Writing demands total commitment

I try only to write clearly, and I have the very good fortune to think clearly so that the writing comes out as I think, in satisfactory shape.
- Isaac Asimov

Most of us speak to the point and clearly. However, when it comes to writing, we fumble for words, expressions, idioms and grammar. Many teachers are baffled by this unfortunate situation their students are placed in.

According to some educationalists, our inability to write clearly stems from the prime weakness of education which does not pay much attention to develop the communication skills of students. If you look at it from a reader’s point of view, it is less a matter of vocabulary range than of vocabulary control. The whole process of organising thoughts for communication has to be revolutionised.

Some students and even adults possess a good vocabulary and grasp of grammar. However, they do not know how to organise their thoughts and present them in a logical order. When words are thrown about at random, the reader gets confused. Some writers have the habit of introducing sudden thoughts, interrupting the flow of the narrative. When this happens, the whole writing becomes a mass of meaningless sentences.

For gifted writers, writing comes naturally without much effort. However, most of us are not born with writing skills. Today, writing can be learned in the classroom. If your contributions to a newspaper and magazine are constantly rejected, that is a sign that you should hone your writing skills.

Topic sentence

Editors sometimes rack their brains to find the topic sentence of a given paragraph because they are mostly verbose essays. Some beginners fail to complete their sentences and editors are appalled by the sprawling and fragmented character of the manuscript. Even when they write complete sentences, the central ideas emerge as from a deep mist. To a great extent, written communication has been a pathetic failure.

Recent medical research indicates that certain maladies such as arthritis, high blood pressure and stress are directly related to the intense frustration experienced by those who have to read and rewrite what others write. It is a tragedy that some writers never wish to improve their writing skills, expecting editors and others to polish their writing. Unfortunately, such writers do not realise that there is no excuse for blurring and meandering in their communication.

Dr Albert Schweitzer, at the age of 84, spent most of his time struggling with his correspondence. He received letters from his patients, hospital workers, readers of his books and admirers. One day he confessed, “My correspondence is killing me... I like to hear from people, but I don’t really know what they are trying to say.”

Primary duty

Our schools have the primary duty to provide an environment conducive to the development of writing skills. However, it is doubtful whether we have competent teachers to train the young in clear writing. In most schools, students are compelled to write essays. However, most of them cannot write even a paragraph without violating grammatical rules. Clear writing requires time and sustained sequential thoughts.

Present day schools find it difficult to train students in writing mostly because of the top-heavy curriculum. Even a trained teacher does not find the time to make students write clearly because of the time constraints. It is true that we cannot ignore the other subjects simply to impart writing skills. However, writing skills are necessary even for other subjects. Today, students are forced into a strategy of intellectual merchandising and packaging. So, we cannot expect good English writers to come up in the present set-up.

No matter what you learn at school, a keen student can still hone his writing skills. This can be done through self studies. The eminent author Martin Wickramasinghe became a fine writer by dint of hard work. He did not study at any university or follow writing courses. He had the will to become a good writer and he achieved his goal.

Effective communication

If you do not make an attempt to learn how to write clearly, effective communication will soon be a thing of the past. Clear writing cannot be learnt by studying other subjects in the English medium. If anyone wants to be a writer, they have to learn it the hard way. That is the only royal road to be a successful writer.

Unlike the spoken word, the written word is one of the most powerful forces available to humans. It can carry ideas and information to entertain, distract and change the lives of the people. However, there is no easy, quick or simple formula to become an effective writer. In the past, students had to write paragraphs on simple topics, adhering to grammatical rules. Outside the classroom, they wrote to foreign pen-pals describing how they spent their vacation. They also maintained diaries using simple English. All such practices seem to have gone with the wind!

Although writing is fun, exciting and rewarding, it is hard work. It is no longer a secret that writing demands total commitment. For instance, we cannot do anything else while we are writing. To put it very succinctly, good writing is clear, concise, simple and to the point. It transmits ideas, information and even feelings to the reader without overstatement. Good writing is also modest because it does not draw attention to the writer’s intelligence or academic qualifications.