Five Qualities of Good Writing — Hunter College (2024)

FAQs

Five Qualities of Good Writing — Hunter College? ›

The following is a brief description of five qualities of good writing: focus, development, unity, coherence, and correctness. The qualities described here are especially important for academic and expository writing.

Ideas in the paragraph are made emphatic through (1) position in the paragraph, (2) proportion in discussion, (3) the use of parallel grammatical structures, (4) the repetition of key ideas, and (5) the arrangement of ideas in a climate order.

Academic writing is to some extent: complex, formal, objective, explicit, hedged, and responsible. It uses language precisely and accurately. It is also well organised and planned.

To sum up, the essentials of a good paragraph are (1) unity, (2) a good key-sentence, (3) coherence for logical arrangement of sentences), (4) variety, (5) a full and rounded final sentence in conclusion.

The five-paragraph essay consists of one introduction paragraph (with the thesis at its end), three body paragraphs (each beginning with one of three main points) and one last paragraph—the conclusion. 1-3-1. Once you have this outline, you have the basic template for most academic writing.

This research reveals that all “good” writing has six key ingredients—ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.

Effective writing is clear, complete, concise, and correct. Good writing is clear. You need to express your thoughts in a way in which a reader will understand what you are trying to say, the point. Clear writing is specific.

Children working at level 5 show their ability to select words, sentences and styles for different types of writing. They use a mix of sentence types and vocabulary, including imaginative structures, and using a full range of punctuation.

What are the 5 C's of academic writing? ›

To introduce you to this world of academic writing, in this chapter I suggest that you should focus on five hierarchical characteristics of good writing, or the “5 Cs” of good academic writing, which include Clarity, Cogency, Conventionality, Completeness, and Concision.

These are Audience, Purpose, Organization, Style, Flow and Presentation.

Well-structured paragraphs and clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line of thinking without difficulty. Your language should be concise, formal, and express precisely what you want it to mean.

But no writer can keep every single ingredient in mind all at once. Instead, it's easier to consider three key qualities: structure, ideas, and correctness. All writing—from paragraphs to essays to reports, stories, and so on—should exhibit these qualities.

A combination of creativity, hard work, and good research skills can contribute to a writer's success. However, every type of writer has their own unique skill set. Organized writing requires more academic language use, for instance, while creative writing emphasizes imagination and active skills.

Typically, you want to keep one idea to one paragraph. Elements of a Paragraph A paragraph is made up of a topic sentence, the developing details, and a concluding sentence.

The five-paragraph essay has a rigid structure that simplifies the writing process: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The length is just right: not too short, not too long. The style is flexible, spanning narrative, expository, and persuasive communication.

An effective paragraph will have a single, clear focus. This focus should first be outlined in the topic sentence, and then explored in depth through the supplementary sentences. Often, the focus of the paragraph will be a direct response to the assignment question.