Lee Dong hyun/Important things to get writing right/Tuesday 5,6

Practice and Planning are the key                       When learning a new language, writing in that speech can be the most easy task or the most challenging work. Because the difference between a good writing and a bad one is so clear, and that writing evaluates one's level of grammar, vocabulary and even thinking abilities, writing can be an effective tool in measuring in one's language ability. Deep knowledge of grammar, extensive level of vocabulary, or fancy sentences can be all important elements of a good writing. However, to be a good writer, the two most fundamental but crucial factors are practice and planning.            To begin with, practice is an effective method of improving the quality of one's writing. As mentioned above, grammar, word choice and sentence structures are all important factors to an excellent piece of writing. However, such components cannot be obtained by simple memorization. After reading well-written essays or literature works, writers may know a lot of vocabulary, grammatical knowledge or good sentences only in their heads. However, it does not mean that they are able to apply them in to their own. Rather it is through repetitive writing that truly turns the elements in to their own. At first, using advanced words and sentence structures may not be easy as the writer is not familiar with applying them in a writing. However, after a number of practice of writing using the same vocabulary, grammar and sentences, one is able to fully utilize such factors into their writing later one. Hence, as there is a saying "practice makes perfect", the same applies to writing.            In addition, careful planning is also an useful advice for student writers. A good writing is not only about its outer look which includes vocabulary and grammar. Rather, what differentiates an excellent work from a poor one is its content and ideas. An essay that frequently deviates from its topic is a poor one whereas the essay that adheres to its original topic according to a logical flow is the excellent one. In order to come up with an excellent work, it is important for student writers to carefully plan before writing. For instance, brainstorming is a good method to come up with ideas. After devising a topic, outlining helps writers to create a logical flow, excluding any chance of going off-topic. Finally, only after confirming that the outline is logically coherent and have a clear structure, they can move on to work on their final writing. Therefore, students should spend considerable amount of time on planning, brainstorming and outlining in order to improve on the quality of their writing.            Repetitive practice and thorough planning are some tips for student writers to get their writing right. By following the two Ps, students should be able to significantly enhance the level of their writing. If one possesses a high level of writing abilities, it can also mean that his or her overall mastery of the language is also high.