One way to decide is by grade level. First graders’ essential skills are different from students writing their Ph. D. dissertations. Another way is by occupation. Mothers emailing their children in college need different skills from project managers. Still another way is by audience. A newcomer to a language needs fewer skills than an editor of a financial publication.
Another way to see what are essential writing skills is to consider the rubrics middle and high school students need to follow. However, they vary by teacher, subject, grade level, type writing, and on and on.
I have found research identifying the essential skills of reading, but I haven’t been able to find research showing essential skills of writing. What I have found is a long laundry list, varying by teacher, school, or writer. These skills include in no particular order:
- Research, including using citations properly
- Outlining and organizing before writing sentences
- Revising after the first draft is complete
- Spelling
- Vocabulary and usage
- Brevity
- Sentence construction
- Clarity
- Persuasiveness
- Punctuation
- Voice
- Hooks
- Figurative language, imagery, idioms
- Details, data
- Vivid verbs, active voice verbs, consistent verb tense
- Credibility
- Editing
Missing from this list are some skills I find essential such as audience (Who are you writing for? What are their reading skills and needs?), time management (How much time does the writer have? Is she on deadline?), technical help (Are online grammar sites, AI, Spellcheck or an English teacher available to consult?), and thesis /main idea (Is the main idea stated, usually in the last sentence of the first paragraph.)
Because many sources say the same skill (grammar, for example) is important does not mean that skill is essential. But it is a heavy contender. Based on frequency of appearing on essential writing skills lists, I would single out these skills as a good start:
- Outlining and organizing before writing sentences.
- Writing a thesis or main idea and sticking to it.
- Following the outline.
- Including details.
- Ignoring perfectionist tendencies; continuing even with mistakes.
- Revising the first draft.
- Editing, especially checking for grammar.
This is the way I teach writing to my students. With enough practice, they become decent writers.
English Writing Teacher 