ATTRIBUTES OF GOOD WRITING

Before delving into the topic, it has to be broken down into parts. They are:

1. What is Attribute?
2. What is Good Writing?
Here, attribute means quality or characteristic that someone or something has. That is, the characteristic features ascribed to something or someone which brings about uniqueness, appraisal, acceptance and appreciation. Attributes make a piece of writing good,  unique,  and standard. It entails all that is needed to enhance understanding and helps readers to accept and make them read a piece of work. Attributes are the important things that make a work different from others.
Now, the big question is: "what is good writing?" This is not an easy question to answer. Good writing is considered as any writing that is of good standard and meets the demands of the prospective reader. Many  different kinds of writing are considered "good" and for many different reasons. There is no formula or program for writing well. However, there are certain qualities that most examples of good writing share. The following are a brief description of the qualities of good writing:
 focus:
 development:
 unity:
 Coherence and correctness:

 The qualities described here are especially important for academic and expository writing. This is not denying the fact that they are very important to every writing as well.

However, we most all consider others such as simplicity, courtesy, completeness and creativity, which is seen as the most important of them all. You will agree with me that creativity is the first step to every writing and any writing that lacks this can not be considered as a good writing. Creativity is the ability of one to make something good out of nothing; the use of imagination or original ideas to create something, inventiveness.

Qualities of a Good Writing
~Focus: A good writing should have a single clear central idea. Each paragraph should have a clear main point or topic sentence. In good writing, everything makes sense and readers don’t get lost or have to reread passages to figure out what is going on. Focused writing sticks with the plot or core idea without running off on too many tangents.
~Development: Each paragraph should support or expand the central idea of the paper. The idea of each paragraph should be explained and illustrated through examples, details, and descriptions. It must be well organized. A well organized piece of writing is not only clear, it is presented in a way that is logical and aesthetically pleasing. You can tell non-linear stories or place your thesis at the end of an essay and get away with it as long as your scenes or ideas are well ordered.
~Unity: Every paragraph in an essay should be related to the main idea. Each paragraph should stick to its main point without being disjoint, it must be anchored on the main idea.
~Coherence: An essay or paper should be organized logically, flow smoothly, and "stick" together. In other words, everything in the writing should make sense to a reader.
~Correctness:  A paper should be written in generally correct standard English, with complete sentences, and be relatively error-free.
~Simplicity: This means that a piece of writing should be simple. The author must consider the audience that he is writing for and this will help the reader to comprehend what he reads.
~Courtesy: This is achieved through choice of words the writer uses. This can be harsh and polite. However, the mood of the writer determines his choice. Courtesy and simplicity will determine the amount of people that will read your piece of work. Many people like reading Achebe's books than Wole's books just because of the choice of words each employed.
~Completeness: In its simplest form, this means that for one to achieve good writing, they must present the idea being written about in full. So as not to make the reader think differently or have different thoughts that are not in line with the writer's all because he failed to present his idea fully.
In conclusion, to achieve a good writing, one must also have a style of their own. This will make one work differently from others.

Date: 19th September, 2018
Writing Lesson Taught by Benedict Mayor