How to be a Good and Effective Writer? Tips for Writing and Speaking better

What are the Qualities of a Good Writer? What are the principles of persuasive writing? What makes an accomplished freelance writer? How to write better articles that people would appreciate and love to read?

Nobody becomes a brilliant writer overnight. Good writing is a science as well as an art. It takes time, perseverance and practice to develop the skills and techniques of a good writer. Everyone who writes on the internet or elsewhere aspires to be a better and successful writer that people would love to read. Whether you are writing a Guest Post for a Blog, an article for a magazine, a hub or composing a press release, your main goal is to influence the readers. Good Writing is much more than correct writing. It does not just imply writing with no errors of grammar, punctuation or spelling. It is the writing that influences the readers. With a lot of people turning into Bloggers and eBook publishers, it is extremely vital for one to stand out in the crowd by being a better writer. How to accomplish that? If you look at the writing style of recognized writers, you would see that they use three techniques of persuasion. The Greek philosopher Aristotle has summed up Rhetoric (the art of speaking or writing effectively) using three words-Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

The idea of writing this hub came to me after I received a mail from a student of East Carolina University who wanted my permission to use the information on one of my hubs to write an English paper on Rhetorical strategies. She complimented me on my usage of ethos, pathos and logos. I should say that I was flattered as I consciously did not try to use it on any of my writings. However, I realized that using these persuasive skills can make my writing more attractive and appealing to readers. So, Thanks a lot Ann Kram.

There are many ways to appeal to readers. Among them are the usage of ethos, pathos and logos. This secret to being a persuasive speaker given by Aristotle over 2300 years ago can be applied by authors also to influence readers.

What is Ethos? Ethos is a Greek word which stands for Credibility or Authority. If you want your audience/readers to listen to you, it is extremely vital to establish your trustworthiness or character in front of them. It is easy to establish credibility when you write on things you are an expert on than when you write on topics you are not knowledgeable about. We tend to believe people whom we respect. If a trusted Doctor gives you advice regarding a medical condition, would you not follow his instructions even though you don’t know much about the subject? It’s the same with writers too. When you are an expert in the niche you are writing it is quite easy to convince your readers that you are an authority on what you are talking about and that you are worth listening to. Ethos can be developed by:

• Choosing the correct language and topic to connect with the readers
• By being fair and unbiased in your writing
• Correct usage of grammar
• Appropriate level of vocabulary

What is Pathos? Pathos stands for emotional appeal. If your writing appeals to the emotions of your readers and make them feel exactly as you feel, then you are using pathos in your writing. Effective usage of pathos can not only help to evoke an emotional response from the readers like sympathy, anger, love, guilt, fear, patriotism etc but also can compel them to take the next step. Pathos can be developed by:

• Using a meaningful language
• Using an emotional tone
• Using emotional examples of stories or events
• Vivid descriptions

What is Logos? Logos refer to logical argument. It is an attempt to appeal to the intellect of the reader. When you use logic or reason to persuade your readers that you are right, then you are using logos. The author should give a persuasive reason to back up his/her claims by citing facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies and quoting on authorities on the subject etc. Logos can be developed by:

• Theoretical, abstract language
• Literal and historical analogies
• Usage of definitions
• Using Quotations of experts
• Usage of facts, statistics and evidence

So, which is most prominent in Ethos, Pathos and Logos? Personally, I use pathos the most as it helps me to connect with the audience. However, as per Aristotle all the 3 pillars of public speaking or argumentative writing are equally valuable and can be used together. I hope you found this article and videos below helpful. Do you have any suggestions? Please feel free to add them through comments.