7 Surprising Skills Needed to Be a Writer
Writing, the simple demonstration of putting pen to paper, is challenging enough all alone. However, most writers have no issue investing in the creative effort. At the same time, the work that accompanies writing for a living might trap you in.
Beyond creativity, here are 7 surprising skills needed to be a writer.
Social Skills
All writers are not introverted, but many absolutely are. It can be a tough obstacle to overcome. However, social skills are a necessity when you are attempting to convince others in your capacity to communicate with words. Do not be afraid to network, embrace the social media, and speak up. Don’t be ashamed to ask for opportunities, either. You may be astonished at the power of social skills and earn considerably more.
Writing Skills Training: 10 Free Online Courses
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OpenLearning
Want to move from writing simple passages to detailed writing? Participate in the training program suggested by Simon Williams and learn more via OpenLearning! This course is called Scribble: Writing for New Writers. It is highly effective! Get essential knowledge from a true expert! Use practical tips and develop fast, effective research skills! Discover useful tips – they surely will help you to make your online communication more efficient! This training course will show you ways to make your writing powerful and clever.
The Decline of Students’ Writing Skills: Causes and Outcomes
Writing is still the most common form of evaluating students’ achievements. You must write term papers, coursework, theses, and dissertations to prove that the teachers’ effort did not go to waste, and that you can acquire knowledge on your own. But something did go to waste, as more and more teachers begin to realize that they spend more time fixing grammar mistakes than focusing on the information related to topic of the work. So, what happened?
If the problem keeps getting worse, maybe it’s high time to get to the bottom of it and find out the reasons for weak writing skills.
Statistics on Student Writing Skills
Numerous studies have been taken involving writing skills of grade-school to college age students.
Annual reports from the National Center for Education Statistics show that the SAT mean scores in writing have dropped from 497 to 484 in 9 years (2006 – 2015). It’s already bad that the score is decreasing, but it also never stayed the same two years in a row during this period. Therefore, we can assume that the SAT result in writing will continue to decrease at the same rate.
The same statistics show that SAT reading scores have also decreased in the same way. This also contributes to poor writing skills, particularly where analyzing and synthesizing sources is required.
How to Get Ready to Take a Compass Writing Skills Test
The Compass test is a computerized system for evaluating students’ incoming skill levels, used mostly by postsecondary institutions. It’s used to identify the courses that any given student should be placed in as well as academic areas that need more attention. One of these areas is writing skills.
Each test uses two parts: a Placement Test and a Diagnostics Test. As the name suggests, the Placement Test, in the end, shows what courses you should be taking. On the other hand, the Diagnostics Test shows your weaknesses and indicates areas that you should improve.