Tips for Improving Writing Skills

Tips for Improving Writing Skills

To improve writing skills, work on beginnings and endings, says Brenda Miller Power of the University of Maine. She offers strategies to help writers of all ages master beginnings and endings:

• Explore examples of leads and conclusions by asking students to read aloud the first sentence or paragraph of their favorite book or story.
• Create categories and classify the leads. Do the same with conclusions. These charts can be used in writing sessions to help students revise their own pieces.
• Select a first draft and rework the beginning. The time to craft a powerful opening is after the first draft is finished.
• Practice. Have students copy the beginning sentence of their pieces. Trade papers and ask the recipients to write something that either ends or begins with the line they have been given.