The Oswegonian

The Independent Student Newspaper of Oswego State

DATE

Nov. 22, 2024

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Opinion

Staff Editorial

When you type in “writing” to indeed.com, 292,684 results will show that have the skill “writing” in the job description, all ranging from engineering to business communications. Whatever your major, writing is a key component.

According to Merriam-Webster, writing is defined as “the act or art of forming visible letters or characters.”

Whether it is writing a scientific paper, a memoir or a business agenda, the ability to communicate through words is the key to success in a world that depends on understandable information.

It may not be the flowery or “pretty” writing people have grown up with in their elementary school creative writing notebook, but writing is writing. It is about getting your ideas out there and being able to make change through written communication.

Whether it is writing an email or a thank you letter to your future employer, it is important to know the basics of grammar and the most effectient way to articulate your thoughts and goals.

When other majors look at those who write for a living they can be taken back by how simple it can come to them; how fast they can write a five page paper on a two hour deadline. However, STEM majors and many other majors who do not often write should not be discouraged by what they think is a lack of knowledge in writing because you can learn. Everyone can learn to write and it could make or break whether you get a job or maybe even keep a job.

Nowadays, a lot of jobs look for potential employees who can write and write well. With technology popularizing abbreviations, people are getting into the habit of writing with grammatical errors and using “text speech” as a norm. However, learning to properly write could be the difference of getting ahead in your job or not. Whatever your major, writing is a key component.

According to a report compiled by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and partner organization, 26.2 percent of college students exhibit knowledge and skills in writing that qualify as deficient. Employers feel that 28 percent of recent graduates were not good at witing and labeled their written communication skills as deficient.

It is not about writing the next Moby Dick or The Great Gatsby, it is about being able to articulate through written dialogue the most important information to someone. You do not need a degree in English to be able to show your future boss that you can convey to others what you are trying to say, you just need to start writing in general.

In the office, none of us were born with pens in our hands, but through hard work we’ve learned overtime to improve on certain writing techniques.

It is important for studens to harness these techniques when you are still in school and take advantage of the resources at hand.

Stop addreviating your words or using emoijis to define your emotions and learn the essentials too the written word.