Whether you are a first grader or a seasoned businessperson, reading is the first step in developing your writing skills for at least nine reasons.
1. Reading expands vocabulary. Different fields, genres, and writers have their own vocabulary. Developing writers who read eclectically can learn from these differences to advance their command of language.
2. Reading uncovers various writing styles. Writers can learn a lot from studying content organization, sentence structure, sentence and paragraph length, and punctuation usage. Looking purposefully at different styles of respected writers gives developing writers greater strategic choices.
3. Reading stimulates the mind. Reading demands more from the mind than watching television, playing video games, or ambling through the mall. It is an abstract task requiring deep concentration to retain what the author conveys. This skill transfers to writing in vital ways.
4. Reading improves general knowledge. Global information is limitless, so reading exposes writers to endless possibilities. Transforming just a fragment of that data into a dramatic narrative or an incisive polemic is what makes a writer.
5. Reading heightens critical thinking skills. The more writers read, the more they'll find conflicting evidence, forcing them to draw their own conclusions. They can do so only by serious reflection, exhaustive research, in-depth analysis, and thoughtful summations—the very skills they must use as writers.
6. Reading sharpens creativity. Since readers have to picture what they're reading, they must use their imagination. Exercising their mind in such a way gives them more efficient and effective access to that imaginative part of their mind when they need to write.
7. Reading inspires writing. Getting excited about a piece of writing can motivate readers to write something of their own, just as watching a favorite athlete might inspire amateurs to get on a court or field to engage in some sporting heroics of their own.
8. Reading cultivates awareness of the world. Readers are bound to come across new opinions about the world, some that reinforce their beliefs, others that create new beliefs, and still others that may reverse their beliefs. This open-mindedness will add to the depth of a developing writer's toolbox.
9. Reading adds immeasurable value to quality of life. Reading is the thing we do to forget we're waiting for our doctor's appointment or standing in a line at the post office or being placed on an interminable hold by a service technician. Reading is a great escape from other troubles, a singular way of leaving the immediate aggravations of the world for an alternative one that may turn us to get a new idea, take a note of it, and write our next sentence.
So if you want to be a better writer, read, read, read.
1. Reading expands vocabulary. Different fields, genres, and writers have their own vocabulary. Developing writers who read eclectically can learn from these differences to advance their command of language.
2. Reading uncovers various writing styles. Writers can learn a lot from studying content organization, sentence structure, sentence and paragraph length, and punctuation usage. Looking purposefully at different styles of respected writers gives developing writers greater strategic choices.
3. Reading stimulates the mind. Reading demands more from the mind than watching television, playing video games, or ambling through the mall. It is an abstract task requiring deep concentration to retain what the author conveys. This skill transfers to writing in vital ways.
4. Reading improves general knowledge. Global information is limitless, so reading exposes writers to endless possibilities. Transforming just a fragment of that data into a dramatic narrative or an incisive polemic is what makes a writer.
5. Reading heightens critical thinking skills. The more writers read, the more they'll find conflicting evidence, forcing them to draw their own conclusions. They can do so only by serious reflection, exhaustive research, in-depth analysis, and thoughtful summations—the very skills they must use as writers.
6. Reading sharpens creativity. Since readers have to picture what they're reading, they must use their imagination. Exercising their mind in such a way gives them more efficient and effective access to that imaginative part of their mind when they need to write.
7. Reading inspires writing. Getting excited about a piece of writing can motivate readers to write something of their own, just as watching a favorite athlete might inspire amateurs to get on a court or field to engage in some sporting heroics of their own.
8. Reading cultivates awareness of the world. Readers are bound to come across new opinions about the world, some that reinforce their beliefs, others that create new beliefs, and still others that may reverse their beliefs. This open-mindedness will add to the depth of a developing writer's toolbox.
9. Reading adds immeasurable value to quality of life. Reading is the thing we do to forget we're waiting for our doctor's appointment or standing in a line at the post office or being placed on an interminable hold by a service technician. Reading is a great escape from other troubles, a singular way of leaving the immediate aggravations of the world for an alternative one that may turn us to get a new idea, take a note of it, and write our next sentence.
So if you want to be a better writer, read, read, read.
