Tuesday, 18 August 2015

The importance of writing in English

English is one of the most used language around the world. In the business world, English has become a global language and it is widely used to communicate between people of different nationalities. Similarly in Singapore, English is taught in school as our first language and this shows how important English is to us in a multi-racial country.

Even though speaking is the most common tool in communication, I think having a good writing skills in English is as important as well. Nowadays emails are not only used in long distance communication but are also used in making enquiries and scheduling meetings in the business world etc. To get your message delivered clearly, a good English writing skill is needed from the sender to avoid any misunderstanding from both parties. Furthermore, in the corporate world writing good papers and reports are also important in persuading business investors in investing in your product or company. These require good English writing skills too.

Personally, being an Information Systems student in School of Computing, we will be inculcated with Information Technology knowledge to develop solutions for business problems. I think it is important to improve my current English writing skills, so that it can prep me better when I am in the workforce. I will inevitably be required to write emails, business proposals etc. in future. From this module, I hope to learn strong fundamentals skills of English writing that will put me an advantage when I start working as compared to my colleagues.


I understand that this module is tedious and requires plenty of essay writings, but I believe with the dedication and understanding the importance of English writing, I will be able to write better at the end of the semester. 

5 comments:

  1. Indeed, having good writing skills is very important. As a main medium of communication, it is what people used to form their first impression.

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  2. Hi Sebestian. I can sense your determination to dig in and get the most out of this course. So, let's get started giving you that competitive advantage!

    1. "English is one of the most used language around the world."
    There are many languages around the world, and English is only one of them. Therefore, the word "language" needs to be plural: "English is one of the most used languageS around the world."

    Similarly, "one of the boyS...", "one of the most well-known tourist destinationS".

    2. "...it is widely used to communicate between people of different nationalities."
    It's odd to say "to communicate between people...". We usually say "as a form of communication between people..." or "to communicate with people..."

    "Communicate with" is a phrasal verb; meaning a verb + preposition combination. Here's a link to find out more about phrasal verbs: http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/verb_preposition.html

    3. "...having a good writing skills in English..."
    "...a good English writing skill is needed..."

    "English writing skills" is usually used in the plural, without "a". So, the above sentences should be:
    "...having good writing skills in English..."
    "...good English writing skills ARE needed..."

    4. "...persuading business investors in investing in your product or company."
    "Persuade someone TO do something" - this is the correct structure. Here's another phrasal verb problem. "Persuade" is a verb. "to" and "in" are prepositions.

    So, the above sentence can be rewritten as: "...persuading business investors to investing in your product or company."

    Here's a link for some preposition practice: http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/prepositions.html

    Hope this helps :)

    Anita

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  5. Hi Sebestian, i agree with you totally on that a good command of English writing skill is utterly important in IS career. It is important to be able to document client requirements and specifications accurately in good English before these documents can be translated into uml and actual programs.It is also important to be able to communicate IS solutions to non-technical business clients in an accurate and easy to understand manner. I found that one particular useful skill is the ability to summarise contents into one short, concise and accurate paragraph. Over the years i have found out that many misunderstandings and disasters occurred not because of inadequate communicate (via reports, emails exchanges), but because clients does not read our documents carefully and thoroughly especially when the document is long, and they blame it on us almost every single time for not making things clear. I found that the occurrence of this situation can be largely attributed to the fact that many clients do not have the patience and time to read through long paragraphs, not because they were not taking things seriously. We can drastically improve this situation by writing a nice , concise and accurate short summary in good English for them in the very beginning of every document or email.

    Hope it helps :)

    Kenan

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