Background
This toolkit provides many useful tips and tools to use in your writing. The aim is to help civil society organisations build their capacity and communication skills. It offers valuable tips and tools for both inexperienced and experienced writers. Anyone who is interested in strengthening the effectiveness and power of their writing should find this site useful. Our focus is on writing in and for civil society organisations so that people working for such organisations will hopefully benefit, and their organisational work will be strengthened through using the tools on offer. Its intention is to take you on a writing process journey from originating ideas through writing drafts and finally to editing your document.
What’s in the tool
The toolkit has the following content:
Know why you are writing
This part invites you to ask some basic questions about your writing task before you start. It encourages you to think about your reasons for writing, and what you are going to produce.
How to get started
People often stare at a blank page or screen for ages before they start writing. There can be a feeling that you have to write it “properly” straightaway. But this is a very sterile way of starting. This section offers tools for getting started that tap into and unlock your creativity and powerful ideas. We look at the value of thinking, talking and reading before writing. And at journal writing, freewriting, and mindmaps. We offer you some thoughts and tips on writing.
Researching your topic
It is important to be well informed about your topic, and to gather information for what you are doing. This section offers you some thoughts on gathering information, using people as a resource, using the Internet, checking facts, and acknowledgements and copyright.
Your audience
The people who will read what you have written (or listen to your presentation or speech) are probably the most important part of your pre-writing thinking. If you do not tune into them your message may miss its mark. We offer you some questions to think about to do with your audience, and then an audience analysis tool to use.
The writing process
We often write something without thinking about all the elements that make up the task. Being aware of the writing process keeps you on track, and goes together with a schedule to follow. We offer you a planning tool. In this section we also look at introductions and conclusions. Dealing with blocks It is common to panic and feel unable to write. There are some techniques that can help you overcome these hurdles.
Downloads
Download in English