6 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

If you have just joined graduate school, congratulations. Your writing skills have been good enough to take you there but that doesn’t mean that they will be enough to see you through. Chances are later in your course there will be a thesis. It’s time to sharpen your writing so that you are better equipped for the challenges ahead. Below are 6 tips to improve on your writing.

Express Your Expertise in Your Writing

Graduate students train to be experts in their field. It is important therefore to portray this in your writing by using language that is authoritative, direct and confident in order to gain trust from your readers. The two hallmarks of graduate writing are controlled writing and clear writing. Always pay attention to sentence structures and avoid first person tense where possible. This will help you assemble a cogent argument.

Write Routinely

Practice makes perfect and this is certainly true when it comes to graduate writing. By making time to write regularly, you will develop critical thinking as well as boost your confidence. Many students will take too long to practice their writing and end up rushing through the process when deadlines approach. A writing routine will prove beneficial when you finally get to writing your thesis.

Understand Your Reader

One question should always be in your mind when writing; who is your reader and why are they reading? Always ensure your reader knows what to expect through including introductory paragraphs and table of contents. Every sentence should have relevance to your target audience and ideas should be clearly presented.

Ask for feedback

Writing is very much an individual task but not understanding the topic can cause you to take the wrong direction. When writing a thesis for example, your advisor can help you look at the big picture such as selecting the right topic for you and refining your thesis and will help sort out any weaknesses in your writing. Fellow students can help with proofreading and offer editing help.

Finding someone who is in the same field can be highly beneficial especially when dealing with complex scientific subjects.

Take Time to Revise

Every piece of writing does not get perfect the first time it is written. To improve upon it you will require to revise. Take out any information that does not add value to it and expand on points that require further explanations and details. Other than simply proof reading, you will need to do a complete oversee to make your writing as informative as possible.

Read Published Work From Experts in the Same Field

The best way to get a sense of what your writing should look like is to read on previous work done by experts in the same field. Visit the library and look into journals in your discipline and note the writing techniques that you admire the most.

There you have it. Follow these skills and take your writing to the next level!