Ways to improve your writing! 11 Tips on How to Improve English Writing Skills!

September 4, 2023

Tips on How to Improve English Writing Skills

Writing is a skill that everyone needs to be able to do. Whether you're writing an email, filling out a form or submitting an assignment, it's important to know how to put your thoughts onto paper in the clearest way possible. This article will give you some tips on how to improve your English writing skills so that you can write clearly and concisely in any situation!

11 Tips on How to Improve English Writing Skills!

Use the active voice.

As a writer, you should always strive to use the active voice. The active voice is more direct and concise than the passive voice, which can make it easier for your readers to understand what you're saying. It also engages them more because they don't have to work as hard at understanding what you mean. It's just better English!

Avoid nominalizations.

Avoid nominalization. Nominalizations are words formed by adding -ing, -ment, -tion, -ity or -ness to a noun. For example:

  • "The effect of the drug on the patient's condition was studied and analyzed." (Effect is a nominalization.)
  • "The doctor prescribed medication for the patient's illness." (Medication is also a nominalization.)

Although these terms can be useful in scientific writing and research papers where there is no need for brevity, they should be avoided in general prose because they make sentences wordy and difficult to read. Instead of using nominalizations whenever possible use active voice instead; this will make your writing clearer and easier to understand

Use transitional phrases.

Transitional phrases help the reader understand what you are saying. For example, if you want to connect two ideas that are not related, use "however." If you want to connect two sentences that are related but not the same idea, use "in contrast."

You can use transitional phrases at the beginning of a paragraph or after each sentence in your paragraph.

Use strong verbs and active verbs.

When you're writing, it's important to use strong verbs and active verbs. Strong verbs are more engaging than passive verbs, which can be boring and imprecise. Active verbs are also more powerful than passive ones because they show that someone or something is doing something (rather than being done).

For example: "The ball was kicked by a player." vs. "A player kicked the ball." In this case, there's no doubt that someone kicked something--and not just any old thing either! A player kicked the ball! We might even ask ourselves who this mysterious person was that we never got to meet before now but who has some skills on their feet...

Active voice is especially useful when describing action scenes or any time you want your readers to feel like they're right there alongside your character(s).

Be concise and precise.

  • Use short sentences.
  • Avoid using too many adjectives and adverbs.
  • Avoid using too many prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses and other complex constructions that are difficult to understand when you're writing in English as a second language (ESL).

Monitor your language for sexism, racism and other biases.

When you're writing, be sure to avoid gender-biased language. This means using inclusive language and avoiding sexist language.

  • Avoid using "he" or "him" when referring to a person of unspecified gender; use "they/their" instead (e.g., "everyone should bring their lunch").
  • Use gender-neutral pronouns like "they" or "them."
  • Avoid making assumptions about what a person does based on their gender identity; for example, don't assume someone is male just because they have short hair or wear pants!

Use the right words

  • Use the right words
  • Words are the building blocks of a sentence, so it's important to choose your words carefully. You can use long or short words, but it's best to stick with concrete and specific ones rather than general ones. For example: "The dog barked loudly" is better than "The creature barked loudly." Also avoid using vague or technical terms unless you're certain that everyone will understand them without explanation (e.g., don't write "the five-sided object").

Choose the correct word.

Choose the correct word.

Choosing the right word is one of the most important things to do when writing in English. If you use a wrong word, it can change your meaning completely and make your writing confusing for others to read. You should always check for the correct spelling and meaning of each word before using it in your paper or sentence because many words sound alike but have different meanings (e.g., "to" and "too"). To avoid this problem, try asking someone else what they think would be best!

If you're still having trouble deciding which option is best after doing all this research--don't worry! There are plenty more resources available online that can help:

  • Dictionary - A dictionary is great because it tells exactly how each word should be used by providing definitions along with examples from real-life situations where those words would apply; however, sometimes dictionaries aren't enough since they only include common usages among native speakers rather than advanced ones used only by experts within a field (e..g., medicine).

Use punctuation properly

  • Use commas to separate items in a list. Examples: I ate apples, bananas, and oranges.
  • Use semicolons to separate items in a list when the items themselves are long and complex. Examples: I love my family; they're all very supportive of me and my interests.
  • Periods should be used at the end of sentences (and not question marks). Example: "The dog" is a common pet name for dogs!
  • Apostrophes are used to show possession (for example, "the girl's book"). Note that if you have more than one possessive noun within one sentence or clause then use an apostrophe only after each noun--not before all of them together (e.g., "The girls' books are so good!"). This rule also applies when using singular indefinite pronouns such as anyone's instead of anyone's personal property." Also note that when using contractions like don't, shouldn't, won't, etc., make sure there aren't any spaces between words before adding an apostrophe--otherwise it will look weird! For example: "You shouldn't eat too much candy today because there may be consequences later on down the road."

Restrict yourself to one idea per sentence.

  • Restrict yourself to one idea per sentence.
  • Keep your paragraphs short, with no more than five or six sentences in each.
  • Use introductions and conclusions for each section of your paper (usually a chapter) that clearly state the main point of that section and make it easy for readers who haven't read all of the previous sections to understand where they are about other parts of the piece.

Improve your writing skills by reading more often.

Reading is one of the best ways to improve your English Grammar and writing skills. When you read, you are exposed to words and expressions that are not part of your vocabulary. This helps expand your vocabulary and teaches you how to use these new words in context. Reading also improves grammar because it allows you to see how others write clearly, concisely, and correctly according to reading standards (such as APA style).

In addition to improving grammar, reading helps writers learn how to structure their writing by providing examples of different types of essays/articles (for example: narrative vs. expository) or how they should be structured--introduction paragraph(s), body paragraphs with supporting details/statistics/examples/etc., conclusion paragraph(s). Finally, reading guides punctuating sentences correctly by showing what punctuation marks go where within sentence structures such as colons vs. semicolons vs. dashes vs. commas etc..

The more you write, the better you can get at it

The more you practice, the better your writing will become. The more often you write and read, the better your writing skills will become. This is because every time you write something, it helps improve your skills in different areas such as spelling, grammar and vocabulary.

When writing an essay or report for school or college (or even just for fun), try not to worry about making mistakes - everyone makes them! Instead of worrying about these small errors when proofreading your work after finishing it - just get on with revising what's already there before moving on to editing out any other errors that may have crept into the text while typing up on screen (which can lead us onto...).

Conclusion

Write well with these expert tips! We hope these tips will help you improve your English writing skills. Remember, if you practice often enough and pay attention to what works best for you, then it's only a matter of time before your writing improves! If you would like to know more about our courses here in ILC, check out our website for more information on International Language Centres!