Today, English is a truly global language, with approximately 1.5 billion English speakers. That’s 20% of the Earth’s population. However, only 360 million of those are native English speakers with English as their first language.
For most of the non-English speaking countries, having English writing skills are a great plus for professionals, but many struggles at it. If you want to know how to improve your English writing skills, here are 7 powerful ways to write better:
Read A Lot!
The first thing to start writing better is to start familiarizing yourself with the language, and there is no better way than reading. To improve your English writing skills, start by reading different styles of writing, and read novels that come across as challenging. Reading will improve your fluency and understanding of particular words and improve your English writing.
Tip: Pick your favourite novel to add to your reading list, rather than a newspaper, blog or magazine. The storytelling will keep you engrossed while you will improve your English writing skills by familiarizing yourself with new words.
Break Down Your Sentences & Paragraphs
Although you may be tempted to use flamboyant words to improve your English writing skills, it can mess with your sentence construction. An easy way to write better is to break down the sentences and avoid the usage of ‘and’, ‘or’, etc. Using multiple conjunctions to connect multiple sentences can lead to confusion while reading.
Tip: Start using shorter sentences and know precisely what message you want to drive across. Each sentence and paragraph should have a similar messaging/ thought process to ensure the reader understands exactly what is being said, and there is no miscommunication.
Improve Your Spellings & Learn New Words
There have been times when even the most experienced writers have made glaring errors, which many grammar-check software may fail to catch. For example, ‘bare’ and ‘bear’ may sound the same but have different meanings altogether. Additionally, incorrect spellings may create a negative impression about you in the reader’s mind, and many professionals find it hard to completely trust organizations that make glaring grammatical or spelling errors. The best way to improve your English writing skills and stop making silly errors is to always review what you write. Some writers may even insist on taking a gap after the writing process is done before the review process begins. This helps to clear the mind and improves your ability to catch any potential errors.
Tip: Have a dictionary or thesaurus handy when you are writing and try experimenting by adding new words to your writing. Although it may feel like a hassle at first and may lead you to make some mistakes, you’ll improve your English writing skills and be efficient in using more complex words within no time.
Avoid Using ‘Very’, Use Different Words
To improve your English writing skills, ensure to use a wider range of words instead of using ‘very’. Although avoiding it completely will not help, using it far too often will make your writing seem bland. A good example of it is:
I had a very hard workout at the gym today and felt very tired throughout the day.
vs
I had a grueling workout at the gym today that drained me for the rest of the day.
By using different words, the same sentence can convey a message better and creates the right impact. See if you can improve your English writing skills with this simple technique.
Placement & Summary Matters
Even the best of writers may at times fail to realize that a good summary or a captivating introduction can keep a reader engrossed in the longest of articles or novels. To improve your English writing skills, learn how to write a good summary, and then start with the explanation to keep the reader interested. If your article or blog is summarized into points with proper headings, the reader is more likely to keep reading.
Long paragraphs and write-ups that look wordy tend to overwhelm the reader, and the basics of improving your English writing skills is to make sure you convey your point without beating around the bush!
Use Apps To Help You With Grammar But Don’t Rely On Them completely
For those not so well-versed with the nuances of English grammar, getting the sentence construction, spellings, tenses or usage correctly can be a task. But thanks to the power of technology, many apps in the market can help to improve your English writing skills.
Start using a good grammar-checking app just to add a second pair of eyes to review everything you write. While these apps may help to catch a few glitches, note that they are not 100% reliable and it is recommended that you review your writing yourself instead of relying on any third-party application.
Tips: Know the difference between simple grammar mistakes that many people make. ‘You’re’ and ‘your’ is different, and ‘their’, ‘they’re’, ‘there’ have different meanings altogether. To improve your English writing skills, start by identifying if you make similar mistakes and make sure to correct yourself till you stop doing so!
Learn From The Experts
The best way to improve your English writing skills is to have someone to interact within the language. If you have friends or relatives abroad, start by communicating with them in English strictly, so you improve your English writing skills automatically. Try to use new words in your sentences to help you understand their usage and make yourself fluent with them.
Tip: Start writing proper English sentences when communicating through SMS, Messengers and other chat options even though it is an informal conversation. Use the phone’s auto-correct for help but don’t rely on it too much!
If you are aiming to get noticed, familiarizing yourself with English and being fluent in it will help, as over 50% of the content on the internet is in English. If you want to know how to improve your English writing skills, take a look at the Online Diploma in English for beginners course. You’ll improve your pronunciation, understand grammar and useful phrases that will enable you to write English like a pro.
Looking to sharpen your English language skills? Join our top-rated professional diploma in English today!
