Today, I want to write to you about writing well. It really does not matter what kind of education you are pursuing; unless you learn to write well, an important part of your readiness for the world of work will be missing. Almost any profession you can think of requires you to communicate well. If you are a good communicator, you are already well on your way to a successful career.
Writing well is an art, but it is often mysterious what writing well really means. Here’s my take on the subject, something that I often mention to my students. It’s actually very simple really as a concept, although it is very hard to cultivate in practice. You write well when you are clear, precise and accurate.
You are clear when your intended audience can understand the meaning of what you have written with minimum effort. Every time you write, try to remember who you are writing for — a client, a boss, a colleague — and try to gauge their knowledge and skill levels before you address them. Clarity might appear to be a marginal virtue for you, but it is actually a cardinal virtue. The less time people spend on understanding what you have written, the more they will appreciate your work. When people grasp quickly what you are trying to say, there is a certain kind of afterglow; people are more willing to engage with your opinions when they understand your opinions easily.
You are precise when your writing addresses the issue you are meant to write about to the exclusion of everything else. Let’s say that you are asked to write on the causes of the Vietnam War. It does not really matter that you have a wonderful take on the consequences of the Vietnam War. Unless you address the issue at hand, your writing is missing a vital ingredient. When I grade papers, I find that many of my students are skilled narrators and essayists, but they are often answering the question they want to answer, not the question I have asked them to answer.
You are accurate when you say something about the subject that is true, complete and supported by credible sources of information. Often, a student will write something that is a model of clarity and precision but the writing strains credulity because it omits important relevant information or is poorly researched and referenced. Accuracy also demands that the various parts of your writing are consistent with each other. Do your conclusions follow from your premises? Are there parts of your writing that contradict each other?
How do you get to the stage where you are writing clearly, precisely and accurately? You don’t, I am sorry to say. The journey is really the destination in this case. You are always going to be striving in writing; your school and university education can prepare you, but good writing is not a degree qualification, it’s a lifelong process of a progressive and gradual realisation of your communication skills.
You must read widely, to imbibe, by some indescribable process of osmosis, the skills needed to write well. Fortunately, the internet has several freely available examples of good writing that can inspire you. In the field I am familiar with, which is political and legal philosophy, I don’t even have to go to my law school library for example. There are several well written articles available online.
Some students tell me that by the time they complete their research, there isn’t much time left to focus on good writing. This is a common issue with writing papers. What you must do is to begin writing before your research is concluded. When I assign a topic to my students, my advice is that they begin writing as soon as possible. Students often think of research and writing as a linear process, with research completed before writing begins.
I tell them that essays and term papers usually involve a circuitous relationship between research and writing. You do some research and start writing, and the writing clarifies and concretises some more research avenues in your mind, which will then feed into your writing. A good piece of writing is almost never a first draft. Your writing usually goes through several iterations before it is presentable and you must allocate enough time for revisions.
I hope I have not painted a bleak or tiresome picture of writing. When you write well, you are a craftsman, and like all good craftsmen, when you come up with a lovingly crafted essay, there is sense of pride and fulfilment
If you are a good communicator, you are already well on your way to a successful career, Nigam explains.
(Graphics by Angshuman Maity) 
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