Why Writing Skills Are Important

Series Summary

A well-written cover letter can be the difference between getting an interview and waiting forever for a call that will never come. And when you get that job, good grammar and writing skills will impress clients, business contacts and especially the management at your work place. Good communication skills are an essential part of success in the business world. So watching this series could be crucial to your next promotion.

In this free writing lesson, a professional writer and journalist gives you a refresher course on the basic elements of good writing, such as capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure. You will learn how to repair run-ons and sentence fragments as well as tips for creating good sentences. Watch this series and write better, thereby increasing your chances for success in the business world. Your resume, your grant proposal and even your e-mails will benefit from these improvements.

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Kari Wethington for Expertvillage.com. Today we are doing writer's guide Self Editing Basics. Whether you are writing a cover letter or an email to a coworker, knowing how to edit your own work is essential in today's communication obsessed world. For many of us the last time we learned these skills was in elementary or high school. So we've forgotten most of the basic rules. We are going to go through some of the basic steps, just so you know how to edit your own writing. The first thing is to always check your spelling. Use your computer to check it but also check it yourself for words that your computer might not catch. Always check for punctuation to make sure you are using commas correctly, make sure you are using periods at the end of sentences. Those little details will make a big difference. Always check for capital letters. You probably know when to use capital letters but make sure you are not overusing them and make sure you always capitalize people's names. It's just a common courtesy. Check for sentence structure. Run on sentences are a big problem, but so are sentence fragments. Make sure you are using sentences that flow smoothly and sound smart and get your point across. Also check for word usage. You don't want to be too informal in your writing. But you also don't want to be too formal or use specialized jargon that your reader won't understand. Make sure you know your audience. Above all remember that self editing is a simple but necessary tool in getting your message across."