Writing is a critical skill that everyone should develop. Regardless of who you are and where you are on the career ladder or your job role, every professional should be able to write basically, because writing aids effective communication (corporate communication). Good writing should be everyone’s business.
There are different types of writing notable in the three main categories: Business Writing, Technical Writing, and Creative Writing.
Business Writing: This is the type of writing required in the professional setting. It is expected that business writing should be direct, concise and clear. Good business writing has an impact on an Organisation’s bottom line. Ask me how? Concise writing in the work place reduces the time that would have been wasted on trying to understand a written communication. Suffice to say that good writing aids time management and time is money! More so, good writing supports effective communication to get the desired result. When communication is done right, team coordination becomes easy and team goals will be attainable. Examples of Business Writing include: Memo, Emails, Letters, Policies, Communique, Proposals, Marketing Materials, etc.
Technical Writing: The type of writing that requires an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter is technical in nature. Examples: Product Manuals, Service Guide, Legislative Briefs, Policy Briefs, Grants Writing, Case Studies, API Documentation, Standard Operating Procedure and so on. Research, Scientific and Analytical Writing are subsets of Technical Writing.
Creative Writing: This can be in three major genres: Poetry, Prose and Drama. In creative writing, words are used in a fascinating and flowery manner to pass across a message or simply for entertainment. It involves a lot of play on words and with words. Documents that fall under creative writing include: scripts, novels, novella, poems, comics, short story, etc.
There are different styles of writing: persuasive, descriptive, narrative, and expository.
Narrative Style is used largely in Creative Writing. This requires full development of a story, characters, settings and sometimes with the conflict and other writing techniques.
Descriptive Style is a writer’s use of detail in making an explanation to the reader. This is commonly used in fiction and non-fiction to ensure the audience have a full understanding of the writer’s point of view.
Expository Style focuses on facts and it is evidence based. It is usually in a direct and concise style. Clarity is critical in the expository style. The expository style is used in writing textbooks and other academic, scientific or technical writings.
Persuasive Style expresses the author’s opinions and biases. This is common in academic and research writings. However, persuasive writing appeals to the emotion of the reader with factual evidence, with the intention of convincing the reader of the writer’s point of view.
Notably, re-writing is very important to achieve a very good draft. The more you re-write, the better the output you will get. To achieve an excellent writing, editing is recommended. Editing is a whole art that is technical. It requires skill and attention to details. Of course, there are different layers in editing: Line Editing, Comprehensive Editing, Copy-Editing and General Editing. Many times, people confuse proofreading with editing. Proofreading simply ensures that your work is devoid of mechanical errors. While editing is more thorough as it pays attention to the content, grammar, syntax, morphology and even the semantics. Editing ensures that the aim of your writing is achieved.
Good writing is difficult but it can be achieved through mastery.
