The Principles of Good Writing

Experiences in school leave some people with the impression that good writing simply means writing that contains no bad mistakes--that is, no errors of grammar, punctuation, or spelling. In fact, good writing is much more than just correct writing. It's writing that responds to the interests and needs of our readers.

Briefly, here are the basic characteristics of good, effective writing:

* Good writing has a clearly defined purpose.
* It makes a clear point.
* It supports that point with specific information.
* The information is clearly connected and arranged.
* The words are appropriate, and the sentences are clear, concise, emphatic, and correct.

Again and again, you'll find that the guidelines, examples, and exercises throughout this Grammar and Composition site are based on these fundamental traits.

Good writing is the result of much practice and hard work. This fact should encourage you: it means that the ability to write well is not a gift that some people are born with, not a privilege extended to only a few. If you're willing to work, you can improve your writing.

As seen in Advice from One Writer to Another, professional writers--the ones who make writing look easy--will be the first ones to tell you that often it's not easy at all:

* "There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges."
(Ernest Hemingway)

* "Writing is just work--there's no secret. If you dictate or use a pen or type or write with your toes--it's still just work."
(Sinclair Lewis)

Don't be discouraged by the thought that writing rarely comes easily to anyone. Instead, keep in mind that regular practice will make you a better writer. As you sharpen your skills, you will gain confidence and enjoy writing more than you did before. As discussed in The Write Attitude and Your Writing Goals, your attitude toward writing will improve as you grow more satisfied with your work.
By Richard Nordquist

Looking for Quality in Student Writing

What is Good Writing?

You know it when you see it. It isn’t that hard to tell whether a piece of writing is good or bad. You just have to read it. But things get more challenging if you have to explain why it's good. Even harder than that is analyzing the good things a writer is doing so you can learn to use his or her techniques in your own work. And teaching others how to use them is the hardest of all but that, of course, is exactly what we need to be able to do.

Having simple phrases to describe the good things writers do makes learning about those things easier. Good writing has:

Ideas that are interesting and important. Ideas are the heart of the piece — what the writer is writing about and the information he or she chooses to write about it.

Organization that is logical and effective. Organization refers to the order of ideas and the way the writer moves from one idea to the next.

Voice that is individual and appropriate. Voice is how the writing feels to someone when they read it. Is it formal or casual? Is it friendly and inviting or reserved and standoffish? Voice is the expression of the writer's personality through words.

Word Choice that is specific and memorable. Good writing uses just the right words to say just the right things.

Sentence Fluency that is smooth and expressive. Fluent sentences are easy to understand and fun to read with expression.

Conventions that are correct and communicative. Conventions are the ways we all agree to use punctuation, spelling, grammar, and other things that make writing consistent and easy to read.

The framework I'm using here to talk about good writing is based on the Six Traits model which I received my training in from Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Over the years I have modified, simplified, and in many cases changed much of the language outright because it seemed to work better for me that way in the classroom. NWREL has made many changes to Six Traits, too. In fact, they now call it Six Plus One Traits. But it's based on the same basic idea of using trait-based criteria to define good work. For information on the "official" Six Traits in its most current incarnation, you should visit NWREL at www.nwrel.org.

One Pretty Good Piece of Writing

What does a good piece of writing look like? It’s hard to get kids to make something if they don’t know what it looks like. That’s why it’s so valuable to look at models of good writing produced by writers just like them. When I’m trying to learn about good writing, I like to work with good, short pieces, instead of big, long novels, because it’s easier to see how all the different parts work together.

Chores!

Chores! Chores! Chores! Chores are boring! Scrubbing toilets, cleaning sinks, and washing bathtubs take up a lot of my time and are not fun at all.
Toilets! When you’re scrubbing toilets make sure they are not stinky. I’ve scrubbed one before and I was lucky it didn’t stink. I think toilets are one of the hardest things to scrub in the bathroom because it is hard to get up around the rim.
Sinks are one of the easiest things to clean in the bathroom because they have no rims and they are small. I have cleaned one before and it was pretty easy.
Bathtubs, ever washed one? They are big, they are deep, and it is hard to get up around the sides. The bathtub is the hardest, I think, to wash in the bathroom.
All chores are boring, especially making my bed. Cleaning my room is OK because I have to organize, and I like organizing. Dusting is the worst: dust, set down, pick up, dust, set down. There are so many things to dust, and it’s no fun.
Chores aren’t the worst but they’re definitely not the best!

Well, what do you think? Not too bad, eh? I’ll admit that this isn’t the best piece of writing I’ve ever seen. But I think it’s pretty good. It was written by a third grader and I think she did a solid job of getting her point across about her struggles with the challenges of household chores. It made sense to me and I could relate to it. Some parts were even kind of funny.
Steve Peha