Tips To Write

Whether you're a writing newbie or an old pro, it can never hurt to have a few more tricks up your sleeve. Whether you're writing a press release, blog post, or marketing copy, drawing from a rich pool of writing tips is always a plus.

With that in mind, here are 25 quick ideas—some are old classics and some are more creative—to improve your writing:

1.             Cut clutter.

Can you make your point faster? Do it.

2.             Use spell check.

It's an obvious tip, but an important one. Check your writing for spelling and grammar mistakes. You want to communicate to readers that you care enough to be professional.

3.             Read aloud.

There's no substitute for reading your words with your ears as well as your eyes. Read aloud to catch mistakes and get a sense of flow.

4.             Use active verbs.

Active verbs add power to your writing and carry paragraphs forward. It's not that you can never use passive voice, but use it strategically.

5.             Choose your words carefully.

Material That Can Be Written

Sometimes all it takes to improve writing skills at K 12 grades is to plant some seeds, or ideas, to spur kids' imaginations.

Here are some writing tutoring suggestions from three books:Writing Down the Bones by writer, poet and teacher Natalie Goldberg (1986, Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston), Where Do You Get Your Ideas? by novelist, playwright and poet Sandy Asher (1987, Walker Publishing Co. Inc., New York) and To Be a Writer by children's book author Barbara Seuling (1997, Twenty-First Century Books, New York):

1.     Eavesdropping.

Ask children to pretend they are riding on a bus and overhear one person say to another person, "I'll never forgive you as long as I live." Have them write a story that tells who these people are and what happened before their conversation. Suggested by Seuling, this is a great story starter that can be modified in many ways. You can change the overheard sentence to almost anything. You can even have writers explore ideas by writing a story using the above scenario, and then writing another story about the same sentence, but this time pretending it was overheard at a grocery store.

2.     Invent your own country.

Have children describe in detail an invented country. Make sure they include information about its government, culture, transportation system, water and energy distribution, etc. Seuling suggests posing questions such as, "Who is in charge and why?" "Does it have any enemies? Who are they, and what do they want?

Reading Techiques

You are expected to do much more reading at university than at school or college; it's not called ‘reading for a degree' for nothing. Here are five tips to help you improve your reading: 1.      Styles of reading 2.      Active reading 3.      A tip for speeding up your active reading 4.      Spotting authors' navigation aids 5.      Words and vocabulary

1.      Styles of reading There are three styles of reading which we use in different situations: Scanning: for a specific focus The technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you move your eye quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that are relevant to the task you're doing.

How to Improve Reading Skills

Reading

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas.
 10 Tips to Improve Your Reading SkillsBy Jim Allen In the modern age of information, reading truly is a fundamental survival skill. Here are ten tips that anyone can use to improve their reading skills:1. You don't have to be a great reader to get the point.Some people read fast and remember everything. Others read slowly and take a couple of times to get all the information. It doesn't matter, really, so long as when you read, you get the information you're seeking.

Speaking Skills

What speaking is

Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997). Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving. However, speech is not always unpredictable.

What a good speaker does

A speaker's skills and speech habits have an impact on the success of any exchange (Van Duzer, 1997). Speakers must be able to anticipate and then produce the expected patterns of specific discourse situations. They must also manage discrete elements such as turn-taking, rephrasing, providing feedback, or redirecting (Burns & Joyce, 1997).

General outline of a speaking lesson

Listening skills

What listening is

Listening is one of the four main language skills‏‎ along with reading‏‎, writing‏‎ and speaking‏‎.

Listening is the ability to accurately receive messages in the communication process.  Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated.

Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including: a greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades in academic work and increased health and wellbeing.  Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises blood pressure, listening brings it down.

Listening is not the same as hearing.  Hearing refers to the sounds that you hear, whereas listening requires more than that: it requires focus.  Listening means paying attention not only to the story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body.  In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages.  Your ability to listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages.

Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps.

Fun activities to promote speaking skills

  For auditory learners

·         For visual learners

·         For physical learners

Do you sometimes have trouble understanding what your preschooler says? You can help her hone her speaking skills by becoming an active listener.

This means not just hearing what your child says but getting involved in real conversations with her: Ask questions, make comments, keep the chat going, and give her plenty of opportunities to speak her mind.

Here are some games and activities you can use to get the ball rolling. Because children learn in different ways, the games are organized by learning style. But don't feel restricted to just one group—all children can benefit from the activities listed.

For auditory learners

25 tips to punch up your writing

Whether you're a writing newbie or an old pro, it can never hurt to have a few more tricks up your sleeve. Whether you're writing a press release, blog post, or marketing copy, drawing from a rich pool of writing tips is always a plus.

With that in mind, here are 25 quick ideas—some are old classics and some are more creative—to improve your writing:

10 Tips to Effective & Active Listening Skills

Do you ever need someone to listen to you? Our mentors are available.

Listening makes our loved ones feel worthy, appreciated, interesting, and respected. Ordinary conversations emerge on a deeper level, as do our relationships. When we listen, we foster the skill in others by acting as a model for positive and effective communication.

In our love relationships, greater communication brings greater intimacy. Parents listening to their kids helps build their self-esteem. In the business world, listening saves time and money by preventing misunderstandings. And we always learn more when we listen than when we talk.

Listening skills fuel our social, emotional and professional success, and studies prove that listening is a skill we can learn.

The Technique. Active listening is really an extension of the Golden Rule. To know how to listen to someone else, think about how you would want to be listened to.

While the ideas are largely intuitive, it might take some practice to develop (or re-develop) the skills. Here’s what good listeners know — and you should, too: