Simple is good. The simplest jokes are always the funniest. That’s because everyone can understand it without having to engage their thinking too much. While cerebral humor with plenty of layers does have its use, seldom is it the best option when your real goal is to elicit a chuckle.  Spare the big words too – no one wants to be right next to a language checking software when they read.

Tickle yourself. Not literally. If you want to write with humor, you need to be in a humorous mode. Rollicking laughter is an emotional state and if you want the reader to go there, you should be familiar with it.

Play with the rules. Most writing will be bound by rules, either by the publication itself or by your prospective readers’ expectations. Stretching those rules can be an occasion for a knowing smile. Do note the difference between bending and breaking, though.

Don’t overdo it. Unless you’re writing jokes for a compilation book, use humor strategically. Do too much and you can lose the whole point of the piece. There’s a big difference between being a funny guy and a comedian. You want to be the former, not the latter.

1. List down clear objectives.  Not only should you have a big goal in mind (e.g. producing an A-level essay), you should apportion it into several milestones that you can use as guideposts to ensure you’re on the right path.

2. Have a definite schedule.  Don’t just target a deadline for the main goal (e.g. finish the essay after three weeks), set certain finish times for each milestone (e.g. research notes by Tuesday, initial outline by Wednesday, final outline by Thursday).  Allot necessary time for each activity.

3. Keep daily work in small chunks.  Don’t plan to finish an entire essay within a day.  Be realistic with your goals.  The more you can divide it into small chunks, spread out over several days or weeks, the easier it will be to accomplish.

4. Stick with the schedule as much as possible.  When you suddenly find yourself with extra time, it can be tempting to rearrange your schedule.  My advice is to stick to it if the situation allows.  The more you adhere to previous plans, the more concrete that schedule becomes in your mind.

5. Use software tools to aid you.  There are plenty of tools out there that can aid in project scheduling and general productivity, as well as software that can help your writing.  Use them to your advantage.

Appearances

Your presentation is important in communicative writing.   Technical errors (such as misspellings), poor organization and bad transitions are a big deal.  That’s why it pays to invest in a good writing software if you engage in producing this form of material often.

Stringent Rules

Most communicative writing will come with stringent rules.  In school, it’s not uncommon for teachers to want essays done in a particular way.  If you write in a specific field, it’s best accomplished by adhering to the style manual endorsed by the governing professional organization.  When you write for a magazine, you follow editorial guidelines.

Because they are meant to be read by others, following conventions aid overall comprehension.  The more you adhere to established rules, the easier it will be to read for your target audience.

Creativity

As you can expect, such adherence to standards can result in writing that’s very impersonal.  While it’s not an issue in most formal situations, it can be valuable in many platforms for communicative writing.  Don’t worry too much about it, though.  The more comfortable you get writing in this manner, the easier it will be to infuse it with creativity.  Just don’t sweat about starting on the path slowly.

1. Avoid general language.  General language is often used with the intent to be vague.  Unless you’re working with that end result in mind, stay clear off it.

2. Use tangible words.  You are painting a picture when you write.  As such, the more tangible the words, the better your reader can paint the image in their minds.  Not only does it make for clearer writing, it also resonates better with readers in general.

3. Write in a conversational style.  How do you speak with friends and acquaintances?  That’s how you should write a piece that’s intended to establish rapport too.  How do you speak with prospects and other professional contacts?  Do the same when putting down words on paper for your business.

4. Be straightforward on the first draft.  If you’re having trouble with your first draft, try writing it in a wry, straightforward tone.   Save the adverbs and adjectives for later- just try to apply your ideas to paper.  Later, you can add in the ornamentation.

5. Consult your writing software.  Most of the best writing software integrate word suggestions into their feature set, dropping hints as to which words might work best when trying to express an  idea.  Use it, as it could prove helpful.

1. Talk about a little known event.   People enjoy fascinating trivia.  That’s why the Guinness Records and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not continue to stay in business.  You can take advantage of the same thing to get your reader started on your piece.  Just make sure your lead has something to do with the piece you’re writing.

2. Dip into fantasy.  Get the reader involved by asking them to imagine or fantasize about something.  You can invoke something pleasant or disturbing.  Just make sure you elicit the right emotion necessary to set up your piece.

3. Note a common belief.  When you start a piece of writing with a belief most people hold in common, it sets up the expectation that you will disprove it.  This is an excellent way to get readers hooked, as long as your piece actually does attempt to show another way.

4. Dole out advice, whether good or bad.  Just dole out advice.  The less obvious the advice (often controversial), the better.  People will be inclined to choose between agreeing or disagreeing.  Either way, you’ve got them committed.

5. Namedrop a celebrity.  Well-known personalities always manage to grab attention.  If you can  lead with a line that uses them, it could be all you need to get readers’ attention.

Like we said before, leads work best when put together with proper syntax and impeccable grammar – something a good grammar checker will prove very handy for.  The last thing you want, after all, is to lose the reader with technical mistakes, while you’ve worked so hard on crafting a catchy hook.

1. Drop the single most interesting fact you have in your essay.  Whatever it is, that’s the thing that will hook your readers into the topic and get them reading.  Put it on your lead.

2. Describe a strong emotion.  When powerful feelings are used in the lead, I find myself dropping into that emotion myself to be consistent with what I’m reading.  Written well, this could be all you need to set the passion in your reader.

3. Use a current research finding.  People love research results because they’re based on science, so there’s a valid reference for it.  The more outrageous the finding, the better it is for hooking readers.

4. Make an interesting observation.  Saying “The skies are blue” isn’t likely to engage people, but a unique observation such as “The skies are so clear it’s like God commanded all the clouds to go away” could, especially if the angle is related to the topic at hand.

5. Quote a Bible verse.  This has been overdone, but it remains powerful, especially if you choose a passage that’s timely, engaging and on-topic.

Like all short lines that attempt to grab the reader by the throat, leads work best when written with proper syntax and impeccable grammar.  You come up with the hook and let your writing correction software do the rest.

There are many ways to accomplish this.  In fact, most of the good writers I know will have their own.  For our purposes, though, I will suggest a few approaches that I think are the most accessible to people like us who are looking to improve our writing up a notch.

1. Summarize the piece.  The easiest way to achieve this is to summarize the piece in your last paragraph.  Instead of ending it abruptly, you give the reader a chance to review everything, going over what you’ve tackled in brief.  If you can’t find a good way to close out a piece of writing, always use this as a default.

2. Answer the main question.  Did you pose a question at the start of the piece?  Then use the conclusion to provide a definitive answer that closes it.  Make sure this question plays the driving force for the majority of the work, though, so it stays fresh in the reader’s mind

3. Return to where you began, while adding a twist.  To close, go back to a quotation, statement or image that you used to start the piece with.  Instead of just repeating it, though, add a twist that successfully assuages any lingering questions.

How do you write comments that add positive value to the ongoing conversations?

1. Stay on topic.  If you’re going to comment on a specific post, you’re expected to add value to the topic at hand.  Got something else on your mind?  Then best keep it to yourself (or write about it elsewhere).

2. Expand on information in the original post.  In real-life, picking up on keywords and following up on it is a very effective technique for extending conversations.  You can either ask for clarification, expand on the topic or offer up your two cents.

3. Expand on information in the comments.  Same principle as above, except you choose to focus on items from the comments section.  Be careful to keep your responses on topic, though.  Commenting on comments is a slippery road that have many online conversations astray.

4. Share personal experiences.  Your opinion is valuable, but your experience is even more so.  If you have successes, failures and other similar real-life stories that are relevant to the subject, be willing to share them.

5. Write clearly.  If you want to use commenting as a way to get people to your own website, make sure you write in a way that they will understand.  Poor writing skills are only likely to encourage people to stay away.  Use a grammar-checking software if you have doubts.

1. Your main, controlling idea should appear in a topic statement (using one or more sentences), either at the start of the paragraph or close to it.  Think of it as the introduction to an essay – it sets a meaningful pattern about what the remained of the text will be about.

2. Discuss general ideas before going into specifics.  That way, the reader will get to wrap his head around the big picture, before getting swarmed in by the details.

3. There are several ways of supporting the main idea of a paragraph.  Each one can be useful, depending on both the subject and the associated information you plan to present.  The following are some of the most common ways to do it:

• Definition.  This entails explaining the meaning of the topic, answering the major questions about it (who, what, when, where, why and how).
• Classification.  You classify the topic based on its numerous characteristics.
• Description.  You detail the item’s numerous characteristics.
• Expansion.  Here, you basically expand on the subject, paraphrasing expert opinion and previous findings on the subject.
• Exemplification.  You give examples that give the main idea credence, including statistics, facts and research findings.
• Others.  We won’t go into the details of the rest.  Suffice to say, there are many other ways to organize a paragraph in order to support its central concept, including cause and effect, comparison, etc.

4. Use a writing expert software.  Apart from organizing your paragraphs, you need to make sure that you use a good tool to help you iron out possible gaps in your writing.  That will guarantee that your paragraphs aren’t only structured well, they read nice too.

Pick up a daily newspaper and look at the different articles.  You’ll notice various qualities in well-written pieces that you should emulate when producing your own news stories.

• They address as many of the possible reader questions (who, what, where, when, why, and how) right in the lead.
  The most significant details go up front.  All the juiciest, meatiest aspects of the story should be divulged right at the start.
• Sentences are written short and to the point.
• Paragraphs are kept tight, containing no more than two to five sentences each.
• The overall tone stays as objective as possible.  Sure, newspaper writers can have an opinion – they just can’t write about it in their news stories.
• There are no conclusions.  Sure, you “close” a news story, but you don’t “conclude” it with a statement of opinion.
• Lay down the facts and let the readers decide – that’s how it should be.

Because it has to answer so many questions, the lead can really make or break a news story.  Most readers will ascertain what a piece is about from the first two or three lines.  If they can’t, there’s a good chance they’ll be lost.

Writing correctness is even more of a virtue for news pieces because the stories are so tight.  That’s why grammar correction software is such a vital part of the newsroom.  It helps turn out stories with as little mistakes as possible, while doing it faster than any human proofreader could.