I think writing is the most difficult skill in English. I'm not sure why. Some students are really good at speaking, but their writing is terrible. Why can't they just pretend they're speaking but write it all down. You certainly have more time to think when you write. I think writing has got easier in recent years. Computers and the Internet have helped us. Although I think many teachers would say technology is not a help. But it's true. We have spellcheckers when we type. They even warn us if we've made a mistake with grammar. There is also translation software, but that can produce gobbledygook. And then there are new places to write. With mobile phones and sites like Twitter you don't have a lot of space to write.