Using Active Learning To Improve Your Way With Words
Still struggling developing your skills with the written word? If all the studies you’ve done so far haven’t worked enough, you might want to try what many believe is the best way to develop writing abilities: active learning.
Active learning is the idea that skill acquisition is best accomplished by doing. Rather than read piles of books or receive classroom instruction, you put yourself on the line by creating and actively pursuing criticism.
The latter is a critical part of the equation. You can write 16 hours a day and never improve if you don’t have a feedback system that clues you in to how you’re doing. Having editors, readers and other people give you their two cents allow you to see areas of your work where you could use a change for the better.
Apart from writing and pursuing feedback, other ways to use active learning to improve your writing skills is:
- Using a writing checker software to catch where errors commonly turn up in your writing.
- Join writing groups and organizations.
- Participate in collaborative writing projects to get immediate feedback from fellow writers.
- Join writing contests.
- Volunteer as a proofreader or a peer editor, so as to see how others write and learn from them.
Do you have any ideas to add to this list of active learning methods that can help take your writing to the next level?