What writing skills do you wish you had learned sooner for documentation, blogging, official correspondence, etc?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 May 2016 17:06:46 -0400

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 24 at 2016 5:09 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 May 2016 17:09:05 -0400

AR 25-50

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made May 24 at 2016 5:18 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Tue, 24 May 2016 17:18:02 -0400

I was told my military essay writing skills needed improvement. I did not sweat it, there are other things to do as an Officer.

Response by MSG Pat Colby made May 24 at 2016 5:23 PM

MSG Pat Colby — Tue, 24 May 2016 17:23:28 -0400

fun ncoer ghItlh neH bImon 'e' je nach mess tlhIngan.

(H/T to Star Trek)

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 24 at 2016 8:40 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 May 2016 20:40:01 -0400

I wont't lie, I hate writing, I hate it with a passion. It seems like that thoughts that I have in my head, never hit the paper the same way. I wrote my first memo and I swear it took me forever and it still was sent back for corrections. And reading Ar 25-20 is like reading a transmission rebuild manual. Thank goodness, I have a pretty cool NCO to give me a hand.

Response by PO3 Sherry Thornburg made May 24 at 2016 10:17 PM

PO3 Sherry Thornburg — Tue, 24 May 2016 22:17:37 -0400

Old school education concentrated on diagramming sentences and correct spelling to teach writing. I wish I had picked up punctuation faster and composition skills beyond the 5 paragraph essay. I wish correct spelling was easier to learn without all the contradictions.

I went back to college to study Professional Writing, and guess what? Spelling rules haven't changed, but google and dictionaries are encouraged instead of memorization. And, my course in grammar to re-learn punctuation and sentence structure was all about diagramming sentences. LOL

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made May 25 at 2016 10:05 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 25 May 2016 10:05:33 -0400

Punctuation, punctuation, punctuation! This was the greatest skill I could even have asked for. Not necessarily for official documentation, but for pretty much everything else. The Oxford comma vs. the traditional comma usage made a huge difference (I wont lie, I REALLY like the Oxford coma) in the way I write and my descriptive style.