Writing tips using your Extrovert (E) tendencies

• Because Extroverts love the external world and thrive on talking to others about their ideas, use this to transform your verbal ideas into writing. Brainstorm ideas with a friend or in a group.

'I think out loud and need to talk my ideas through with other people, so whenever we'd get an essay question, I'd brainstorm this with a friend and sometimes I'd just put my ideas onto a digital recorder while I was walking home and then organise these later.' Anna

• Talk to others to help shape your ideas and use a voice synthesiser or digital recorder to convert these to electronic text.
• To edit your work, check the logic of your structure; insert headings if you need to as they help keep you focused. Check for depth and detail balance. Check for repetition of any ideas. Read your writing out loud to yourself and others to get a sense of it rather than just seeing it. Bring it to life by hearing it!

Writing tips using your Introvert (I) tendencies

• Because Introverts (I) thrive on reflection and prefer to think in the abstract, it's useful to reflect on the information you've gathered before structuring your witting.
• You may need thinking time or 'head-space' before you actually do any writing. This isn't wasted time, so long as thinking is happening.

'I used to really need to think about a lot of my ideas first before writing. I later realized that I could also think on the screen, so to speak, so I'd jot points in bullet form.' Anthony

• As Introverts are reflective and often love to stay in the intellectual 'head-space' of writing, rather than getting anything written, running out of time can be an issue, and in the world of student life, assignment and thesis deadlines are realties. So just get writing if you start to dwell on your ideas for too long!
• When you're editing, check that your ideas are concrete enough and not just abstract.

'I once had a lecturer say that my literature review was impenetrable, and yet it made perfect sense to me. I realised later that it was the complexity of the ideas I was trying to convey... I rewrote the section to make it more accessible by giving concrete examples for the abstract sections... so I worked on anchoring the ideas... I started to ask myself: 'Do I have enough facts and detail in the writing? Do I have specifics? and so on and it became something I incorporated into the rest of my editing when I was doing my thesis.' Emilio

Writing tips using your Sensor (S) tendencies

• Because Sensors tend to love detail, a very useful way to start writing is to write down all the facts and details that you know about the topic.

'I just need to start with all the detail of a topic, so what I do is when I'm brainstorming I jot down all the details and questions I want to know about a topic and then I eventually organise them, but I have to start from the specific detail first! Later I move to the big picture.' Rebecca

• Move from concrete specific examples to abstract levels in your writing.
• Look at models of writing formats so you know what the finished product needs to look like.
• When you're editing, draw your ideas together into a bigger picture and use only relevant facts to support your argument. Try not to get overwhelmed with too much unnecessary detail.

Writing tips using your iNtuitive (N) tendencies

• Intuitives love the world of linking broad ideas and writing in a generalised way and making links and leaps across areas and disciplines. Detail and specifics can often be anathema to them.
• A good way to start writing therefore is to start with generalisations and add the facts later.
• Creativity is important for Intuitives, so allow for creative writing processes and options. Find out what inspires you to write. Some student find they need to have an entry point before they can start, or something to inspire them to get immersed in the writing process.

"I just need to find a creative angle for my argument. I spend quite a bit of time visualising my writing and ideas and then let them flow onto the screen. I sometimes find I need to start off with something that inspires me about the topic and then I find other things to keep me going with the writing. I have to be careful not to get too carried away ...sometimes I've even used a poem or haiku segment to keep me going when I'm working on long pieces of writing. I focus it and edit at a later stage." Lee

• Edit meticulously and cut out any generalisations that are without evidence. Ask yourself the question 'why is it so?' to remind yourself to add enough supporting evidence.

Writing tips using your Thinker (T) tendencies

• Thinkers love logic and can use structure readily in their writing, therefore it's useful to start your writing through structured outlines. Outline view in MS Word may be helpful or using concept mapping software to map out ideas, see Enriching your learning with technology.

'I'm fairly linear in my thinking, and I like to use a series of questions to organise my writing in Word's Outline mode, and then I expand each of these with evidence and detail. I find this also let's me work on smaller sections at a time and stay focussed. Outline mode is really handy at keeping me focused and on task!' Lee

• When you're editing, personalise your writing if it's appropriate to do so.
• Think about your audience, who are you writing for and try to pitch your writing to this audience.

Writing tips using your Feeler (F) tendencies

• Feelers have to feel to be involved in their writing. Often they have the capacity to turn dull text into ones that breathe and come alive creativity and vibrantly.
• For Feelers, finding ways to engage with the topic in some way is important.
• Allow free flowing ideas to start off when writing.
• Later when editing, insert a logical structure, then step back from the writing and look at it objectively, ensure that you have you provided objective evidence.

Writing tips using your Judger (J) tendencies

• Judgers tend to make plans before doing any writing. They may judge and weigh their evidence before writing.
• Working on small chunks and building these up progressively into larger segments is wise.
• Always start with an outline and refine this as you progress.
• Working in regular bursts can be useful for you.
• When editing your work, think about the degree of 'modality' - judgment in terms of must, should and could - you've expressed in your writing. Consider how definite or tentative you've been in expressing your points and argument.

Writing tips using your Perceiver (P) tendencies

• The strength of perceivers is their spontaneity and creativity, but beware of putting too much overwhelming information in your writing.
• Start broad and focus later on. One way is to think of what must, could or should be in and then edit accordingly.
• You'll need large blocks of time to write first drafts. Just write your ideas and edit later.
• Be sure to include a clear summary of your conclusions and eliminate any repetitions.

Presentation tips

We tend to present content in ways that we feel comfortable. For example, someone who is high on the Intuitive (N) scale in the MBTI (Myer Briggs Personality Type Inventory) might present the broad picture view and be low on detail and facts. But someone who is high on the Perceiving (P) scale might present very creative content, but be less concerned with timelines compared to a Judger (J) who might outline realistic time factor issues and so on.

• Balance your content for creativity, structure, sufficient detail for the talk. It's useful to look at the Problem Solving and Thinking Tips section when preparing and pitching your presentation content to your audience.
• To engage with the various preferences of your audience, present information in a variety of modalities visual, auditory and kinaesthetic, and use formats to nurture your audience's processing and learning diversity.

Team dynamic tips

At university, you may be involved in team projects. Understanding your personality preferences and those of your colleagues and peers can be useful for working successfully in teams.

Many organisations also use personality preference type models such as the MBTI (Myer Briggs Type Indicator):

• to consider the mix of people on team projects
• as a guide to people's strengths and preferences, for example whether they would be best suited for innovation work, or for working detail and implementation processes within an organisation and so on.

Read about some personality factors in team dynamics.

Generally an effective team number is between 6-8 people.

• Usually a mix of Extroverts (E) and Introverts (I) is an effective mix in teams, so you have the dynamic Extrovert people charging the group and the Introvert reflectors thinking about the group's ideas.
• It's useful to have both Thinkers (T) and Feelers (F) in a group so you can have both analysts and harmonisers. This is very useful for effective social communication.
• Whilst it's also useful to have a mix of Intuitives (N) and Sensors (S), to get a mix of global and detailed perspectives on the team project, these two types can often annoy each other. Understanding the perspective of your team members can help you realise why they may be approaching the task differently to you.
• It's useful to have a mixture of Judgers (J) and Perceivers (P) in the group, although they can get on each other's nerves! It's important that someone set the time lines and project deliverables, and often people who are strong Judgers tend to excel at this.