How to Become a Smarter Writer by Solving Word Puzzles

In annual surveys conducted between 2000 and 2020 by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, communication skills – clear writing and speaking – have been at or near the top of the list of “the skills that employers prize most.”

Strong writing skills consistently ranked above analytical skills, technical skills, computer skills, and creativity. But employers also complained “over and over … [about] the lack of writing skills among college graduates.” https://www.naceweb.org/about-us/press/2017/the-key-attributes-employers-seek-on-students-resumes/

Nowhere is this problem felt more acutely than in the nonprofit world, where the kind of long-winded, jargon-laden writing that may have earned an “A” in college or graduate school will put most potential funders and donors to sleep.

In the Write Smart program, the focus is on applying the “plain English” techniques that skilled professional writers and editors in the American publishing industry rely on to communicate clearly and persuasively with their readers. Instead of sitting through a tedious PowerPoint slideshow, participants in the free 90-minute online class will learn how to treat sentences as word puzzles — and how to solve writing problems by putting the pieces together.