Writing clarifies thinking
Writing improves and clarifies thinking because it requires mentally processing ideas and honing the choice of words that communicate them. The process of writing and rewriting a topic can both clarify one’s understanding of the topic and improve one’s ability to express it clearly.
Keep thinking and writing and rewriting. If you force yourself to think clearly you will write clearly. It’s as simple as that. The hard part isn’t the writing; the hard part is the thinking.
…the two sentences in [Professor VanOrden’s] article that I liked most were these:
“I believe that writing is an effective means of improving thinking skills because a person must mentally process ideas in order to write an explanation. Writing also improves self-esteem because mentally processed ideas then belong to the writer and not just to the teacher or the textbook author.”[1]
See also:
- Elastic Thinking is parallel and integrative
- Analogical thinking uses a known example to explain something new
- Design Thinking is innovating routinely
- Lateral thinking is range in action