ABC’s of Good Writing

Articles

ICT Standard IX

ICT Standard X

ABC’s of Good Writing Have you ever admired your friends writing and wished that you too could be as good at writing? Have you appreciated their use of simple words, their ability to make the article interesting and the way they manage to get their thoughts across clearly? Well, here are some tips that will make your writing equally interesting and enjoyable to read. Good writing, you will soon learn, is as simple as ABC.

	is for Accuracy. No matter how many beautiful words you use in your article, if there are inaccuracies in the facts that you are trying to convey, you will end up upsetting someone. Check and re-check your article. As the saying goes, “If in doubt, find out”. Read books, magazines, surf the Internet until you get the information you need. While using material from the net, check the reliability of the sources you are referring to. Since anyone can post almost anything on the net, it is your responsibility to cross-check your material. Sources which are from famous Universities, educational institutes or from people who are masters in their field are generally more reliable than something written by any Tom, Dick or Hari.
	is for Brevity. Be brief. In general, the attention span of people is very small. This is especially important while writing for children. If you wish to hold their attention, keep your matter brief. Remember, always KISS. Always Keep It Short and Sweet. Or as the Americans say, Keep It Simple, Stupid. Knowing who your readers are going to be is always useful. Writing short articles will force you to stick to your points and avoid boring repetitions. If you make your article long you will most likely bore your readers and they will then not get the important points you are trying to make.
	is for Clarity. Be crystal clear. Make sure that anything you write is clear to the reader. Your ideas should be easily and quickly understood. Using small, familiar words and short sentences is always good. Winston Churchill once said, “Short words are best, and the old words when short are the best of all.” In general if a sentence runs to more than three lines there is chance that it may not be understood correctly or sometimes even convey a wrong meaning. Remember writing is a form of communication and if your writing is not understood then your communication is meaningless. Epictetus who was a slave once told his student, “Do not write so that you can be understood, write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood.”

Now that you know the ABCs of Good Writing there is just one thing left to do. Start writing some articles. You will soon begin to write in a way that others will admire and appreciate. Happy Writing.

George Ferrao