Since reading and writing are two interconnected skills that everyone needs, they must constantly be worked on. Of course, you can just do things to help your reading, or just do things to help your writing, but why not shorten some time and make efforts to do something that helps both of these skills at the same time?
Here we will give you some tips to do just that. Make notes and remember them in order to receive maximum value!
1. Read
If you think reading only helps to develop reading skills, you are wrong. Reading not only helps you with the obvious skill of reading itself but also with the skill of writing. It is widely acknowledged that reading many and various types of text also helps improve your writing because it exposes you to different styles, correct grammar, and text organization. And, of course, reading constantly will improve your fluency and reading comprehension. Plus, it’s fun! There are so many books to explore different subjects.
2. Brainstorm
Brainstorming is the first stage of writing. It’s also a form of a “think-aloud”, which is a tool used to think about what you are reading while you are reading the particular text. You can use brainstorming in many different ways, and for many different reasons. Here we mean using brainstorming in terms of writing a paper or a story. There shouldn’t be any structure of your thoughts, but it is a necessary step that will increase your writing ability.
You can use brainstorming while reading to increase your comprehension. Think about what you are reading about at the particular moment. Question things, for example- “why did that happen?” “I think ___ will happen next”, etc. You can also write notes in the margins to read actively.
3. Write, Read, Write, Repeat
Write something. Read it. Rewrite. Repeat. This exercise will help you improve both reading and writing because it encompasses both and because they will build upon each other. Doing one will lead to the other, from which you can learn how to improve the first step. It’s a win-win!
4. Fully Understand the Language
Whether your target language is English, German, or Japanese, the best way to improve and train writing and reading together is by studying the language itself. It doesn’t matter if you are a native speaker or an ESL student. You will learn things and how they work that you never knew before. It will help you make sense of reading as well as become a better writer.
It can be hard to find activities that greatly train reading and writing together, but when you do (like the ones above) they will help you a lot. To be quite honest though, if you just practice reading or just practice writing it will still help you improve the other skill indirectly. The research shows that since these two skills are so connected, doing one will help the other for sure.