Top 3 Reasons to Pick an Online Training Program in Effective Writing

Ed Good
Jul 21, 2025
6 min read

In a world where communication defines credibility, the ability to write clearly, persuasively, and memorably has become a go-to skill. Online courses in writing have exploded across the internet, promising everything from "word magic" to "instant impact." But not all writing programs are created equal. In fact, many fall short of teaching the core principles that transform everyday writers into confident communicators.

So how do you spot a program that delivers real value? That teaches you not just to edit, but to understand what makes writing work? That improves your writing by design—not by accident?

You look for three key ingredients:

1. Grammatical Analysis

2. Examples from Great Writing

3. Credible Use of Expert Opinion

Let’s explore why these matter—and how the best programs put them to work.

1. Grammatical Analysis: The Hidden Engine of Clarity

Why It Matters

Most online writing courses rely on side-by-side examples. They show you a clunky sentence. Then they show you a better one. The instructor beams:

"See the difference?"

Yes, of course you do. But do you know why the revision works?

Therein lies the rub.

Without understanding the underlying grammatical structure, you learn nothing but mimicry. You haven’t learned a skill—you've memorized a before-and-after picture.

What Effective Courses Do

A serious course explains how the revision works. It decodes the sentence, highlights the problem, and rewrites it using grammatical tools. Let’s walk through an example drawn from an actual course:

Amendment of our request is one of our possible courses of action, but if we make a change in our position as of this late date, we might find the HR Department hesitant to place reliance on our arguments.

There. You just read 39 words of corporate sludge, dirtied up with nouns and gooey prepositional phrases. Now watch what happens when grammar leads the edit:

We could amend our request, but if we change our position now, the HR Department might hesitate to rely on our arguments.

How did the revision happen? Watch the grammar at work:

Nominalizations ("amendment" and “reliance”) changed to verbs ("amend" and “rely”).
A derivative adjective ("hesitant") gave way to a verb ("hesitate").
A wordy prepositional phrase (“possible courses of action”) hit the editor’s trash bin, replaced by the auxiliary verb “could”).
Verb-based prose took the lead.

The result? A 22-word sentence with sharper meaning, better rhythm, and no loss of content. Write a 39-page paper with noun-based prose and reduce it to a 22-pags with verb-based prose.

Write with verbs.

Save a tree.

Great writing involves far more than just using fewer words. It requires using the right words in the right form. And that skill depends on understanding some basic grammatical principles.

What to Look For

When evaluating a course, ask:

Does it explain the edits it makes?
Does it teach sentence diagnosis through grammatical reasoning?
Does it cover concepts like passive voice, nominalization, and clause reduction?

If not, you’ve bought style. But no substance.

2. Examples from Great Writing: Learn from the Masters

Why It Matters

Some courses offer tips, tricks, and templates. Others go deeper—teaching not just what to write, but how to recognize excellence in writing.

To do that, a course must draw from sources that show writing at its finest: not instructor anecdotes or student samples, but passages from the real masters of the craft.

What Effective Courses Do

They illustrate writing techniques using excerpts from:

Ernest Hemingway, who turned simplicity into power.
Geraldine Brooks, who blends journalism with lyricism.
Joyce Carol Oates, whose sentence control spans emotion, suspense, and depth.
Great songwriters, like Paul Simon or even The Eagles, who compress stories and feeling into a few, unforgettable lines.

Consider this example from the master, Ernest Hemingway. In the very first sentence of For Whom the Bell Tolls, we find:

He lay flat on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the pine trees.

In this single sentence, we find a structure that effective courses should teach—the noun absolute. See the noun “chin”? See the prepositional phrase “on his folded arms”? That combination produces a noun absolute, a power structure all great writers use in their prose.

One course draws on a Geraldine Brooks passage to show how participial phrases (-ing verb phrases) enhance flow and vary rhythm.

Look at her sentence, with an -ing phrase starting the sentence and another ending the same sentence:

Working in his un-air-conditioned apartment, Theo would sometimes spend the whole day in his underwear, forgetting all about his clothing until confronted by the quizzical gaze of the FedEx guy.

Notice the -ing phrase starting the sentence: “Working in his un-air-conditioned apartment ….” Then notice the grammatical subject of the sentence—the dude doing the working, that is, “Theo.” And then notice the -ing phrase ending the sentence: “… forgetting all about his clothing ….” Notice the comma setting it off. That alerts the reader that the working phrase modifies not the word “underwear” but good old Theo.

By drawing from high-level writing, these programs teach you more than mechanics. They teach style, rhythm, and narrative control.

What to Look For

Ask:

Do examples come from published, award-winning authors?
Do the examples cover various styles—journalism, fiction, lyrics?
Does the course explain why these examples work?

A good course treats writing as a craft worth learning. A great one brings in the masters.

3. Credible Use of Expert Opinion: Trust the Authorities

Why It Matters

In an era of self-proclaimed gurus, you can easily mistake enthusiasm for expertise. But real learning depends on credible sources. If a writing course never refers to top authorities in the field, better look elsewhere.

What Effective Courses Do

They cite trusted guides:

Bryan Garner, editor of Garner’s Modern English Usage
Strunk & White, authors of The Elements of Style
Richard Wydick, whose Plain English for Lawyers has become a classic in legal and business writing

One course, for example, borrows a powerful exercise from Wydick. It demonstrates how cutting glue words and favoring working words transforms legalese into clarity.

The testimony that was given by Reeves went to the heart of the defense that he asserted.

becomes:

Reeves’s testimony supported his defense.

This shows not just good editing. It vividly reveals peer-reviewed methods based on decades of linguistic research and practice.

What to Look For

Does the course cite established grammar and usage guides?
Does it refer to journalistic, literary, or technical writing authorities?
Does it cite standards from published stylebooks?

A well-built course doesn’t rely on one voice. It stands on the shoulders of others.

Bonus: Look for Active Learning, Not Passive Watching

Beyond the big three, one more quality sets great writing courses apart: engagement.

The best programs don’t just let you watch. They ask you to:

download handouts,
complete sentence rewrites,
diagnose grammatical issues in sample texts, and
apply strategies to your own writing.

They often provide a structure that reinforces learning through repetition. You don’t just watch the material; you practice it.

Always ask:

Does the course include exercises?
Does the instructor expect rewrites or edits?
Does the course provide bonus handouts or outside reading?

Learning to write well parallels learning to master an instrument. You need examples, theory, and lots of practice.

Final Thoughts: The Litmus Test

Use this quick check to test any writing course you’ve found:

Does it explain why a revision works?
Does it teach using examples from great writing?
Does it cite credible experts in writing and grammar?

If “yes” answers all three, you’ve likely found a course worth your time and money. If not, keep looking.

Clear writing changes careers. It lands contracts, earns promotions, and influences minds. A great course in writing doesn’t just improve what you put on the page. It improves how people perceive you.

And that, in the end, defines the real power of writing well.

Author’s Note: This post reflects decades of teaching writing to professionals at Fortune 500 companies, federal agencies, law firms, and universities. The examples above draw from real-world training but avoid promoting any specific course by name.

Auhor’s Second Note: And now to promote. In this Blog, I used just one construction of the verb “to be.” Can you find it? In Write Better Right Now, you’ll learn the real magic of writing in a language called “E-Prime.” Google it.

Author’s Third Note: I’ve provided the Flesch Reading Ease number (61.1) for this Blog. Anything greater than 60 qualifies as “plain English.” In Write Better Right Now, you’ll learn how to get your Flesch number.