How to teach writing…… Writing is a critical skill for success in school and in the workplace. When students learn how to write effectively, they can develop essential abilities that help them communicate, reach their learning goals and establish rapport with others. Learning how to use the available strategies and tools for teaching writing skills can help you prepare students to be persuasive, creative and descriptive writers. In this article, we define writing skills, discuss why they're important, highlight different types of writing skills and explain how to teach these skills. What are writing skills? Writing skills are the ability to convey information or details in print using proper grammar, sentence construction and other elements. The ability to communicate ideas through writing is in high demand in many industries, such as travel, IT, sports or gaming, health and general business. Writing skills allow people to express valuable ideas, thoughts and opinions. It also involves processes like generating and organizing ideas, revising or proofreading written work and editing. Why is it important to teach writing skills? Writing skills allow students to share important messages through words. When engaging in different forms of writing, students learn how to express themselves and develop creative skills. Students can also display these skills on resumes, in cover letters and in email communications. Here are a few other reasons to teach writing skills in a classroom: Enhances reading and writing capabilities: Writing helps students learn how language works, particularly sentence structure. Through the help of reading materials available, they can learn how to create sentences and punctuate their work properly. Allow students to develop creative and critical thinking skills: Students learn to use their imagination to develop a perspective on a specific message and its relation to the outside environment. Students can express their emotions, ideas and thoughts through writing. Improves language development: Basic writing skills help students learn how to speak eloquently by developing their vocabularies and improving their sentence construction. Students learn to spell words correctly, connect these words to form sentences and eventually build a group of sentences to communicate and a particular idea. Helps in vocabulary building: As students learn different types and forms of writing, they learn new vocabularies and how to use them in different forms of writing. For instance, students might learn how to use common cooking vocabulary if they're writing recipes. Types of writing skills Understanding and properly using the different types of writing skills can help writers create content that's accurate and readable. Writers share specific core skills, especially in professional writing, like resumes, memos, minutes and letters. Here are the main types of writing skills: Grammar, punctuation and spelling skills Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation are key skills in written communication. Writers with great spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and grammar skills can often write and communicate effectively, as readers can easily understand their writing. You can help your students gain good grammar, punctuation and spelling skills through reading other materials, like articles, and practicing. Communication skills Writing is often collaborative, so effective communication skills can be helpful for writers to have. Students can communicate with teachers and other students to grow their communication and writing skills. With practice, active listening and good communications skills, writers can better provide information through their writing. Editing and proofreading skills Proofreading is the ability to read through a written piece, while editing means identifying errors and correcting them. Strong editing and proofreading skills mean students can identify areas in their work that need correction, such as spelling and punctuation. They can also spot and revise errors in their style, structure and planning. Creative thinking skills Creative thinking refers to the ability to identify a challenge and develop solutions to problems. Creative thinking skills help students review problems from different angles and develop a plan to solve the issue. Students can write unique stories, poems and other forms of creative writing using creative writing skills. Reading skills Reading is a cognitive process that involves looking at a series of written symbols and understanding what they mean. This process involves comprehension, fluency and motivation. Writers who can read well can also write, proofread and edit their writing. Research skills Writers with good research skills can write about complex topics such as medical research papers. To become better researchers, students can learn how to assimilate large amounts of information, analyze, interpret and report in the form of writing. Research skills also help improve communication and reading skills. Forms of writing Teaching your students to be strong, independent writers often requires understanding the different forms of writing. Here are five common forms of writing: 1. Descriptive writing Descriptive writing involves capturing details of a person, place, scene or another topic. When you teach your students descriptive writing style, the goal is to help them describe something to the reader and visualize the description. Students can use descriptive writing in fiction novels, poems, songs and copywriting. 2. Persuasive writing Persuasive writing helps students communicate and get the reader to do something. It also means using words to change a specific viewpoint and potentially convince people to agree with your idea. To help your students gain persuasive writing skills, you can teach them to use statistical evidence, anecdotal evidence, testimonies and textual evidence. 3. Expository writing Expository writing helps inform or explain a particular subject and teaches the reader something. This type of writing answers questions a reader might have using the simplest language to aid understanding. It involves explaining a specific subject by providing factual information. You can often find expository writing in textbooks, training materials, manuals and technical or business writing. 4. Narrative writing Narrative writing simply means storytelling or explaining something that happens to a character. Narrative writing can be anecdotal, fact or fiction, and it uses the components of storytelling, such as character, plot, conflict, emotion, setting and core message. You can use narrative writing in memoirs, creative essays, novels, short stories, presentations, feature stories and speeches. 5. Creative writing Creative writing mainly combines two or more writing styles to tell stories that solve a reader's problem, teach, educate or entertain. In creative writing, you can choose your style and add other features, such as images, to make your story interesting and reader-friendly. You can typically find this type of writing in poetry, creative and nonfiction stories, journals, blogs and humor writing How to teach writing skills Here are some fundamental techniques to help you learn how to teach writing skills in a classroom effectively: 1. Choose the skills you want to teach It's often essential to plan your lesson by choosing the skills you want your students to learn. If you're starting with the basics, you can select a skill to focus on, such as spelling and dictation or sentence construction. Research and collect what you need for teaching before the lesson, such as relevant pictures, example stories, textbooks and other materials. 2. Assess what your students have already learned Try to assess which words and communicative responses your students already know. You can determine this based on their average age and curriculum-based assessment tool. You can also check their communication skills, imitation and motor skills to know what they've learned. 3. Choose your writing activities or exercises There are many writing tasks you can assign your students to help hone their writing skills. You can let them choose the type of writing they want to do from descriptions, journals, letters, business emails and other forms of writing. You can also divide them into groups and assign different writing activities. 4. Engage your students in meaningful discussions Using the same traditional teaching method of assigning tasks and marking the work can give you positive results, but you can also use other techniques such as class discussions which add meaning and purpose to the writing. You can engage your students in discussions about what they'd like to write. Focus on ensuring that your students enjoy writing as a regular activity. 5. Teach spelling skills It's essential to teach spelling, especially longer words. Once students learn how to copy words, phrases and sentences, they can start writing them without copying. You can often achieve this through dictation. 6. Choose topics that motivate your students to write Choose writing activities that are engaging and motivating your students to write. For instance, older students may be more interested in sports, fashion, pop culture, music and movies, while younger students may want to write about their pets, families and friends. It's essential to check an example during the lesson before giving an assignment. For instance, if you're teaching how to write a letter, you can discuss with your class the elements of a letter, such as a date and address, before giving assignments. 7. Encourage fact-checking Teach students to refer to textbooks, journals and other academic papers to support their statements during writing. Let them use search engines to locate information. Once they know how to search for various topics, they can develop their research proficiency and improve their overall writing quality. 8. Provide revision and editing instructions Teach your students how to check their work to know if they're on-topic and whether their sentences start and end with the correct punctuation. Ask them to identify missing elements like commas, full stops and capital letters at the beginning of sentences in their stories. You can also provide a checklist to help your students include important elements like punctuation during their writing activities. To improve quality and clarity, let your students learn from one another by reading each other's writing. Tips for teaching writing skills Here are some helpful tips for teaching writing skills to students: Let your students know you value good writing. Emphasize thoughtful writing and encourage your students to practice writing often to help them prevent spelling and grammar mistakes. Demonstrate effective writing skills. Consider writing in front of your students and explaining your writing to help your students better understands the process. Regularly assign writing exercises. Try to assign writing assignments often, including in-class writing. You can let your students analyze each other's work and learn from each other during these exercises. Provide extensive guidance. Every time you assign a task, discuss the value of correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. You can also create an example piece of writing to guide your students. Encourage students to talk about their writing. Allow students to talk about their writing progress to help them formulate thoughts, generate ideas and focus on specific topics in their written work. List of 10 Major Types Of Writing Styles 1. Narrative Writing Best for fiction and creative writing. Narrative writing is storytelling in written form. It captures a journey, or a part of it, from the start to the very end. That is to say that it has a beginning, interval, and ending. Examples: Short stories, novels, presentations, speeches, creative essays, memoirs, anecdotes, etc. Features: Written in first person, requires great imagination by the writer, storytelling in written form. 2. Descriptive Writing Best for creative writing. Descriptive writing is one of those styles of writing where the author writes about every aspect of the event, person, or place they are describing in detail. This is to make the reader feel as if they are actually present there. Examples: Poetry, fictional stories, journals, copywriting, narrative non-fiction, etc. 3. Expository Writing Best for explaining or informing about a particular subject or topic area. Expository writing aims to explain or educate its readers about a particular topic. So the goal is to teach the reader about something rather than persuading or entertaining them. Examples: Textbooks, manuals, how-to articles, technical or scientific writing, editorial writing, recipes, training materials, FAQ pages/ blogs, etc. 4. Persuasive Writing Best for convincing people about a thought or idea. Persuasive writing is the style of academic writing where the author aims to make the reader side with the thought or idea being conveyed in the text. It is written when the author has a strong opinion on something or needs to encourage people to take action on an issue. Examples: Editorials, opinion pieces in newspapers, essays, cover letters, letter 5. Creative Writing Best for experimenting with your writing and doing some out-of-the-box thinking. Creative writing is a style of writing where the author is expected to break free from the shackles of already existing writing structures. The aim is to surprise the reader by storytelling in a completely new way. Examples: Biographies, screenwriting, script-writing, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, etc. Features: As creative as it can get! s of recommendation, sales writing, reviews, advertising, etc. 6. Objective Writing Best for formal writing, presenting a neutral point of view towards a thought or idea. Objective writing is a style of writing where the writing is supported by proven facts and pieces of evidence. The information included must be correct; scientifically and statistically. The author must remain unbiased so that the readers can form their own opinions. 7. Subjective Writing Best for opinionated pieces of writing. Subjective writing showcases the author’s beliefs, preferences, perspectives, feelings, and opinions on things. The author, unlike objective writing, need not bother about the correctness or accuracy of the writing. Examples: Travelogues, blogs, opinionated pieces, etc. Features: Written in first person, shows the personal opinion and thoughts of the author. 8. Review Writing Best for writing reviews for various things. Review writing, as the name suggests, is a style of writing where one reviews things. Be it a restaurant, food, other commodity, books, or movies. Examples: Product reviews, service reviews, book reviews, etc. Features: Requires persuasive writing and descriptive writing skills. 9. Poetic Writing Best for fiction. It is a style of writing where the writer uses rhyme, rhythm, and meter to convey a story or idea. It is a broad style of writing which can be used in fiction. Furthermore, it, of course, uses poetic devices like similes and metaphors. Examples: Novels, poetry, plays, short stories, etc. Features: Uses various poetic devices, and rhythmic structure. 10. Technical Writing Best for Educational texts, professional documentation. Technical writing is all about writing on a special point that is factual and logical or about a scientific purpose. It is precise in nature, using facts and figures that are objective and non-emotive in nature and only aim to inform the reader. Examples: User- manuals, medical articles, textbooks, etc. Features: Facts-driven.
