The writing process must effect a progression from creative, divergent thinking up to precisely controlled prose refinement. Accordingly, we have developed a process that begins with generative writing, moves on to essay assembly and concludes with polishing. This approach provides our clients with a satisfying challenge at each stage, teaches essential writing skills, and helps them better understand what they want to say. This section lays out the writing process as a sequence of cognitive steps: brainstorming, assembling, synthesizing, strengthening and polishing.

Becoming a better writer means putting in the time with words. Reading, writing, speaking and looking into words’ meanings all contribute. No one way of spending time with words is a universal ticket to becoming a great writer. Instead, testing out different ways of studying language helps one discover what works with their mind, schedule, current knowledge and motivation.

Writing and communication is ubiquitous and sources for listening to and reading good verbal material abound.* For this week, we vetted a selection of podcasts that directly address writing and language with content we endorse. Podcasts can be a convenient way to integrate learning into a busy schedule, as they are generally free, widely available and can be listened to while doing other everyday things like commuting or doing laundry.

An essay introduction is a first impression, and first impressions are crucial. Business and psychology sources from Forbes to the Association for Psychological Science highlight that people make judgments within the first few seconds of an encounter. This principle applies to essays as well. Therefore, an essay’s introduction must pique interest and build credibility. Unlike in-person encounters, an essay introduction allows the author to carefully craft their message, presenting themselves as rational, humane, and complex, without being judged on uncontrollable factors like ethnicity, gender, or age.

The first step towards quality writing is developing a clear structure or outline. While there may be a writer or two out there who can sit down without preparation and compose structured, flowing rhetoric, these are outliers. The majority of us will end up with incoherent ramblings without taking the time to focus on a clear essay structure. You could write one hundred sentences of Shakespearean-quality verse; if they lack conceptual organization, they will fail to convey a strong point.

As with many of the fundamental aspects of writing, making a claim is something we do often in daily conversation. When John says that, “taking the bus to work is better for the environment than driving a car” he is making a claim. A claim is a statement that is used to assert a point or convince the audience or reader of a particular argument. A claim is inherently debatable, and therefore needs reasons or evidence to support it. For example, John might back up his claim by noting that, “more people riding the bus means less cars on the road, fewer emissions, and lower fuel consumption.” The partnership of claims and evidence makes up the essential structure of logic and argumentation.

Blogs comprise a growing and influential corner of the communication world. Not surprisingly, many blogs address writing and can be a source of self-study for the aspiring writer and applicant. This week, we’re addressing a set of connected blogs associated with one of America’s oldest and most well-respected periodicals: The New York Times. As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, open source information on writing can vary in quality. When we include recommendations, we aim to filter out information of poor quality and make some confident suggestions of where you can get good information.

Context changes how one should apply rules and principles in writing. Depending on the discipline, audience, length, format and purpose of a piece of writing, aspects like tone, diction and grammar rules may change. Practice allows a writer to better assess the situation and apply writing rules appropriately. Let’s take an example of a blog and book, both written about alternatives to traditionally-raised beef, and compare how the format and purpose of the writing changes how each author writes.

Writing rewards genuine effort. The more time you spend writing and reading, the better your skills become. Writing an important essay, like a thesis dissertation, is similar to running a marathon: both are challenging and require significant time and effort to prepare and complete. Just as a marathoner must train their body, a writer must immerse themselves in their field, exposing their mind to complex ideas and language. The more practice a writer gets in organizing and expressing complex thoughts, the better their writing will become.

Before we set out to supply any rules of thumb or clever writing tricks, it’s crucial that you acknowledge that writing, like other complex, skilled work, is not formulaic. Rules of thumb and clever tricks do not, on their own, add up to good writing. Rather, writing is a practice. A practice is a kind of work that requires ongoing time and offers gradual but substantial progress. Unlike learning to tie your shoes or parallel park, which have recognizable endpoints, being a good writer is a long haul and you will continue to move forward, if slowly and sometimes circuitously.