The Art of Writing an Essay

An exercise in writing 

Occasionally this blog contains some interesting and informative prose. The rest of the time it's just my brain leaking out my thoughts on the screen or paper. Awhile ago, okay  ten years ago, I took a three day course in formal report writing, the classroom work was three days the take home assignments were another story.

Each assignment pre and post report was read and graded with some interesting if not cruel analysis. Not to relive the horror, I did pass the course both the test and the final report. My grade was well into the 90's. They did have a prerequisite, that you're literate in English. A couple of things I did learn was : you cannot proofread your own writing, get a dictionary and do not trust spell and grammar check on the computer and never change the tense you started with. The last item was to use a font that is easily readable and a size that's not gigantic (just to make more pages). Keep your work on point, in an order of occurrence, no slang or tech talk. Write it for the audience. Be concise and to the point. Do not include conclusions or assumptions until the end.  

So what's the point? Writing is a lost art, I've read enough emails, texts and articles to see that. Putting words down on paper in a coherent manner is a skill. Like all skills, no practice and it will be gone. That's why I write this blog.

Now proof read that 22 changes needed

Occasionally, this blog contains some interesting and informative prose. The rest of the time, it's just my brain leaking out my thoughts on the screen or paper. A while ago, okay,  ten years ago, I took a three-day course in formal report writing. The classroom work was three days, and the take-home assignments were another story.

Each assignment, pre- and post-report, was read and graded with some interesting, if not cruel, analysis. Not to relive the horror, I did pass the course, both the test and the final report. My grade was well into the 90s. They did have a prerequisite: that you're literate in English. A couple of things I did learn were : you cannot proofread your own writing, get a dictionary, and do not trust spell and grammar check on the computer. Never change the tense you started with. The last item was to use a font that is easily readable and a size that's not gigantic (just to make more pages). Keep your work on point, in an order of occurrence, no slang or tech talk. Write it for the audience. Be concise and to the point. Do not include conclusions or assumptions until the end.  

So what's the point? Writing is a lost art. I've read enough emails, texts, and articles to see that. Putting words down on paper in a coherent manner is a skill. Like all skills, no practice, and it will be gone. That's why I write this blog.

Now Re-write

Occasionally, this blog features some intriguing and informative prose. The rest of the time, it’s simply my thoughts spilling out onto the screen or paper. A decade ago, I enrolled in a three-day course on formal report writing. The classroom work was straightforward, but the take-home assignments were a different story.

Each assignment, both before and after the report, was meticulously read and graded with some intriguing, if not harsh, analysis. I won’t dwell on the horror, but I managed to pass the course, both the test and the final report, with a grade well into the 90s. However, there was a prerequisite: you had to be literate in English.

One thing I learned from the course was that you can’t proofread your own writing. You need a dictionary, and you shouldn’t trust spell and grammar check on your computer. Another important lesson was to never change the tense you started with. Lastly, you should use a font that’s easily readable and a size that’s not gigantic (just to make more pages).

Keep your work focused, in the order of occurrence, and avoid using slang or technical jargon. Write for your audience, be concise, and to the point. Don’t include conclusions or assumptions until the end.

So, what’s the point? Writing is a lost art. I’ve read enough emails, texts, and articles to see that. Putting words down on paper in a coherent manner is a skill that requires practice. If you don’t practice, it will be lost. That’s why I write this blog.

Tight Lines