Some people enjoy writing, some hate it, but we all need\nthis incredibly important skill. The power of effective writing is immense in\nthat it allows us to properly communicate to inform, persuade, convince, entertain,\nand evoke emotions. Yet that is only the tip of the iceberg. Developing good\nwriting skills also helps us become better readers which aid in becoming better\nlearners. Effective writing can also improve our ability to reflect, which has\nbeen shown to assist emotional intelligence and mental health (Kennison, Lamb,\nPonder, Turner, Karpinski, & Dzurec, 2019; Rtor, 2019) as well as help us to\nbecome better critical thinkers (Luo, 2019; Stephenson, & Sadler-McKnight, 2016).\nAdditionally, the act of regularly writing has a way of building upon itself\nincreasing one\u2019s creativity (Kenny, 2019). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But why do some people hate writing? I have always had a special relationship with writing in that it has served as a creative outlet and a means of reflection for me for as long as I can remember, but it can be hard work. Many others haven\u2019t embraced writing from an early age. It takes considerable effort to learn the many rules to write properly and it requires thinking and creativity to properly and effectively express oneself. Now, thankfully, we have many excellent tools to assist students in improving their writing. Microsoft Word offers a lot of assistance while writing and online apps such as Grammarly (http<\/a>s:\/\/app.grammarly.com<\/a>) also offers great tools to help students and writers in general, to help them see their errors along with possible solutions. There are now also many free online writing courses that are available (90 Free Online Courses to Improve Your Writing Skills: www.class<\/a>central.com\/report\/writing-free-online-courses<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet tools and resources in and of themselves won\u2019t help\nanyone become a good writer; proper motivation is needed for students to take\naction and improve their writing capability. Beyond the information already presented and\nthe extrinsic reward of getting better grades, students need to be aware that\ntime and time again being able to write well (effective communication) comes up\nas a top needed skill to be employed as expressed by organizations such as\nForbes and others (Liu, 2019; Marr, 2019). The National Association of Colleges\nand Employers states that \u201c\u2026employers responding to NACE\u2019s Job Outlook 2019\nsurvey said they will seek evidence of solid written communication skills on\ntheir candidates\u2019 resumes\u201d (NACE, 2018, para 1). Additionally, researchers who analyzed\nprevious studies and conducted their own investigations also determined that\none of the most important skills needed by students to be marketable and\nmaintain successful employment is effective communication, specifically good\nwriting skills (Woods, Briedis, & Perna, 2019). <\/p>\n\n\n\n As teachers, professors, and facilitators we must work to incorporate appropriate writing assignments as often as possible in as many ways as possible. We must always require correct abilities in essay writing, but we need to go beyond that and also ensure our students can write an effective email, a proper text message or Facebook post, do they know the value of journaling, can they appreciate and write a poem? As expressed at the beginning of this post, writing has many different benefits and students need to know about them so that they can see the relevance of needing to write well so that they can help themselves and improve society as a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What are your thoughts on the need for effective writing? Do you believe it is underrated or overrated? Why or why not?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reference<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kennison, M., Lamb, C., Ponder, J., Turner, L., Karpinski,\nA. C., & Dzurec, L. C. (2019). Expressive Writing: A Self-Care Intervention\nfor First Year Undergraduates. Building Healthy Academic Communities\nJournal, 3<\/em>(1), 44-55. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kenny, T. (2019). Tom Kenny Design. 7 ways writing improves creativity.\nRetrieved from https:\/\/tomkenny.design\/articles\/7-ways-writing-improves-creativity<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Liu, J. (2019, ). The 10 most in-demand soft skills to\nmaster if you want a raise, promotion or new job in 2020. CNBC. https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/11\/21\/10-top-soft-skills-to-master-for-2020-if-you-want-a-raise-promotion-or-new-job.html<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luo, N. (2019, April). Research on the Reading and Writing\nIntegrated Teaching Model of College English Based on Critical Thinking. In 3rd\nInternational Conference on Culture, Education and Economic Development of\nModern Society<\/em> (ICCESE 2019). Atlantis Press. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Marr, B. (2019). The 10+ most important job skills every company\nwill be looking for In 2020. Forbes. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/bernardmarr\/2019\/10\/28\/the-10-most-important-job-skills-every-company-will-be-looking-for-in-2020\/#4d6e521067b6<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n NACE. (2018). Employers want to see these attributes on students\u2019\nresumes<\/em>. National Association of Colleges and Employers. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.naceweb.org\/talent-acquisition\/candidate-selection\/employers-want-to-see-these-attributes-on-students-resumes<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rtor. (2019). How writing can improve your mental health<\/em>.\nResources to Recover. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.rtor.org\/2019\/06\/12\/how-writing-can-improve-your-mental-health<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n