For those that have a hard time with your writing skills what have you done to work with this situation. I have a job that requires I do a lot of writing, however my writing skills are horriable. Has anyone tried using software that helps? I appreciate any suggestion. Please leave them here or at my address [email protected]. :?
Thanks,
Gisele
Writing
I have problems with spelling, grammer. You name it. Also, if I have to write something like an article. I am usually ok with the beginning and end. But what happens in the middle is a mystery. This is frustrating because often I am asked to write articles. I can come up with ideas and ends, but most articles are more then two lines long :)
I will look into the program you suggested. Do you know of anyone who is using it? If so could I talk with them?
Gisele
Re: Writing
Hmmm… people who used it last semester at the college have moved along — but I was demonstrating it last night to this semester’s crop. You might want to checktheir website, too (www.texthelp.com) — it’s just possible they have a demo you coulld try for 30 days.
YOu’re right, articles are more than two lines — tho’ it’s a good sign that you do well with the concise stuff!
Sounds like what you really need is Miss Farrera’s 11th grade Writing class … but I was in 11th grade in 1975-76 so somehow I doubt that’s an option. However, take a look at http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/alo/ (it’s definitely visually designed for the current crop of college students). You’re missing some very learnable skills.
I have written a handful of articles (but only possible thanks to Miss Farrera). My “formula” is to figure out what my man point is — which you seem to be able to do — and then figure out what are the five or six most important things I have to say about it, and then try to figure out hwat somebody who was reading about it would need to know for it to make sense. I imagine that I’m a reader who Knows Knothing and go from there, and end up writing a lot and then whittling a lot off. YOu may have to go at it from the other end — require at least five details and then let yourself cut off one or two if it’s already long enough. (SOme of my students were like that — how could they write fouir pages on something that they could describe in a paragraph???? They successfully learned :)) Have you tried graphic organizers? (There are some good links for those if you want — I’ve got ‘em somewhere!)
Spelling & grammar — well, first, if you want an A in grammar, then that’s the only vowel you’re allowed to use. Grammar :-) YOu might want to get a book like Rudginski & haskell’s HOw to Teach Spelling — not to “take” spelling but because it has *tons* of words and you could use it as a reference. You would want to make sure it included words you have trouble with (since grammar was the only thing I’ve seen you miss :))
What are the problems? The physical act of writing, spelling & grammar, organizing, or all of the above? (The problems aren’t totally horrible unless it took you an hour to compose the above — it was pretty effective :)) Is it the length of what you have to write, or the complexity?
TextHelp! has word prediction and will read your work back to you, which can really help. Speech recognition software has also come a LONG way, though it is still not for everybody.