How to Improve Professional Writing

Improving your professional writing skills increases the quality of your work.

Excellent professional writing skills can give you an edge up on the competition when it comes to your career. Great writing showcases your talents, allows you to express yourself and gives you another means to communicate your ideas or plans. Taking the time to improve your professional writing will benefit your business letters, emails, memos, reports, projects and even personal writing. You can improve your professional writing skills on your own, with peers or through a professional writing class.

Instructions

1. Choose the proper tone and voice. Certain types of professional writing require a formal tone, while others may need an informal or conversational tone. Analyze the subject you are writing about and how the piece will be used when you are finished to determine which level of formality is appropriate.

2. Make an outline. Planning what you intend to write before you actually start writing helps give your work a defined structure. Begin with your introduction and structure your writing so that your points increase in strength and importance as the reader continues. Include any references, citations and footnotes in your outline.

3. Proofread, proofread and proofread again. Looking over your work multiple times is the best way to avoid typos, misspelling and grammatical errors. Print your work double spaced and go over it with a red pen, making any necessary corrections. Reprint your work several hours later and repeat the process to make sure you didn't miss anything the first time.

4. Use a thesaurus to avoid repeating the same words. Everybody has a tendency to overuse their favorite words, phrases and expressions. However, this can give your writing a redundant quality that takes away from the actual material. If you notice yourself repeating the same words or expressions over and over, use a thesaurus to find synonyms. Using a thesaurus will also expand your vocabulary in general, which will also improve your professional writing.

5. Cite reliable sources and references to give your writing more authority. When you use academic journals, newspapers and books to confirm your points, it gives the reader a sense that you know what you are talking about. Citing sources also shows that you have done some research in the area and are not throwing out facts off the top of your head.

6. Take a professional writing skills class. Professional writing classes are usually led by experienced instructors who give valuable critiques and criticism on your work. Many professional writing classes also use a group critique, where your peers will review your work and vice versa; getting many opinions can be extremely beneficial to improving your writing.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask for peers, colleagues or friends to review and edit your writing. You are not necessarily the most objective person when it comes to your own writing and it's easy to miss small typos and grammatical mistakes. Having someone look over your work with a fresh eye will help you refine your skills.

References

• University of Florida: Electronic Data Information Source: UF/IFAS Extension: AEC382/WC063: Guidelines for Effective Professional and Academic Writing
• University of Maryland: Online Guide to Writing and Research: Chapter 7: Assessing Your Writing: Using Assessment to Improve Your Writing

Resources

• Education Portal: Writing 101: Free Online Writing Classes
• University of Illinois at Chicago: Online Effective Professional Writing