Generic Writing Skills

Whether you’re writing an essay, an email, or a love letter, certain principles of good writing always hold true. You can’t be there to explain to the reader what you’re thinking, so you need to make sure your writing is as clear as possible.

The pages in this section of TASH can help with all of this. Here are five important areas – where would you like to start?

• You need to know your audience – who is it you’re writing for, what do they already know, and what do they want to know from you?
• You need to select carefully your genre and tone – how should your audience be told what they want to know?
• Structure needs to be taken into account – what’s the best shape to give your writing, given what you need to say, and what your audience wants to hear?
• The grammar needs to be clear, so there’s no room for ambiguity. Readers hate confusing writers.
• And finally, you need to proof-read your finished piece, to double-check you’ve addressed all these points.

For University of Sheffield users, there is also a Library resource list, suggesting useful print resources to support your writing skills. In addition, if you would like some face to face support, you might want to book an appointment with the Writing Advisory Service.