Online Classes Boost Writing Skills

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Mark Gillard

As a current distance learner, I had several “amen” moments while reading Dr. Macaulay’s recent post “Employees questioning college grads readiness for career success.” According to a recent survey of employers, one of the top four qualities lacking in college graduates is writing skills. In my professional life I constantly see poor writing; not only by current graduates, but by professionals that have been in the workforce for years. It’s a pet peeve of mine.

But online learners take heart! You are uniquely prepared to enter the workforce or increase your standings in your current position due to the nature of online classes. In Dr. Macaulay’s post she writes, “Online students simply have to have an extreme comfort level communicating, in writing, via the keyboard, over a wide variety of assignments, project tasks, team issues, and course requirements.”

She is absolutely correct. Writing is such an integral part of the online learning experience, and it has helped my writing skills immeasurably.To me, there is no greater skill you can learn to increase your success in any career than writing. With good writing skills you will stand out from your peers and appear more intelligent and better educated.

That being said, here are several tips that will help your writing skills.

Take a writing course. All students are required to take a certain amount writing courses to graduate. However, I strongly recommend using one of your electives to take an additional writing course. Last fall I took a travel writing class at UMassOnline with Professor Karen Skolfield, and I can’t tell you how much that helped my writing. It allowed me to step out of my writing comfort zone and stretch my creative writing abilities.
Get a good book on English grammar. People may find this boring, but there are some really great grammar books out there that are actually entertaining. Search Amazon.com or check out your local library.
Take a foreign language course. Taking a foreign language course forces you to learn the structure of language and the rules that go along with it.
Write about something you enjoy. The only way to increase any skill is to practice. What better way to practice, than to write about something you enjoy doing. I volunteered to write for a local music magazine and it was great fun.
If you’re currently taking an online course take the discussions forums seriously. Approach the discussion forums the same way you would approach a term paper.

Here are several resources to help improve you writing skills.

English Grammar for Dummies by Geraldine Woods.
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., and E.B. White. I love this little classic. I believe it’s the only style manual to appear on the best seller list.
This is a well organized website with lots of great information.
A UMass Amherst website full of great writing resources.

Comments

2 Responses to “Online Classes Boost Writing Skills”

Adam Pieniazek on April 9th, 2008 12:28 am

Good post Mark. Having attended three other colleges before UmassOnline I must admit the quality of discussion in UmassOnline courses is very high and encourages great analytical writing and discourse.
Mark Gillard on April 28th, 2008 8:47 pm

Thanks for the comment Adam.

I will also add that the online classes that I’ve gotten the most from were taught by Professors who were as engaged in the class as the students.

Mark

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