MONROVIA, Montserrado – A 21-year-old Liberian female based in the United States says poor writing skills is limiting Liberians’ ability to market themselves to the corporate world.

Adrienne Tingba, the founder of the Colloqua Dialogues, made the statement Wednesday at a one-day writing workshop aimed at developing the writing skills of Liberians.

Adrienne Tingba, Founder of Colloqua Dialogues. Photo: Zeze Ballah

Tingba held the workshop to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her blog. The workshop covered topics such as the basic dos and don’ts of writing, resume and cover letter writing, scholarly writing, and business and professional writing.

According to Tingba, companies coming into Liberia find it difficult to hire Liberians who may have the skills but lack the ability to effectively market themselves through a cover letter and resume.

“The poor writing skills of some Liberians have affected the society to a great extent that it limits them in and out of the country,” Tingba stressed.

She added that “it is difficult to blame those Liberians that are engaged in poor writing because they are not taught the basic skills in school that will challenge them to transfer such skills into the corporate world.”

Jefferson Krua, CEO of The Bush Chicken, served as the facilitator of a session on the basic dos and don’ts of writing including commonly confused words that sound similar and proper use of punctuations.

According to Krua, simple mistakes when writing shows a lack of attentiveness and reflects poorly on the individual.

Jefferson Krua, CEO of The Bush Chicken. Photo: Zeze Ballah

In an interview following his session, Krua drew from his experience running a news outlet to emphasize the importance of good writing. “Nothing irritates an editor more than simple mistakes that could be avoided by reporters reviewing their work and getting rid of them.”

The Bush Chicken CEO said he thought the reason Liberians write so poorly is because Liberians do not read and write enough, adding that Liberians rarely read books and “they consume most of their materials from Facebook,” which often comes riddled with errors.

He encouraged Liberians to make use of resources like the free We-Care Library at Carey and Gurley Streets.

Aagon Tingba, Deputy Education Minister for Administration. Photo: Zeze Ballah

Aagon Tingba, Deputy Education Minister for Administration and father of Adrienne Tingba, welcomed the initiative.

“The Ministry of Education is fully in support of the initiative undertaking by Colloqua Dialogues,” he said.

Satarus Horton, Participant Colloqua Dialogues Workshop. Photo: Zeze Ballah

Satarus Horton, a workshop participant, told the Bush Chicken that the writing skills workshop organized by Colloqua Dialogues was rewarding.

“This is my first time attending such workshop in Liberia, which was an eye-opener for me,” she said, noting that she learned many new skills from the workshop.

Eric S. Cisco, Participant Colloqua Dialogues Workshop. Photo: Zeze Ballah

Another participant, Eric S. Cisco, said the workshop provided lots of insights into things he did not take into consideration while applying for jobs.

“My expectation will now be to improve upon my weaknesses when applying for a job,” Cisco noted.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah