types of writing

Last updated Oct 9, 2023

• Writing

There are five types of writing:

1. Writing to think
   1. The very act of writing clarifies thought.
   2. Slowing down to put words down forces us to think
2. Writing to feel
   1. Journalling falls into this category
   2. The idea here is to not worry about grammar or writing style.
   3. It is a dump of feelings from brain to paper
3. Writing to connect
   1. This is when we write articles, reports, or tweets.
   2. Our goal is to connect with other people and convince them of our point of view
4. Writing to learn
   1. This is different from writing to think.
   2. The point here is to cement our understanding more than merely clarifying our thought.
   3. Learning can only happen through the very act of writing
   4. You are trying to use fewest words to extract the gist of whats in your mind
5. Writing to read
   1. This is when you write short notes about when you are reading
   2. Intent is to actively engage with the content you are reading
   3. You probably won’t even write down complete sentences

• Julie Zhuo’s article
• The importance of writing for learning, understanding, thinking and retention
• ways to improve learning, retention and understanding while reading
• Richard Feynman and writing
• Hemingway and rewriting drafts