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Here are a few reasons why everyone must learn to write. Firstly, writing helps us explore our own thoughts and feelings. Writing forces us to articulate our ideas, to discover what we really think about an issue. For example, let us suppose you are faced with a difficult decision and the pros and cons, the action you are going to take are jumbled in your mind. You begin to write down all the pertinent facts and feelings, and suddenly, you begin to see that you have stronger arguments for one side of the question than the other. Once you "see" what you are thinking, you may then scrutinize your opinions for any logical flaws or weaknesses and revise your argument accordingly. Moreover, writing can provide a record of our thoughts that we would be able to study and evaluate in a way that conversation cannot. In short, writing enables us to know OURSELVES-OUR FEELINGS, IDEAS AND OPINIONS BETTER.
| 1) Know our own feelings, ideas and opinions better
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| 2) Communicate effectively with others
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| 3) Recognize and reject the irresponsible, cloudy or dishonest language of others before we become victims of their exploitation
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On a more practical level, we need to write effectively to communicate with others. While some of our writing may be done solely for ourselves, the majority of it is created for others to share. We are constantly asked to put our feelings, ideas, and knowledge in writing for others to read. In school and college you have to write essays, tests, reports and exercises. Later, you may need to write formal letters of application for jobs, training programmes etc. And, on the job you may have to write numerous kinds of reports, proposals, analyses and requisitions. To be successful in any field, you must make your correspondence with business associates and co-workers clearly understandable. Writing enables us to communicate effectively with others.
There is still a third - more cynical reason for learning to write well. Through today's mass media, we are continually bombarded with words from politicians, advertisers, scientists, preachers and teachers. We need to understand and evaluate what we are hearing, not only for our benefit but also for self-protection. Language is frequently manipulated to manipulate us. By becoming writers ourselves, we can learn to recognize and reject the irresponsible, cloudy, or dishonest language of others before we become victims of their exploitation.
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