Why it is important to write good.

As many of you know, I am currently teaching students in the Paul Smiths College ACE Program at Finger Lakes Community College. These students are working towards their Bachelor’s  degree in Hotel, Resort and Tourism Management.

Spelling tests in college?

They have had to write an untold number of papers- and I have had to read and grade them. I don’t think they would mind me saying that their grammar and spelling left much to be desired when we started working together last fall. I ended up giving spelling tests every week – where/ were, know/no, there/their/they’re and so on. Although they have never been graded on their grammar and spelling, I sure use a lot of red ink making changes. They were not happy at first, but I have noticed a definite improvement in all their writing. It is not a skill that comes easily, but writing well is so important that it is worth the time that it takes to become proficient.

A handy book for everyone who reads and writes

When I was in high school, we had to read a little paperback book called 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary. Although it seemed pointless at the time, many of the words we were forced to become familiar with (obsequious, inane, sardonic and taciturn, to name a few) have helped me be specific in my thoughts and words over the years. I recently purchased the book  and was taken with a paragraph in the introduction:

Words are your medium of exchange, the coin with which you do business with all those around you. With words you relate to people, communicate your feelings and thoughts to them, influence them, persuade them, control them. In short, through words you shape your own destiny. For your words are your personality, your vocabulary is you.

Double check your writing

No matter how long we have been writing, we are never perfect. That’s why there are editors. I have two people that I often send my writing to before I publish it. Suzi and Nancy always find something that I “might want to consider changing” ( they are both so kind!) or they “x” something out and replace it with the correct word. I am always appreciative- it’s like having someone tell you that you have a bit of lettuce in your teeth- it’s always better to fix it before you go public!

This post also provides some great links and proves that everyone needs to be a great writer- even software developers.

I tell my students that spell check does not catch everything and if they would read their papers out loud and have someone else read them before they hand them in, most of the errors would be caught. Like the title of this post- which made me cringe to write it! For now, I am happy that they are improving and that there are resources out there for all of us to employ to continue on our paths of becoming better writers.

There are affiliate links in this post which allows me a small commission if you purchase a product. This does not affect your pricing.