How to Write Correctly: Best Ways to Increase Literacy

Literacy is traditionally treated as the degree of writing and reading skills in one's native language. Undoubtedly, to be successful, one should write correctly and according to the established rules of grammar and spelling.

Without exaggeration, today's community of readers and writers can be divided into grammar nazi (professionals who require strict observance of the rules of grammar and are ready to make the death sentence to any text in which they managed to find at least one mistake) and people who treat literacy without too much piety. The latter reasonably claim that the main thing is content, and the language is not a frozen set of rules but rather a living organism that develops and constantly changes.

So should we strictly follow the rules of grammar? It is permissible to make mistakes in original, informative, creative texts? Finally, how to boost writing skills?

Below are 6 effective solutions by Lucy Adams, a blogger from BuzzEssay.

#1 Write without Stops

Everything starts with the idea, and you should try to disclose the idea on the paper until it goes away! That’s why one of the best ways to write creatively is to write without stops and paying attention to the grammar. The fact is that often excessive concentration on grammatical rules prevents creative writing. Who will care about the grammar if the material brings nothing new?

The content is king! Practice the so-called free writing. Express your thoughts without correcting typos and mistakes. Don’t think about punctuation and sentence structure.  However, this does not mean that you can forget about grammar at all. The written text is not the final product – it's just a draft that you will edit in future.

Do not pay attention to grammar in the process of writing – do it only after you finish the text!

#2 Don’t Treat Literacy a Favor to Linguists

Why, in the end, is it important to write competently? Let's start with the fact that the language rules are not arbitrary regulations of linguists but were established during the historical development of the language, and their role is to unify the ways of writing so that we can understand each other's texts. If there were no unified set of grammar, written communication would not be possible.

Therefore, you shouldn’t consider the adherence to the grammar rules as a favor that you do to linguists. It’s all about the mindset. Adjust it to the right waves, and you’ll be able to grow faster!

#3 Respect Your Readers

What does an average reader think when stumbling on mistakes?

·         Firstly, that the author did not even bother to re-read his work. The author showed no respect, so why continue reading?

·         Secondly, our perception is arranged in such a way that we sometimes ignore horrible mistakes that we do, but notice the slightest inconsistency in someone else's text. This means that many readers become grammar nazis even without noticing it. If the author has not managed to master the school grammar, why take his text seriously? Most likely, he has problems with logic, the ability to structure his thoughts, the depth of working out the material, etc.

Although these two treatments are not always true, most likely, you will lose a significant part of the audience if you make mistakes. The medium is the message, and the form is inseparable from the content. Sometimes mistakes change the meaning of the text.

Reread your text after writing. Most errors are the result of inattention. If you’re completely absorbed by formulating your thoughts, you can no longer follow the arrangement of commas. A simple check will help you to correct most typos and mistakes.

How to Read Effectively and Perceive As Much Information As You Can

#4 Use Spell Checkers

Technologies changed the writing world, no doubts. However, automatic checkers are far from ideal. Text editors ignore many words and can’t properly understand the syntax, but they help you to correct some gross errors and point out fragments that require increased attention.

If you are annoyed by the constant underscoring of words and sentences with colorful lines, you can disable the built-in check during the writing process and turn it on during text editing.

#5 Make Tables and Schemes

Tables and schemes are an ideal way to structure and remember complex materials. For example, you can create a table for placing punctuation marks in complex sentences. To do this, you’ll have to comprehend the topic, which means you’ll be able to organize the material in the most convenient way.

Keep the tables on the desktop and refer to them if you doubt about this or that rule.

#6 Read Books, Especially Classic

When you read, you train visual memory. Classic books seem to be more reliable as most modern publications are written at the furious rhythm of today's life and eternal haste, which increases the probability of mistakes. Choose books according to your interests. Detective stories, fiction, verses – it doesn’t matter – the point is to be completely obsessed with what you read.

Tastes are different. The same is true for abilities. One person has a well developed visual memory; the other is a strong audial, etc. Analyze where you make mistakes and work on these areas. This is the basic rule and the secret of your future success!

I wish you best of luck in your writing endeavors!

Bio:

Lucy Adams is a generalist who never refuses to disclose intriguing topics. Reach the blogger at lucyadams@buzzessay.com and share your brilliant ideas. Lucy’s guest posts are free so that you have all chance to get one or a few interesting posts for your blog at no cost!