Purposes of Writing and

Qualities of Effective Writing

TOPIC

Week 2

Objectives
At the end of the session the students should be able to:

1. discuss the purposes and qualities of effective writing

2. appreciate more the purposes and qualities of effective writing; and
3. demonstrate qualities of effective writing.

What are the purposes of writing?

The first question for any writer should be, “Why am I writing?” “What is my goal or
my purpose for writing?” For many writing contexts, a person’s immediate purpose may
be to complete an assignment or receive a good grade. But the long-range purpose of
writing is to communicate to a particular audience. In order to communicate successfully
to an audience, understanding the purpose for writing will make you a better writer.
Purpose is the reason or reasons why a person composes a particular piece of writing.
Focusing on purpose as one writes helps a person to know what form of writing to
choose, how to focus and organize the writing, what kinds of evidence to cite, how formal
or informal the writing style should be, and how much should be written. The eleven
different types of purpose include the following: 1. to express; 2. to describe; 3. to
explore/learn; 4. to entertain; 5. to inform; 6. to explain; 7. to argue; 8. to persuade; 9. to
evaluate; 10. to problem solve; and 11. to mediate.
However, it should also be noted that writers often combine purposes in a single
piece of writing. Thus, we may, in a business report, begin by informing readers of the
economic facts before we try to persuade them to take a certain course of action.
Explanations of the eleven types of writing purpose are listed below.

1. Express
In expressive writing, the writer's purpose or goal is to put thoughts and feelings
on the page. Expressive writing is personal writing. We are often just writing for
ourselves or for close friends. Usually, expressive writing is informal, not intended for
outside readers. Journal writing, for example, is usually expressive writing. However, we
may write expressively for other readers when we write poetry (although not all poetry is
expressive writing). We may write expressively in a letter, or we may include some
expressive sentences in a formal essay intended for other readers.
2. Describe
Descriptive writing portrays people, places, things, moments and theories with
enough vivid detail to help the reader create a mental picture of what is being written
about. By appealing to the five senses an original, unique, and creative way, the writer
does not tell the audience that the flower is beautiful; it shows them the flower is
beautiful. Description allows the audience to feel as though they are a part of the writer's
experience of the subject.
3. Explore/Learn
In exploratory writing, the writer's purpose is to ask key questions and reflect on
topics that defy simple answers. In those topics where intuition and reflection are more
important than rational analysis or argumentation, writers focus more on their journey of
discovery than on any definite answers. In exploratory writing, your readers are
companions, sharing your journey of discovery, listening to your thoughts and reflections.
4. Entertain
As a purpose or goal of writing, entertaining is often used with some other
purpose--to explain, argue, or inform in a humorous way. Sometimes, however,
entertaining others with humor is our main goal. Entertaining may take the form of a brief
joke, a newspaper column, a television script or an Internet home page tidbit, but its goal
is to relax our audience and share some story of human foibles or surprising actions.
5. Inform
Writing to inform is one of the most common purposes for writing. Most journalistic
writing fits this purpose. A journalist uncovers the facts about some incident and then
reports those facts, as objectively as possible, to his or her readers. Of course, some
bias or point-of-view is always present, but the purpose of informational or reportorial
writing is to convey information as accurately and objectively as possible. Other
examples of writing to inform include laboratory reports, economic reports, and business
reports.
6. Explain
Writing to explain, or expository writing, is the most common of the writing
purposes. The writer's purpose is to gather facts and information, combine them with his
or her own knowledge and experience, and clarify for some audience who or what
something is, how it happened or should happen, and/or why something happened.
Explaining the whos, whats, hows, whys, and wherefores requires that the writer analyze
the subject (divide it into its important parts) and show the relationship of those parts.
Thus, writing to explain relies heavily on definition, process analysis, cause/effect,
analysis, and synthesis. Explain versus inform. So, how does explaining differ from
informing? Explaining goes one step beyond informing or reporting. A reporter merely
reports what his or her sources say or the data indicate. An expository writer adds his or
her particular understanding, interpretation, or thesis to that information. An expository
writer says this is the best or most accurate definition of literacy, or the right way to make
lasagna, or the most relevant causes of an accident.
7. Argue
An arguing essay attempts to convince its audience to believe or act in a certain
way. Written arguments have several key features: • A debatable claim or thesis. The
issue must have some reasonable arguments on both (or several) sides. • A focus on
one or more of the four types of claims: Claim of fact, claim of cause and effect, claim of
value, and/or claim of policy (problem solving). • A fair representation of opposing
arguments combined with arguments against the opposition and for the overall claim. •
An argument based on evidence presented in a reasonable tone. Although appeals to
character and to emotion may be used, the primary appeal should be to the reader's
logic and reason.
8. Persuade
Although the terms argument and persuasion are often used interchangeably, the
terms do have slightly different meanings. Argument is a specific type of persuasion that
follows certain ground rules. Those rules are that opposing positions will be presented
accurately and fairly, and that appeals to logic and reason will be the primary means of
persuasion. Persuasive writing may, if it wishes, ignore those rules and try any strategy
that might work. Advertisements are a good example of persuasive writing. They usually
do not fairly represent the competing product, and they often appeal to image, to
emotion, to character, or to anything except logic and the facts—unless those facts are in
the product's favor.
9. Evaluate
Writing to evaluate a person, product, thing, or policy is a frequent purpose for
writing. An evaluation is really a specific kind of argument: it argues for the merits of the
subject and presents evidence to support the claim. A claim of value—the thesis in an
evaluation—must be supported by criteria (the appropriate standards of judgment) and
supporting evidence (the facts, statistics, examples, or testimonials). Writers often use a
three-column log to set up criteria for their subject, collect relevant evidence, and reach
judgments that support an overall claim of value. Writing a threecolumn log is an
excellent way to organize an evaluative essay. First, think about the possible criteria, the
standards of judgment (the ideal case) against which you will measure your particular
subject. Writers should choose criteria which their audience will find valid, fair, and
appropriate.
10. Problem Solve
Problem solving is another specific type of argument: the writer's purpose is to
persuade his audience to adopt a solution to a particular problem. Often called "policy"
essays because they recommend the readers adopt a policy to resolve a problem,
problem solving essays have two main components: a description of a serious problem
and an argument for specific recommendations that will solve the problem. The thesis of
a problem-solving essay becomes a claim of policy: If the audience follows the
suggested recommendations, the problem will be reduced or eliminated. The essay must
support the policy claim by persuading readers that the recommendations are feasible,
cost-effective, efficient, relevant to the situation, and better than other possible
alternative solutions.
11. Mediate
Traditional argument, like a debate, is confrontational. The argument often
becomes a kind of “war” in which the writer attempts to “defeat” the arguments of the
opposition. Non-traditional kinds of argument use a variety of strategies to reduce the
confrontation and threat in order to open up the debate.
• Mediated argument follows a plan used successfully in labor negotiations to
bring opposing parties to agreement. The writer of a mediated argument provides a
middle position that helps negotiate the differences of the opposing positions.
• Rogerian argument also wishes to reduce confrontation by encouraging mutual
understanding and working toward common ground and a compromise solution.
• Feminist argument tries to avoid the patriarchal conventions in traditional
argument by emphasizing personal communication, exploration, and true understanding.
Once writers have determined what type of purpose best conveys their
motivations, they then need to examine how this will affect readers. Writers and readers
may approach a topic with conflicting purposes. It is the job of the writer to make sure
both are being met.

What are the qualities of effective writing?

Many different ingredients go into good writing, from smooth sentences to correct
capitalization. But no writer can keep every single ingredient in mind all at once.
Instead, it's easier to consider three key qualities: structure, ideas, and correctness. All
writing—from paragraphs to essays to reports, stories, and so on—should exhibit these
qualities.
Structure
Good writing has a clearly developed beginning, middle, and ending. Each main
point and supporting detail is arranged in an order that is easy to follow.
Ideas

Effective writing presents interesting information about a specific topic. The ideas
are thoroughly developed through supporting details. And these details are presented
using strong sentences and specific words.

Correctness
Good writing follows the basic standards of punctuation, capitalization, spelling,
and grammar. It is edited with care to ensure that the work is correct and easy to follow.

Important Qualities of Good Writing

There are several traits that combine together to constitute a piece of good
writing, and these traits may greatly vary depending on the writer, the reader, and the
context.
For example, the writer’s tone for an academic research paper should be
entirely different from the tone for a blog post. Similarly, a writer needs to understand
qualities of good writing to be much more formal for business writing purposes than for,
let’s say, an online review.
While there are no hard and fast qualities of good writing on the basis of which a
piece of work can be regarded as good, average, or bad; there do exist several writing
traits that are generally considered to be the core ingredients of good writing. These
traits apply to all forms and genres of writing, and are universally regarded as ‘best
practices’.
So whether you’re writing an essay, a short story, a blog post, or even a letter to
a friend or a college application; here are some qualities that can make your writings
really stand out.
1. Simplicity
Good writing usually aligns with the saying ‘the simple, the better’. Many people
think that good writing means using flowery language and uncommon words and
expressions; however, that is not true at all. A good composition will always express
things in the most direct and simple way. In case of languages like English, the same
idea can be expressed in multiple different ways and as a good writer; you should
always aim for the simplest way to express your ideas.
2. Unity
If you’re writing about something, it is very likely you have much to say about it.
For your writing to be considered as good, you are required to state your ideas in a
meaningful and logical manner so that they seem connected. This trait is referred to as
the unity or flow of your text. The flow of a good piece of writing is a smooth sail, rather
than a road full of bumps.
3. Focus
Connecting to the previous trait, i.e. unity, another important quality for good
writing is focus. Not only is focus important for your overall writing, it is absolutely
crucial to maintain a sense of flow and unity in your writing.
A good piece of writing does not bombard its readers with unnecessary
information and ideas, and is entirely focused on the central idea/plot of the writing. It
makes sure that the readers follows along with ease; and does not have to reread a
portion or get lost in the details.
4. Authority
A good piece of writing always incorporates a sense of authority, ensuring the
reader the writer knows exactly what he’s talking about. A composition is good if the
writer seems to be well-informed and credible about the subject that he’s discussing.
On the other hand, presenting weak or wrong information can not only make your
writing look bad, but can also have adverse effects on your reputation as a writer.
5. Grammar
It is needless to say that you need good grammar skills in order to craft a good
piece of writing. As a writer, you are supposed to follow the grammatical rules of
Standard English precisely. Grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, and a weak
proofreading are very likely to have a negative impact on your readers. Pay due
attention to the grammatical correctness of your text.
6. Word Choice
As a writer, you are supposed to know your way with words. English happens to
be one of the languages where there are multiple words for the same idea. A good
piece of writing will always incorporate the most suitable and accurate words. Good
word choice greatly contributes to the clarity and readability of your text.
7. Conciseness
This is an important quality that distinguishes good writing from bad writing. To
be concise means to avoid unnecessary words and fillers because they distract your
readers. Sometimes people may deliberately use unnecessary words.
For example, a student may try to increase the word count on their assignment
by using unnecessarily long expressions, or someone may use them to seem more
stylish with their writing. This is a bad writing practice and should avoid. You should
never write ‘due to the fact that’ when you can simply write ‘because’.
8. Style
Your writing style is what makes your writing unique and sets it apart from all
the other writers out there. Your writing style plays a great role in determining whether
your writing is good or bad. Writing style basically means the way that you present
your text to the reader; your word choice, voice, and fluency all contribute to your
writing style. There are no precise rules to mark a writing style as good or bad;
however, as a general guideline, a good writing style is always in line with the writer’s
opinion, the reader’s’ expectations, and the topic’s context.
9. Writing Form
All writing is not the same and there are different forms of writing to which the
writer needs to adapt his style and content. A good academic writer is not necessarily
a good short story writer; similarly, someone great at blog writing might not do well with
technical writing.
All these different forms of writing have a varying scope and requirements. In
order to produce good writing, it is your job to understand these varying requirements
and craft your writing in accordance with the form you’re writing for.
10. Reader-Oriented
Last but not the least, an important characteristic of good writing is that its
reader oriented. It is important to know your audience and their needs and
expectations from your writing. Whether your writing is to share an opinion, to educate
your readers, or to provoke a thought; understanding your audience can greatly aid
you in crafting a good composition.

To conclude, although there are no hard and fast rules that determine how good
a piece of writing is; the above guidelines are generally accepted to be the
cornerstones of good writing. Keeping these guidelines in mind and incorporating them
into your writing will help you in improving the quality of your writing and have a
profound effect on the readers.