Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

"Writing skills" might refer to the actual quality of the prose - is it
beautiful, or concise, or preferably both?  "Written skills" might
refer to the level of basic literacy - can the fellow [1]spell, is his
handwriting legible, does he have a sufficient grasp of syntax?  It
might, depending on the circs., refer to his calligraphy, but I doubt
it.

[1]  For "fellow" here, and "he" and "his" elsewhere, think "ladette",
"she" and "her".

Will.

I would never use *"written skills" -- it's a solecism -- but always
"writing skills".

   What is the difference, if any, between "written skills"
   and "writing skills"? Both are commonly used.
   Is one more preferable in terms of English usage?

Good golly Miss Molly, there are millions of Google hits.
I thought they were both wrong and there would only
be 57 hits.

What different writing skills are there?

My guess is that "written skills" came after
"oral test" and "written test", which tested
knowledge in a specific field.

I would say
 "I want to improve my writing" or
 "He is a good writer".

--                       ---------------------------------------------
Richard Maurer              To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California       of a homonym of a synonym for also.
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