How to Improve Your Writing Skills
- JoAnn Foley Markette
- Apr 4, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 4, 2022
by JoAnn Foley Markette, Ed.D.
If you are going to earn a doctorate, you must have decent-to-strong writing skills. While tapping an adept family member or friend as an extra pair of eyes on a dissertation document poses a realistic option for many people, many others have to resort to shelling out the bucks for an editor. Be aware: Editing services can be expensive!
Another option lies in the most obvious: improve your own writing skills. But how? Here are a couple of ideas:
If possible, consider taking time off or a break from your program to enroll in a community college or other post-secondary institution class specifically focused on writing schools. While this might be ideal, it is not an option many want to pursue due to the additional time and money it tacks onto the dissertation process.
Read. Read. Read. Pay attention to sentence structure, punctuation usage, and vocabulary. Then try to emulate those same constructions, typographical symbols, and words.
Before starting any multi-page paper, outline ideas and consider writing paragraphs according to the MEAL plan (See https://owl.excelsior.edu/research/drafting-and-integrating/drafting-and-integrating-paragraphing/).
If you use Word, activate the editing software already included, or maybe consider subscribing to an editing software like Grammarly. Here is a handy video demonstrating how to eliminate passive voice:
APA citation:
Markette, N. & Markette., J. [Dr. Markette]. (2021, December 17). How to Change Passive to Active Voice in 4 MINUTES || Scholarly Writing. [Video]. https://youtu.be/FZ7_w81SKXk
In large part, the strength of your writing skills will determine the pace at which you will progress through your program once you get through the core courses. Strong writers definitely reap an advantage over their counterparts. Hopefully, these pointers will put you in the former category.
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