goal of good writing:
- Orientation
- Who is your intended audience?
- What is the purpose of your writing?
- Simplicity & directness
- Your aim as a writer should be to communicate your ideas as simply as possible.
Writing can be a powerful means of discrimination. Unless it is your intention to demean or belittle, you should avoid words that perpetuate or reinforce negative stereotypes based on sex, race, gender, ethnicity, physical or mental disability, age and so on. In academic writing, demeaning or belittling language is unacceptable.