If you are reading this, it is highly likely that you are a writer already, and are looking for ways to improve your skills. Use the following tips and tools to improve your English writing skills.
1. Know how to spell English words correctlyYou don't want to change what you mean by spelling words incorrectly. You also want readers to understand what you mean. The best way to do so is to ensure you master English spelling. You can use flashcards to practice the correct spelling of words. When you have time to spare, test yourself to see how much you have mastered.
Tools such as Grammarly, Ginger, and most word processors can help you become a better writer. These tools will catch grammar errors and propose to you the correct way to spell the words.
2. Use punctuation the right wayYou need to polish your punctuation skills if you want to improve your English writing skills. Poor usage of apostrophes, commas, and conjunctions can change the meaning of an entire sentence. Check if your writing is properly punctuated by using a tool such as Grammar Girl.
This tool posts regular blogs or podcasts explaining how particular punctuation marks are used. The Economist Style Guide and Grammarly are also good tools that can guide you on how to use punctuation marks, abbreviations, and more.
3. Expand your grammarGrammar is the ingredient that makes your writing stand out. Proper grammar requires you to use appropriate punctuation marks, tenses, and contextual words. Luckily, this is not two decades ago. There are very many tools that can help you with your grammar. The most widely used is Grammarly.
It is a free tool from Chrome that checks the correctness of your grammar, corrects grammatical errors, and teaches you how to avoid the same error in the future. Grammarly also checks for poor vocabulary use and contextual spelling errors. Grammarly is quite useful when writing an email, blog, or a social media post.
Other tools that can help you improve your grammar include Ginger and Grammar Girl. Install one in your computer today.
4. Use simple sentencesIf you want to be a great writer, you don't want to bore your readers with long and complex sentences. Keep your sentences simple, short, and less complicated. Think about how readers perceive information. The simpler sentence much easier perceived by the brain and remembered. And don’t forget to also maintain a nice flow of your sentences. If you are struggling with forming simple sentences, don't worry because there are applications available to help with this.
The Hemingway App is a free tool that will help you break down long and complex sentences into simple sentences. The app ensures your writing is immediate, direct, and doesn't use the passive voice. It also has a feature called readability score that lets you know how easy it is for your readers to read your text.
5. Read a lotThe best English writers are also regular readers of English material. Written materials such as newspapers, books, and brochures help you master different styles of writing. They also improve your vocabularyand grammar. If you are looking forward to becoming a better English writer, expand your skills by reading even more challenging material. However, you must always ensure they are within your line of interest. Underline words you don't understand, then look for their meaning later.
6. Practice! Practice! Practice!Like any other art, practice makes perfect. If you want to improve your English writing skills, you must put that pen on paper and write something. The more you write, the more you get better at it. You can look for a personal tutor, professional instructors, or a native English speaker to help you with your written exercises.
Such persons will correct your work and give you feedback. You can also use apps such as 'hello talk' or Grade Mark to check. These give you feedback on whether you are using the correct style and grammar or not, which will improve your skills.
Wrapping UpWhether it is for academics, profession, or a personal routine, written communication is a crucial skill today. Unfortunately, there is no magical pill to swallow to help you master written English skills overnight. You must invest time and effort to finally get it right. However, writing English doesn't have to be an intimidating experience. It can be fun too. Use the above tips, and you will notice a significant improvement in your English writing skills.
Author’s Bio: Randolph Bunnell is an experienced copywriter and blogger. He works as a freelance writer and regularly contributes to various blogs and online magazines. Randolph also has a medical background and shares tips about health problems in his blog Skin Answer.