Improving Writing Skills through Project Based Learning

Improving Writing Skills through Project Based LearningImproving Writing Skills through Project Based Learning

Improving Writing Skills through Project Based Learning

Project-Based Learning or PBL is quite simply a method of teaching in which a student learns to actively participate and engage in personally meaningful, real-world projects. This technique is used to develop skills that are vital to a student’s success not just in school and the workplace, but also in life. 

The thing is, project-based learning can be pretty challenging. Many of us have fallen in love with the stories and research that come with PBL but oftentimes, we fail to effectively implement it in our lives. This is especially true if you’re interested in developing your writing skills. 

Writing is one of the most important skills anyone can have. Any form of writing, be it writing fiction, blogging, or even writing my discussion board post

, has helped me improve my ability to write. But how exactly do these fit into project-based learning? How do you get one to write for school, or for business? Let’s jump into the foundations of PBL and how learning and thinking of project ideas can help improve your writing skills. 

What Makes Project-Based Learning Effective?

The principle behind PBL runs along the same vein as the

Principle of Directness by Ultralearning author, Scott Young. Basically, this principle suggests that one must try to learn in a situation that reflects the ultimate use case of a skill.

Simply put, we must do the thing in order to learn the thing. Time and again, various studies have proven that we humans are pretty bad at transferring what we learn from personal experiences. For example, if you want to learn a language, then you must speak it. The same goes for writing. If you want to improve, then you must write, write, and write some more. 

It’s important to know what makes writing relevant to our lives. Therefore, your top priority is to tie every lesson or project back into how it could help you later. With this in mind, you’re all set to get started!

Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills Through Project-Based Learning

A lot of projects involve writing in some way, shape, or form. For example, you could write a reflection about how a project went and what you learned from it. Oftentimes you’ll find that you’re required to write a report as the final output for a project, like researching the effects of a certain medicine on the human body. You could even write a journal or document the progress of your project. 

But if you’re looking to focus on writing-based projects, here are a few things you can do to polish up your writing skills:

1. Choose a product or service you love and create an advertisement for it. 

Effective writing allows you to persuade other people of an idea. Pick your favorite product or service (an iPad, your favorite novel, your favorite salon or spa, etc.) and pretend you’re tasked to promote and create an ad for it. It could be anything, like a flyer, brochure, a commercial, or any other medium you can think of. 

Do your research on the product or service, and study up on ads, like how they work and what the elements of good ads are. You can even study previous and existing ads as references or models to your own creative thinking process, as well as your personal experiences using said product or service. From there, you can set out to writing your own ad.

2. Write a comprehensive review and analysis on a movie or book.

If you love writing stories, you can also try reviewing and analyzing your favorite movie or novel. Take an in-depth look into the structure of its plot, determine its purpose, and look for the deep meaning. Remember that a good movie or book is never superficial. There will always be elements that are significant for the deeper understanding of a story. 

At the same time, make arguments on which components make the story good or bad. The goal of this writing project is to identify if you can make a good argument for your position on the story you’re analyzing. 

3. Analyze a news article.

This writing project is almost the same as the previous one, but you need to create a good argument from it. After all, a good journalist makes good arguments. 

Pick a newspaper or an online article, analyze it, and determine if the journalist has written a convincing argument. And then, see if you can challenge their argument. Some points of analysis include:

  • Checking the journalist’s sources
  • Determining if the logic between their claims support the evidence being presented
  • The overall clarity of their argument

4. Create an essay on a topic you’re passionate about.

If you’re not into movies or novels, you can consider writing an argumentative essay on a topic you’re interested in. A strong essay makes a reader question their stand on relevant issues and could even change their minds. Of course, this is only possible if your essay is backed with solid evidence, coherent and well-researched arguments, and clear explanations. 

To that end, you need to pick a topic that’s rich enough to provide arguments for two opposing sides, or more. It can be something as simple as “pineapple on pizza is better than one without” or something more thought-provoking like “how well COVID-19 vaccines work against the Delta variant”. 

Improving your writing skills through project-based learning requires problem-solving and critical-thinking, as well as applying different forms of communication. In order to write a compelling piece, you need to be able to provide an answer to a driving question and do much more than presenting information. It’s not an easy thing to pull off but the more you practice, the quicker you can improve your writing skills.

Bhanu Garg: