ELEMENTS

OF
EFFECTIVE
WRITING
INTRODUCTION
Writing is an essential skill a student must
learn if he is to participate meaningfully and
successfully in the modern world.

Effective writing is the foundation of creating

compelling content. When all elements of
effective writing are put together, one can
clearly communicate ideas.
ELEMENTS OF
EFFECTIVE WRITING
1. Unity
2. Coherence
3. Emphasis
4. Methods of Paragraph Development
UNITY

Unity means oneness of ideas. In other

words, unity in writing is the connection of all
ideas to a single topic.
How to Achieve Unity

1. Keep paragraph focused on one topic.

2. Include the thesis statement in the
introductory paragraph.
3. Make use of the effective writing
transition words
4. Follow a predictable paragraph structure:
topic sentence – major details – minor
details.
Writing with unity requires mental discipline.
Active minds are easily distracted. It’s a
common thing to begin a journey with a
clear destination, only to get sidetracked and
find yourself lost and needing to find your
way back to the original path. Don’t let this
happen as you write. Keep focused and let
every sentence serve your overall purpose.
COHERENCE

Cohesion means the connection of ideas at

the idea level and at sentence level.

The cohesion in writing focuses on the

“grammatical” aspects of writing.
How to Achieve Coherence

1. Use a concept map.

1. Make an outline of your paper
2. Write down main idea of each paragraph
3. Check if the topic sentences are connected
to the thesis statement.
EMPHASIS

Emphasis is the repetition of keywords and

phrases or the careful arrangement of words
to give them special weight and prominence.
How to Show Emphasis in
Writing

1. Text Styles
A writer can vary the look of the text in ways
like in bold, italics, underline, and all caps.
2. Use of exclamation point.
Use exclamation point one at a time. Avoid
using it in the entire academic writing.
3. Use of Quotation Marks
Quotation marks can indicate different types
of emphasis. It could be sarcastic or flip (in
nonacademic writing); and for figurative
meaning
4. Use of em dash and colon
An em dash is a dash that is the length of
three hypens which is used to draw
attention to a word, phrase or entire clause.
METHODS OF PARAGRAPH
DEVELOPMENT

1. Definition – explains the meaning of an

idea or a concept
2. Classification – breaks down information
into smaller parts to simplify concepts
3. Description of Process – describes
series of connected actions in
chronological manner
4. Comparison and Contrast – shows the
similarities and differences in ideas
5. Cause and Effect – expands the idea by
establishing and explaining what happened
as a result of something.
6. Narration – expands the concept of an
idea by arranging the details in order