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Ten Quick Tips for Inexperienced
Writers |
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by V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.
One of the biggest problems that
inexperienced writers have is
simply knowing how to get
started. If you’ve unsure of
your writing skills, then here
are some quick tips to help you
get started.
1. Get yourself a thesaurus—or
better yet, two of them. These
can be tremendously helpful
tools when you’re struggling to
find the right word. A thesaurus
is no substitute for a solid
vocabulary, but it is still
helpful in a pinch.
2. Avoid using the same word too
frequently. This can make one’s
work sound repetitive. Again, a
good thesaurus can be helpful in
this regard.
3. Keep your sentences fairly
short, since longer sentences
can sound unwieldy. I’ve found
that 17 words or fewer is a good
guideline. Do remember that this
is just a guideline, though.
4. Even as you keep the
sentences short, make sure that
they flow together well.
Sometimes, unskilled writers
will simply chop longer
sentences up into shorter
segments that don’t blend
together smoothly. If in doubt,
try rephrasing the sentences or
adding the proper connective
phrases (e.g. “then,” “so,” “as
a result”).
5. Get a copy of “The Elements
of Style” by Strunk and White.
It’s a short book, but
incredibly helpful. There is no
better reference for aspiring
writers.
6. Don’t rely too much on your
word processor’s grammar
checking features. They can be
quite impressive, but their
capabilities are still quite
limited. Spelling checkers are
also limited in their
capabilities, since they cannot
recognize a lot of proper names
and technical terms. In
addition, spell checkers cannot
detect situations wherein the
user has entered the wrong word
in place of the proper one.
7. Proofread, proofread and
proofread… over and over. When
you’re done, have a friend
proofread your work as well.
8. Remember your target
audience. Ask yourself, “What
information will my audience
require in order to understand
what I’m saying?”
9. Avoid clever wordplay unless
you’re sure that it will work.
In most cases, it is best to
gain more writing experience
before trying something witty.
10. Remember the artists adage,
“Practice, practice, practice”?
If you want to become good at
writing, then write, write and
write!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D. is a
senior electrical and software
engineer at Cellular Technology
Ltd (
http://www.immunospot.com,
http://www.elispot-analyzers.de,
http://www.elispot.cn). The
neighborhood children have
referred to him as the
“Crocodile Hunter” though, due
to his impressive menagerie of
magnificent arachnids.
© Copyright 2004 Berba Velasco
Jr., Ph.D.
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