Writing: A Skill to Develop

Writing is a skill which has no dead-end. You will always have the opportunity to utilize and develop this skill. Writing skill in English has countless functions. To be honest, the ability to write well will help you achieve better grades, better jobs, and a good career. Writing skill will always keep you ahead in your career in this competitive world.

Writing is often used as a response to a situation which actually frames the purpose and the audience of it. Most of the writings are written to be read by others. This process of writing and reading forms a way of communication. Although writing is a slow means of communication, it offers some very real advantages to the literate human beings: 

• Writing allows the writers enough time to think and research what they want to convey and this time allowance lets them shape and reshape the message to their satisfaction.
• It makes communication more definite, precise, and valid.
• It provides a long-lasting record of thoughts, instructions, news, discourse, actions, decisions, and etc.
• It makes formal communication easier and solid.
• Most importantly, writing solidifies a language by giving it a tangible shape.

The Purposes of Writing

Whenever you plan to write something, there must be a purpose behind it. The purpose of writing can be formal or informal, official or personal, or anything. It can be an assignment employed by someone or something you want to write on your own. But you must have a purpose for it. Situations and purposes shape the form and type of your writing. It can be a letter of application, an official notice, an article, a story, a poem, a review, or anything with a definite purpose behind it.

Following are the most common general purposes of writing:  

To Provide Information:

Writing to provide information is the most common purpose of writing. Every individual has some particular interests and s/he knows about those things more than others know. Therefore, people often share information through writing. For instance, a crazy cricket fan knows a lot of interesting facts about cricket players. S/he could write an article to provide the information to other cricket fans. This purpose includes almost everything we write to let someone know something by our writings.   

To Persuade:

There is nothing more effective than writing when the purpose is persuasion. Persuading is convincing someone to do something or to think alike. For instance, you want to persuade people to buy a book, you can write a good book review to persuade them. You can also persuade someone to be religious or to be atheist by providing some logic or facts in your writing in favor of the views you have. Writing gives you more time to organize your process and technique of persuasion.  

To Express Feeling:

Writing gives you a scope to express your feelings in an organized and creative way. Feelings and emotions are generally expressed in verbal communication. However, people communicate to express themselves and many people do it through writing poems, letters, fictions, etc. 

To Give Pleasure:

Some writers write something to give pleasure to their readers. The readers enjoy the written works and get pleasure from them. Fictions, poetry, interesting articles, etc. generally have the purpose of giving pleasure to their reader.

Note: As a matter of fact, these purposes may come together in a single piece of writing. For instance, a piece of writing can entertain someone by providing information or it can persuade someone by expressing feelings.

Types of Writing:

Writing can be of many types. According to the most common situations and purposes, writing can be divided into four general categories. A single piece of writing can include all of these categories. 

Expository Writing

When a writer writes something with a formal purpose of transferring information and does not express any feeling or anything fictitious, the writing can be an expository writing. In this kind of writing, the writer must have a purpose which is objective and formal. Textbooks, informative/educational articles, news stories (not editorials), business/technical/scientific writing, etc. are the examples of expository writing.

Descriptive Writing

When a writer writes to describe something s/he sees or imagines, it is a descriptive writing. It is kind of painting a picture in your reader’s head with words. The writer may take help of metaphors or other literary devices in order to paint the picture of something s/he wants to illustrate. The writer can use all of his senses to demonstrate the imageries s/he sees or imagines. Here, the writer’s purpose is to illustrate/describe something without putting any thoughts or feelings in it. The writer does not intend to persuade anyone or explain anything to anyone; s/he just describes things. Poetry (Imagist), journal/diary writing, descriptions of nature/things (fiction or non-fiction), description of products, etc.  

Persuasive Writing

When a writer writes in a persuasive style, s/he presents an argument, then showcases some evidence/logic, then states a solution/position/stand with the purpose of persuading his/her audience. The writer can express his/her opinions or biases in this kind of writing and try to present some rationales to justify them. Academic papers, argumentative essays, cover letters, editorial newspaper articles, reviews of items, letters of complaint/recommendation/demand/petition, advertisements, etc. are the most common examples of persuasive writing.

Narrative Writing

The purpose of narrative writing is to narrate a story. The story can be fictional or true but there must be a story to narrate. A story has plot, characters, conflict, setting, and resolution. In the narrative style of writing, an author constructs a pattern to narrate the story to his/her audience. Narrative writings are usually long and include descriptive writing style in it. Histories, novels/novellas, poetry (especially epic sagas or poems), short stories, anecdotes, etc. are the examples of narrative writing.