Writing Challenges and Improvement
Writing can be challenging. It is especially tricky when you are undertaking a task that you do not understand. My most challenging task was report writing. I found it challenging in high school. However, I have since improved on it, and I can now effectively handle report writing tasks. In high school, there is a time we were required to write a report for a trip. The report was to entail the highlights of the trip and what we had learnt. I could not figure out the format of a report or the information to include. After scoring poorly in the assignment, I embarked on learning how to write good reports, and through practice, I have perfected in the area.
The Importance of Writing Skills
Writing skills are critical in any course. They allow effective communication. A person may have great ideas, but when they are not well put, the receipt of the information may not understand it. Good work must use simple language, be precise, correctly punctuated and without grammatical errors. The writer must proofread the work before submitting. Most assessors gauge the intellect of students based on how well they write. Students with excellent writing skills are therefore advantaged when it comes to grading. Writing, however, does not end in college, it proceeds even in the job market since employees are often called upon to undertake tasks that require them to write.
Reports in the Workplace
Report writing is essential in the workplace especially when one is in a position of responsibility. Executives are often required to write different types of reports such as financial, investigative or analytical reports. Reports follow specific formats. The first step to writing a good report is understanding the problem the report seeks to solve so that you focus mainly on the relevant issues. The analysis must, therefore, be systematic and geared towards arriving at a given solution. Given that reports often form the basis of decision making, they must be factual. Where necessary, the writer should provide evidence, which is attached in the appendices. Wrong findings will undoubtedly lead to erroneous conclusions and recommendations.
The General Format of a Report
The general format of a report includes the title page, table of contents, executive summary, introduction, discussion, conclusion, recommendations, references, and appendices. The contents must be in an orderly manner. The executive summary must be comprehensive since some people cannot read the entire report and therefore rely on the summary. The introduction highlights the problem that the report seeks to solve. The discussion section contains the findings and analysis of the same. The conclusion and recommendations are based on the findings and should be objective. Further, the recommendations should be persuasive and unambiguous since the reporter seeks to have them adopted by the readers.
Improving Writing Skills
I have been able to improve my writing skills through extensive reading and regular practice. Writing skills are not developed instantly but can be grown over time. One of the ways of going about improving my writing skills is by reading grammar books. The books give the structures for every style of writing, not only report writing. Through the readings, I have been able to improve my grades in all courses since my work is presentable. I also read novels while help to sharpen my language, therefore, making me more competitive. The only way of improving the writing skills for any student is by first identifying the points of weaknesses and developing measures to improve them.
