Free 8 Tips on How to Improve your English Writing Skills
Improving your English writing skills has life-changing benefits, including better communication and sometimes even higher pay. Such allows international students, for instance, to answer academic questions better and stand a greater chance of overall excellence.
This is not to say that everyone who wants to improve their English writing skills should only have an eye for academic writing.
People’s reasons for wanting to improve the same vary and could range from wanting to start a blog, sending precise work emails, or even being a better communicator.
How to improve your English writing skills
Whatever your reason is, here are eight tips on how to improve your English writing skills:
Master the Basic Principles of English Writing
Like any other language, English also flows better when the writer considers and applies the fundamental discipline rules. These include writing in an active voice, paying attention to the audience, punctuation, pronunciation, spelling, straightforward language, and being concise.
For instance, when using precise language, we recommend only using words suitable for your audience. It would be wrong for you to use Gen Z jargon like ‘I know that’s right’ or ‘Peace Out’ when writing to people aged 60. Being mindful of such will allow you to communicate better in your writing to your ideal recipient.
Additionally, determine the structure of your writing. What writing style are you going to use? Is it APA, MLA, or the Chicago Manual? Also, what age group is your target audience? How long should each sentence be? Also, what words can you use or not use? What is the tone? Is it authoritative, persuasive, or educative? Noting all these will enable you to write better.
Read English resources more
One key secret ingredient to improving your English writing skills is reading more. Most reputable English writers reveal that reading more allows them to write better.
The more one reads English resources; the more one understands the nitty-gritty like prose, new words and how to use them, and tone. Experts advise reading about 10 to 15 pages daily.
If you are new to reading English resources, begin by picking up familiar books. Start with blogs, newsletters, or books by your favorite English author. Then, try the ones out of your comfort zone. For instance, if you like comic books, reach for a Young Adult book. If you are into murder and crime, try romance.
Doing so will open you up to the different variations in English writing, allowing you to find your voice and reveal your personality in writing. Besides, you get to pick out and apply the things you admire in other forms of writing.
Have an Outline Beforehand
The best way to write (and communicate through it) is one where you sketch an outline in advance. Look at it as ensuring that you capture everything and promote a cohesive and logical flow of information and ideas.
An outline could vary depending on the nature and intent of the English writing. For instance, an educational blog could have an intro, a body, a conclusion, and a call to action. Contrarily, a report includes a title, table of contents, summary, introduction, body, findings, conclusion, recommendations, and references.
Whatever your format is, having an outline lets you highlight the key points in advance. These earmark your main points and allow you to find and fix gaps in your delivery.
Avoid Using Very Complex Words
Contrary to what most of us learned in school, using very complex words is a recipe for poor English writing. The purpose of writing is to communicate. Therefore, it beats its purpose when your audience struggles to understand your writing.
The best way to identify an overly-complex word in English writing is if you can replace it with a simpler word without changing its meaning. Significant examples include replacing ‘magnanimous’ with ‘generous’ or ‘haywire’ with ‘wild’.
Cut out on Fluff
This tip is similar to our previous one, only that here, we look at sentences, not words. Fluff in English writing involves being needlessly wordy in your writing. These include redundancy, repetitiveness, and being too obvious.
One major downside of fluff is that your writing becomes less valuable. If people are struggling to seek information or value in your content, you risk making them disinterested. If it is a blog, such can result in a lower click-through rate (CTR), hence lower audience conversion and retention.
Meanwhile, an academic writing piece with fluff or filler words can make the tutor disinterested and shift their attention. They could then miss out on the crucial bits, scoring fewer marks than you could have.
Proofread before hitting Send
It is almost natural for every student to work best when they know deadlines are fast approaching. This is not to say that last-minute writing is terrible (there is nothing tasteful about it, either). However, sparing time to go through your writing allows you to spot structural, grammar, and spelling mistakes that you could have missed.
For instance, Grammarly is one valuable tool for improving your English writing skills. Also, ensuring that one sentence leads you to the next is vital. Reading your writing out loud lets you analyze and fix the gaps in the flow of information delivery and logical structure.
Ask for Feedback
The ideal way to better your writing is by letting someone else analyze it. By doing so, you avoid having a unilateral judgment on the same.
You could ask for feedback from your trusted friend, sibling, English teacher, or tutor. Have a few pointers for them, like choice of words, grammar, tone, and structure. Let them give you feedback, including where and how to improve.
Try to incorporate their feedback into your writing and ask them for more feedback. Do this until you can spot an improvement in your English writing.
Experiment by Writing More
Look at excellent English writing skills as a muscle that only gets stronger through exercise. We encourage making it your new favorite habit by writing daily. You may not notice it immediately, but it will simplify English writing.
Besides, you will never be good at English writing by thinking or reading about it.
Conclusion
Improving your English writing skills requires more than just hearsay. For instance, tips like mastering the basic principles of English writing, having an outline, proofreading, and asking for feedback from a trusted person are priceless. Still, consistent writing remains an underrated tip.