how does writing help you

how does writing help you

The Benefits of Writing

1. Improved Communication Skills

People who can write well are more likely to communicate their ideas effectively, which in turn can lead to professional success. In today’s information age, one of the key determinants of any person’s earning power is the ability to write well. People who are “better” communicators are perceived as being “smarter” by their peers. The net result is higher income opportunities, and the securing of those opportunities. Workers spend a quarter of their worktime writing, and one survey of English speaking business professionals from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK found that these workers rated their written communication skills as an average of 5.4 on a scale of 1 to 10. These professionals indicated that the poor writing skills of those around them were a significant drain on productivity and a source of irritation in the work environment. Love that. Beautifully written and very insightful. Very true. A person is nothing without effective assessing of their environment and judgement of it, which requires articulation of thought. Written communication is a direct reflection of an individual’s intellect and respect for their counterpart. And usually it is the intellect of the most proactive individuals, the ones who will also be holding the best positions in the professional world (compare this to their work at your typical fast food joint), that gets recognized. Many educational institutions realize the marked importance of writing, and offer coursework and majors in written communication, writing, journalism, and creative writing. The job opportunities for people with such skills are vast and varied: anyone in a professional capacity in today’s modern world will find it necessary to write from time to time. It could be anything from a report akin to those found in the high school or college setting, or a letter to a coworker, to formal email correspondence with a remote supervisor, to well articulated documentation on problem analysis and process change in the business analysis and quality control fields. Any individuals with poor communication and writing abilities will find it difficult to secure and hold professional positions.

2. Enhanced Critical Thinking Abilities

On a subjective and more basic level, people learn to problem solve by writing. Anyone who has tried to write a five hundred-word essay on a topic can attest to what it is like to sit down and sift through thoughts to create a cohesive and well-written piece. Writers face scrutiny and criticism for their ideas and learn to engage in them effectively. This, in turn, helps people learn to think out their ideas and come to make convincing arguments.

With writing comes enhancing critical thinking. Writers, and students in general, need to think things through before starting and must rethink what they have written much of the time. For example, a writer may begin a report on World War II. They start with the basic idea that Pearl Harbor started the war. However, after further contemplation, they realize that the Sino-Japanese War was the true beginning of the Pacific theater of war between Japan and the West. This type of critical analysis is important in determining national efficiency and thus is greatly valued.

3. Strengthened Memory and Learning

An explanation of memory and learning functioning, including memory algorithms, essay writing, and learning. It emphasizes the importance of active involvement in the writing process, low-stake writing assignments, the enhancement of critical thinking and higher-order thinking, and Bloom’s Taxonomy in the context of writing and learning. Writing is a complex operation requiring the brain to balance the formulation of ideas with the generation of written language. It has also been claimed that writing improves long-term retention, comprehension, and critical thinking. To find evidence of writing’s effect on memory, watching a foreign language film with and without subtitling will provide a good example. Students in a graduate education course at the University of Toronto were used as subjects. The subjects were divided into experimental and control groups. An ANCOVA (using the comprehension post-test scores as a covariate) showed that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group. This is only one of many pieces of evidence from research which has shown an improvement in learning is facilitated when learners write about what they are learning. Another study made the point that formulating language and storing it through writing is an effective method of increasing retention and the transfer of cognitive skills to new tasks.

4. Emotional and Mental Well-being

Frequent writers are better equipped in dealing with adversity. Up to 72% are driven to reassess their problems and are able to constructively see the positive while creating a strong sense of meaning during tough times. Writing is an excellent means of creating insight, and it is this insight that fosters change. The ability to take a step back from situations and observe them with a clear vision is a much sought-after tool in a world where high stress and emotional turmoil is commonplace. This observation can be seen in a study where victims of a layoff were asked to write about the experience. The layoff writers not only had heightened moods compared to non-writers but also had lesser physical symptoms and fewer days unemployed.

Depression affects lives everywhere and is a toxic presence in a person’s life. It hinders the peak of their happiness and success and can lead to a person feeling empty and even suicidal. Dr. James W. Pennebaker, distinguished professor and chair of the psychology department at the University of Texas at Austin, has spent the last 15 years studying the benefits of expressive writing and its effects on depression. His extensive research has shown that through routine expressive writing (15-30 minutes, 3-5 days), people have seen significant changes in their mood and an increased general sense of well-being. Many exhibit changes after merely a few sessions of writing. Dr. Pennebaker downright claims that “writing about distress can be more helpful than talking about it.”

Should you ever be distressed or anxiety-ridden to know that merely by writing your thoughts and feelings, you are able to diminish your emotional stress anywhere from 50% to 85%. Brightening the mood of your writing clearly has positive effects. However, analyzing and getting to the root of the problem can assist you in understanding why you feel the way you do. Once understanding is reached, people are better equipped to solve their issue, possibly destroying the problem and preventing it from recurring.

5. Personal Growth and Self-Reflection

As you begin to write more, you will also see that your self-awareness increases. Many times, when you put your ideas on paper, you have the tendency to solve problems that have been bothering you, whether it’s a personal dilemma or an issue in the community. You can sometimes discover that the solution to your problem was something simple or something you had known all along. This is an important concept in regards to the psychological benefits of writing. When you write about what troubles you, the act of writing enables you to map out the problem and the possible solutions. With this, it brings it to your attention in a concrete and objective manner. This will not only expedite the problem-solving process, but it will also make the solution more apparent, which will lead to a resolution. An example of this would be in a student that was having trouble with a complex math problem. If he were to write out the problem and his attempts at solving it, he could take the paper to a teacher or a classmate and identify exactly where he went wrong. Lahage, a doctor in clinical psychology, found that his patients were able to better understand and cope with their problems when he told them to write about it. This is because the act of writing sets the stage for the re-evaluation of their thoughts. They are able to identify what’s causing them pain and restructure how they view it, thus making the event less threatening. With time, this writing will help patients think clearly, act judiciously, and better understand themselves and their situations. Writing also involves a great deal of reflection on the writer’s part. Often times, writers muse, taking pauses to think about what they’ll say next. This reflection and idea-generation is a natural way to work out problems and find resolutions. With all the problem-solving, reflection, and idea-generation, it is no surprise that writing has a positive effect on a person’s mental health. Twigg argues that using problem-solving techniques can give those suffering from depression a sense that they are regaining mastery over their lives. Writing is essentially a problem-solving activity, and its effectiveness can greatly change a person’s outlook on their life. An experimental study done by Krpan et al. showed that writing really can improve one’s state of mind. The study showed that a group of participants who wrote about a traumatic event every day for 4 days reported significantly less psychological depression and physical illness than a group that did not write about the event. With all the problem-solving, reflection, and idea-generation, it is no surprise that writing has a positive effect on a person’s mental health, an important aspect of individual growth.