ABSTRACT
Whether a person is writing a news story, novel, letter to the editor, or advertising copy, the principles of good writing are the same. Various media place different burdens and responsibilities on writers, but the reason behind writing is always to communicate ideas in your head to an audience through (mostly) words. Bad writing obfuscates and confuses, and it promotes misunderstanding and perhaps even apathy. This chapter provides a foundation for good and better writing, including sections on writing’s history, grammar, and orthography (spelling and punctuation). The chapter aims to help students identify weaknesses in their writing, then to offer help and resources to improve in those weak areas.
