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A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

  • Mark Rennella

improve writing level

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

  • Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
  • In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
  • For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
  • Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

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Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

improve writing level

  • MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .  

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13 Ways To Improve Your Writing Level

Writing well doesn’t come naturally to everyone. If you’ve ever wondered how to become a better writer , you’re not alone.

Why is writing important? Many people want to improve their writing skills to make things easier for them to write assignments at school or reports at work or even catchy posts on social media.

Improving your writing skills is possible with a little effort and some helpful hints. And the first step to improving is to start by working on your writing preparation and organization.

Better writing skills can also lead to a higher GPA , more job opportunities, and overall greater academic success.

Whatever your motivation, improving your writing skills can change your life. Becoming a better writer can open doors for you in your academic career and your future profession.

Here are 13 ways to help you become a better writer.

Preparing to Write

There are many steps along the way on the road to better writing. When you begin, you will first need to work on preparation and organization.'

1. Practice your writing

Just like everything else in life, if you want to get better, you have to practice. Start writing on a regular basis. Set aside a specific writing time, set a timer, and begin writing. You can write about your life in a journal-type fashion, or you can find a writing prompt online to inspire you.

Put the pen to the paper (or the fingers on the keyboard) and let your thoughts flow. This action can help you become a more fluid writer and make it more natural for you to sit and write.

2. Read a variety of materials

Good readers are often good writers. The more you absorb by reading, the more you can imitate when you write.

Read all kinds of articles, blogs, and books. Pay attention when something is done well. If you read something that stands out to you, ask yourself why. What about it made it stand out? What is the author doing to get your attention?

Identify different writing styles that you can begin to incorporate in your own writing.

3. Make a plan

When you’re ready to face an assignment or any other writing task, you have to get organized. Brainstorm your ideas first. Then, organize these ideas into a logical order.

In this preparation stage, make sure you think about your audience. What are your purpose and main goal? Are you persuading? Informing? Entertaining?

Who and why you're writing will help you determine what to include and how to include it.

Next, ask yourself: What are the main ideas you want to convey?

Turn these ideas into an outline. What is your beginning? What is the middle? How will it end? You have to begin with the end in mind to ensure you are clear, purposeful, and logical in your writing.

Starting to Write

Once your plan is in place, it is time to start creating your work. How do you take those ideas and turn them into coherent sentences and paragraphs?

4. Be aware of traditional styles

Traditionally, pieces of writing have a title, an opening, a body, and a closing. Depending on your audience and content, you might want to have a similar flow to your writing.

Titles should be clear, catchy, and informative. Openings should always make your reader want to read more. Consider an opening with humor, a rhetorical question, or even a controversial opinion. You will need something to catch your reader’s attention.

5. Bulk up your body

No weight lifting required here. Just be sure to add details to your body paragraphs. When you state your main ideas, back them up. Expand your thoughts. Be informative and creative. Show your audience you know what you are talking about.

6. Do your research

If you require more information, find it. Take the time to research information using reputable sources . And be sure to credit your sources if you use any.

Choosing quality words and phrases will create quality writing. One helpful tip you can try is to "show" your readers, instead of telling them. Paint a picture for your audience by using detailed adjectives.

Choosing quality words and phrases will create quality writing. One helpful tip you can try is to show your readers, instead of telling them. Paint a picture for your audience by using detailed adjectives.

Creating a Quality Product

Now that you know how to set up your piece and you have lots of information to provide, it’s time to make your word choices and details shine. Take your work and punch it up to the next level with a few important hints.

7. Less is more

Clear and concise words are powerful. Readers will listen. They will focus. Create meaningful sentences that don’t drone on and on.

8. Show. Don’t tell

When appropriate, paint a picture with your words for your audience. Use strong, detailed adjectives that help your reader visualize the world you are creating on paper.

9. Embrace variety

Vary your sentence length and structure. Make some sentences short. Expand on some sentences when you want to make a point. If it helps, start with a prepositional phrase. You can start sentences in a variety of ways—don't be afraid to mix it up.

Word choice should vary as well. If you are stuck, there are tools to help.

Need a different adjective? Try using a random adjective generator online. This can help jumpstart your brain in a fresh direction.

10. Let your personality shine

Depending on your audience and the purpose of your writing, it can be great to infuse your personality in your writing. Your audience wants to hear your voice and your tone throughout the piece. Don’t be afraid to put yourself into your writing.

Polishing and Revising

Once you have your first round of words on the page, there is still plenty of work left to make this piece your best. Polishing and revising are key when trying to improve your writing skills.

11. Edit…and then edit some more

Read your writing, and be prepared to make changes. Delete words, sentences, and even entire paragraphs. Add things to make your writing more readable. Double-check your word choices and sentence structure. Is there variety? Is it clear and precise?

12. Find a buddy to help you edit even more

Ideally, you will have a friend who will help look over your writing to make sure it is comprehensible and engaging. Getting a fresh set of eyes on your work is essential.

This peer editor can ask questions to help you clarify your writing and can also help find areas that need to be improved. Of course, your friend can also offer insight into what is going right with your writing as well.

13. Get some online editing help

Sites like the Hemingway App can look over your draft to inform you of the piece’s readability. It will specifically find sentences that appear too dense or too hard to read.

If you are targeting a certain readability score, this app is helpful in giving you a specific grade level to see if you are on target.

Grammarly is another helpful site. It can help find misspellings, misuses, and unclear passages in your writing.

Word Counter also has an entire section dedicated to Grammar Tips to help you avoid embarrassing writing errors.

Online resources such as the Hemingway App and Grammarly can help you edit your work and minimize the mistakes in your writing.

With some effort and refining of your writing skills, you can improve your writing level in no time. Practicing, planning, creating, and revising will all become more natural to you.

The payoff will be big: you (and your readers) will notice a marked difference in your writing craft.

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Developed by the University of Cambridge, Write & Improve is a free tool that helps you to improve your English writing online.

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Free intensive writing practice for every learner

The Write & Improve workbooks contain hundreds of writing tasks at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels, and for Business and Just for Fun, too. Choose tasks from the Write & Improve workbooks or create your own tasks based on your interests or homework. Your work will be saved in your workbook.

Encourages you to think about what to improve

Write & Improve helps you practise different types of writing by encouraging you to think about how you can improve . It gives automatic feedback and hints to show you where you need to make changes. Make changes and see your progress straightaway.

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The tool provides word, sentence-level and motivational feedback and a progress graph, so you can compare your latest piece of writing with your previous work, to see how you are improving against the international standard, the CEFR .

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Improve your English level

Improve your English level

Are you looking for tips and advice on the best ways to improve your level of English?

Our team of English teaching experts are here to help you. In this section we share advice, ideas and tips on how you can make the most of the time you spend learning English.

How can you improve your speaking? How can you get better at writing? What should you read in English? What can you listen to to help improve your understanding of spoken English?

All these questions and more are answered in the articles that are written especially for you by the LearnEnglish team. We publish new tips and advice regularly, so come back soon to see what's new.

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11 Simple Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

improve writing level

We could all be better writers.

That goes for you, me, and everyone in the world.

Writing is a skill. And like any other skill, there’s no limit to how good you can get.

Even professional writers want to be better at their craft—and a lot of them put in a ton of work.

But you don’t have to be Hemingway to write a successful book. You just have to convey valuable information in a compelling, clear way.

Don’t be daunted by the writing process and go down the rabbit-hole trying to become a “perfect” writer. There’s no such thing. And you’ll just stop yourself from writing.

Just focus on becoming an effective writer .

Unfortunately, the internet is full of generic writing advice. For example,”Be original.” That’s not helpful or actionable. How the hell do you learn to be original?

The advice I’m going to give you is practical. It’s concrete. And it’s what Scribe has used to help thousands of first-time Authors write really good books.

Here are our 11 easy tips that will instantly take your writing to the next level.

11 Easy Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

1. start with a clear understanding of what you want to say.

The first step in writing a book isn’t actually writing. It’s figuring out what you’re trying to say.

If you don’t know what the point of your book is, your readers certainly won’t. There’s nothing worse for writing than that.

The number 1 thing you can do to improve your writing is to take the time to position your book and put together a solid outline. If you start without taking these steps, you’ll end up with a haphazard book—if you even finish at all.

Book positioning is about answering your readers’ main question: Why should I read this book?

In order to do that you have to figure out 3 things:

  • What are your objectives? What do you need to achieve with the book in order for you to feel like it was a success?
  • Who is your target audience? Who do you need to reach in order to reach your goals?
  • What’s your book idea? What is your book about, and why will your audience care?

Once you have those questions answered, you can move on to your outline.

An outline is a great way to keep your writing fears at bay. If you know the overall point and structure of the book, you’re much less likely to get derailed by writer’s block, anxiety, or procrastination.

To come up with a good outline , first you have to brainstorm your chapters.

What do you want people to know? What are you trying to teach them? How are you going to solve their problems? What are the main concepts, arguments, and ideas that you want to convey to your readers?

Once you’ve got all of that figured out, you can start arranging them into a table of contents.

What order is going to make the most sense to your readers? What’s the best way to divide this material so it flows logically from chapter to chapter?

Finally, you need to decide what stories, data, hooks, and main ideas will go into each chapter. This will give you a clear framework for when you’re writing your first draft.

You can find our full outline template here , plus an explanation of how to put it to good use.

2. Let Go of Pressure To Be Perfect

When writing, don’t spend time worrying about whether your word choice is right, whether your sentence structure is smooth, or even whether it makes sense.

Your first draft should always be what I call a “vomit draft.” It’s not going to look good, but you’ll have something to show for it. Plus, you’ll feel much better once you’ve gotten the words out.

I know this may sound weird. You’re only writing a book because you want it to be good. So shouldn’t you make the first draft as good as you possibly can?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Authors agonize over the first chapter of a book, trying to get it perfect. Then, when they can’t achieve it, they abandon the book altogether.

The point of a first draft isn’t to have flawless writing. It’s to get your ideas onto the page.

Writing is a process. You’re going to change things around. You’ll add, delete, and edit. And then you’ll add, delete, and edit some more.

There’s no point wasting hours and getting lost in the weeds during your rough draft.

If you’re still not convinced, remember this: even the best writers have terrible first drafts.

You just don’t know it because those drafts go through a lot of editing before you see the finished product.

I’ve written 4 New York Times Bestsellers, and all of my first drafts were garbage. But they gave me a place to start. It’s much easier to fix something than it is to fix nothing.

Write the first draft. Then you can worry about how good it is.

3. Talk It Out

You might have a great outline, but when you sit down to write, you’re still intimidated by the blank screen.

I get it. Seeing your words in black and white can be daunting.

Some people hate the act of writing. Others are just much more comfortable speaking. That doesn’t make you lazy or unskilled.

It just means that you’re not a natural writer–like literally everyone else on earth. Everyone on earth (basically) learns to talk without having to be taught, but writing must be taught. There’s a reason for that. Writing is a cognitive skill that’s totally distinct from thinking and talking.

If you find yourself in this situation, here’s my solution: try talking it out.

Speak it out loud. Record yourself . Then get the recording transcribed.

Now, be aware, a transcript isn’t the same as a book. You’re going to have to edit out all your “um”s, cut out all the parts where you rambled, and rearrange a lot of the material.

But you’ll have a written document to work from.

It’s the same principle as the vomit draft. You can talk it out first and polish it later.

4. Get Out of The Way of Your Voice

A lot of writers talk about “finding their voice.”

That makes it sound like their voice is hiding under a sofa cushion or wedged under their car seat.

voice sound waves behind man

A voice isn’t something you “find.” It’s something you have. It’s already a part of who you are. 

Your job as an Author is to let it emerge.

A lot of people can speak fluidly about their work or give impassioned speeches in meetings. But the second you ask them to write, they think it has to be “elevated.”

They try to sound smart. Or authoritative. Or eloquent.

Instead, it ends up sounding false, boring, or confusing. And in many cases, just plain bad.

You’re already smart, authoritative, and eloquent. So, get out of your own way.

Write in the voice you already have. Stop trying to “find” it.

If you’re still having trouble, the next two steps will give you more advice for letting your authentic voice come out.

5. Write Like You’re Talking to a Friend

You may not realize it, but you’re at your most eloquent when you’re talking with friends.

That’s because you’re comfortable and relaxed. You’re not trying to force your ideas or sound like something you’re not (this is why transcribing your speech can help you so much).

When you talk to your friends, you’re always engaged, attentive, and open. You’re also willing to answer their questions because you want to make sure they understand.

It can be hard to dispel the idea that books have to sound “academic.” But, frankly, a lot of academic writing is downright boring, both to you and the reader. Unless you’re writing to an academic audience, don’t use academic writing style.

If you want to be a great writer, focus on readability. Focus on connecting with your audience .

Your readers are much more likely to respond to what you have to say if you’re being real with them.

In the words of John Steinbeck,

“Forget your generalized audience. In the first place, the nameless, faceless audience will scare you to death, and in the second place, unlike the theater, it doesn’t exist. In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person — a real person you know, or an imagined person and write to that one.”

Your readers are real people. And in theory, they’re people you want to interact with. So, write to them like you’re talking to a friend.

Chances are, your readers will start to think of you as one. And they’ll pay attention to what you have to say.

6. Write Like You’re Helping a Stranger Heal the Pain You Went Through

People will read your book because they want help with a problem.

Maybe they want to grow their business, improve their health, or do a better job raising their children.

Whatever the case may be, your job as an Author is to provide a solution. Your job is to ease their pain.

Talk to the reader as if they were someone you were trying to help in real life. Show empathy. Connect. Teach them in a loving way.

Tell them, “I’ve been there. Here’s what it was like for me. ” Focus on their pain, and then focus on how you can help.

That will immediately ease your anxiety and lessen any fears you have about “voice.”

Why? Because your attention won’t be on yourself anymore. It will be on your reader. And that’s exactly where it should be.

And here’s a cool trick if you really want to level up your writing: Follow tips 5 and 6. Write like you’re talking to a friend and helping them through a difficult situation.

Don’t worry too much about having the right words. Worry about helping people, and your voice will come out naturally.

7. Make It Short

Once you have a rough draft, it’s time to edit . That’s when you can shift your focus to good writing.

Because you’re not starting from scratch, it’ll be a lot easier to fine-tune your writing style.

You want a piece of writing that’s clear, concise, and to the point. That’s why it’s best to keep it short.

A lot of people assume a longer book is better. After all, it’s got more knowledge packed in, right?

A longer book often means the author rambles, has too many examples, or doesn’t care about readers’ attention spans.

In fact, most readers don’t want long books. The average bestseller length has been steadily declining every year.

Keep it short. That way, you’ll be forced to focus on what’s essential in your writing.

“Short” also applies to:

  • chapters (usually no more than 4,000 words)
  • paragraphs (usually no more than 2-3 sentences)
  • sentences (5-20 words)
  • words (less than 12 characters)

Be careful, though. You want your writing to be as short as possible, but you don’t want to leave anything out. Make sure you’re still hitting all the important parts of your outline.

8. Make It Simple

Short and simple are related, but they aren’t the same thing.

It’s possible to write something short but complex. That’s not a good idea.

It’s ok if your ideas are complex. But you have to break them down into simpler words and sentences. Otherwise, people won’t understand you.

If the goal of your book is to persuade or teach someone, do you think you’ll achieve it with convoluted writing?

Effective persuasion requires you to cut straight to the heart of things. Convince people. Win them over with simple language. Help them understand what you’re trying to say.

Get rid of the extra words and the complicated language. Reach your readers.

9. Make It Direct

What’s wrong with this sentence?

“This blog post was deftly written by Tucker, who deeply considered writing so his extensive knowledge could be had by eager readers, who might take immense benefit from his highly pertinent experience.”

It’s twistier than a Twizzler. And it’s really hard to understand.

A lot of writers use indirect language—passive voice, jargon, and too many clauses, adjectives, and adverbs.

Don’t do it.

Every sentence you write should be clear.

Limit yourself to one thought per sentence. Break your ideas down into direct language. And avoid passive voice at all costs.

Let me explain the difference between active and passive voice since a lot of people don’t know the difference.

Active voice means the subject of the sentence performs the verb. For example,”Tucker wrote the blog post.”

Passive voice means the subject of the sentence receives the action. For example,”The blog post was written by Tucker.”

They mean the exact same thing, but passive voice takes longer for people to understand. They have to imagine the blog and then think about Tucker writing it.

Passive voice also sounds weak and shifty.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at any piece of corporate bullshit writing.

“Mistakes were made.”

Passive voice means that the person doesn’t have to take responsibility for their actions. A strong leader would say, “I made a mistake,” not “mistakes were made.”

Using active voice instead of passive voice is one of the easiest and most impactful things you can do to improve your writing.

10. Make It about the Reader

Why do people buy books?

The subject interests them. They thought it would be helpful. They were curious about the contents. They wanted to laugh. They wanted to cry.

There are countless reasons people buy books. And none of them has anything to do with what the Author wants.

Readers don’t care that it’s your dream to publish a book . They don’t care that you want to sell 3,000 copies. They don’t care that you want to grow your business, find new clients, or make money .

They want to get something from your book.

That’s why good writers always make their books about their readers.

For every word you write, ask yourself, “Why does the reader care?” If you can’t answer that question, scrap it. Shift your focus back to something the reader will care about.

Successful books are the ones that resonate with readers. And to resonate with readers, you have to offer them something worthwhile.

11. Write to an Interested 12-Year-Old

You know your field like the back of your hand. That doesn’t mean everyone else does. If you want to be inclusive and make your writing accessible to everyone, act like you’re talking to an interested 12-year-old.

12-year-olds aren’t toddlers. You don’t have to talk down to them.

But they’re also not people with advanced degrees in financial planning, consulting, or whatever else your specialty is. They’re clever enough to catch on and ask good questions, but you have to be thorough in your explanations.

Yes, this advice is true even for business writing. You might be talking to CEOs, but that doesn’t mean you have to use ten-dollar words or complicated concepts.

Ironically, writing for an interested 12-year-old takes more effort than writing for someone well-versed in your field. Ask any teacher, and they’ll tell you that it’s much easier to explain grammar when their audiences already know what a noun is.

It’s also much harder to keep a 12-year-old’s attention. You have to tell great stories with a hook if you want them to listen.

Your audience might be interested in your topic, but they aren’t captive. If your book is full of jargon or boring anecdotes, they’ll put it down.

It’s hard work to make sure your book is clear and interesting.

But that hard work will pay off. Telling simple, compelling stories is the best way to keep readers’ attention.

The Scribe Crew

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15 Tips That Will Improve Your Writing Today

Learning how to write well is a process that can always be improved. Apply these 15 tactics to elevate your writing to the next level.

Back in 2007, freelancer writers like myself were paid crap per piece of website content.

Due to the youthful tastes of search engines and digital content, algorithms were much simpler to conquer.

The goal was the more content, the better.

More content equals better rankings.

Better rankings equal stronger profit.

“The more content, the better” remains a significant saying across websites today.

Back then, the game plan was to pump out as much as possible, which typically resulted in zero quality.

For me, that meant $5 for rewritten press releases on motorcycle websites.

And $10 for 250-word summaries of anything newsworthy in the pet supply industry.

(Remember those 2007 pet food recalls? The updates were weekly, though a few companies wrote about them every few hours just to produce content.)

Thankfully during these times, I was freelancing for magazines that paid serious money – sometimes $1.50 a word.

Before I knew anything about the Pareto Principle, I was a student of 80/20 living.

I spent most of my time writing – and chasing – magazine writing. Those editors pushed me always to produce the best possible work .

This led to my position today, 13 years later, creating magazine-quality content for the digital world.

Quality continues to be everything, though now the game is much more challenging.

You must create engaging content that reads as if it was written for some of the world’s most popular magazines and also rank highly in search engines.

I wrote plenty about writing for SEO here: SEO Writing: Top 47 Tips to Master a Combined Art .

For this piece, I will provide guidelines and tips about how you can improve your writing today (sans the SEO talk).

The following are 15 lessons I’ve learned throughout the years.

I speak from my experience as a writer in various disciplines; from newspapers to ecommerce product copywriting to blogging to magazine articles to ghostwriting for CEOs.

All of that writing also led to a position as online editor for Ultimate Motorcycling, the launch of my SEO-driven content marketing agency, and the publication of my debut book “365 to Vision: Modern Writer’s Guide (How to Produce More Quality Writing in Less Time.”

Let’s get to it.

1. Distraction-Free All The Time

There’s a saying in the motorcycle industry – ATGATT, which means All the Gear, All the Time.

You never know when a crash will occur – but you must always be prepared.

Well, for writers, the saying should be DFATT – Distraction-Free, All the Time.

Just like you can crash a motorcycle and mess yourself up seriously if not riding with the proper gear, you can create sloppy and unengaging content if not distraction-free every moment you’re writing.

All strong writing begins before the actual act of typing or writing a word.

This means killing anything that will distract you from your thoughts – thoughts that you want clear and concise versus cluttered and disorganized.

The way forward? Pure silence from things that distract.

The biggest culprits are:

  • Notifications from social media – text, chats, or email.
  • Your phone itself (even visually seeing it!).
  • A cluttered environment.
  • Cluttered thoughts.

The notifications part is easy – make sure all are off when writing .

This means zilch, none, nada.

Keep your phone away, whether across the room or hidden in a drawer.

If I’m writing something that takes a massive amount of deep thought, I also shut the internet off on my Mac or Macbook.

As for cluttered environments and thoughts – keep your desk tidy, and declutter your mind by doing something relaxing before writing.

Whether it’s meditation, a walk outdoors, a stupidly fast motorcycle ride…do whatever works for you.

As for people, let your co-workers or family members know (working home is the new norm, correct!) when you’ve blocked times out for writing.

It seems everyone wants an espresso break or opinion on something when you’re focused on your thoughts and discovering how to say them through words.

stand up desks help a writer's energy levels stay high all day

2. Discover Your Peak Creative Hours

Discovering your peak creative hours begins with understanding your circadian rhythms.

Everyone is different.

The good thing is you can alter these by changing sleep patterns – and using light therapy to aid in changing your rhythms.

Until my late 20s, my most creative periods were from 7 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning.

This was a huge problem due to my then 9-to-5 position as head of content at an ecommerce company.

I struggled with creativity during those standard hours, which resulted in sloppy copywriting.

My only solution was to bring the work home and complete it during the evening.

Again, this was when I wasn’t married or had a kid, so my nights were structured differently.

The process also equated to much wasted time at the office during those 9-to-5 working hours, a situation that drove me nuts.

Thankfully, it prompted me to head into freelancing full-time.

Though I did have another short stay at a local digital marketing agency where the same thing happened.

My agency’s business model today relies on only freelance writers – I can care less when they finish their writing assignments as long as they are super quality and delivered on time.

The 9-to-5 mindset is not practical for most creative positions.

Find your creative hours, and work within them.

This will help you produce more quality writing in less time.

And don’t worry if those hours are not practical – you can always change your lifestyle to change your peak creativity time.

I did this, and now feel most creative in the early mornings or mid-afternoons.

It’s all about establishing a healthy routine and sticking with it.

This routine also is greatly influenced by sleeping patterns, which influence your circadian rhythm.

Light therapy also helps.

Discover and train yourself with your own routine, and much more positive work will flow.

3. Maintain Focus

“Good things happen when you narrow your focus,” says Al Ries, the author of a must-read for any business owner, “Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It.”

Though Ries talks about businesses that maintain a focus to achieve larger profits, the advice directly translates to writers.

When your piece of content, whether a blog , service page, magazine article, book, whatever, maintains a focus, your writing won’t confuse.

Confusion is the ultimate enemy within any piece of writing.

Once readers become the slightest bit confused, they flee – and quickly.

This is especially true for the blogging world where the reader expects the article to talk only about what’s included in the title.

For example, if I went on a rant about affiliate marketing within this article intended for those seeking to improve their writing, I’d expect a horrible bounce rate.

And don’t forget writing emails – they need as much focus – or more! – than any type of writing.

If your subject line talks about a content strategy, don’t mention your social media strategy thoughts or Friday’s party plans in the email body.

Start another thread and dedicate that email to that subject.

The less confusion, the better the writing.

4. Outline First

Outlines simplify the writing process because they organize things.

I’m not one for analogies, but you can think of an outline like a GPS map laid out with step-by-step directions.

The map is there – you start at point A and get to point whatever by following the directions – what turns, roads, etc.

There are typically a few different routes from quickest to least quick.

And if you turn somewhere not directed, the GPS will replan your path to get you to the destination.

An outline for any piece of writing works the same – you map out an article from intro to the conclusion.

The thoughts (subtopics) between get you to the destination of what the reader will genuinely discover by reading your work.

I’ve used outlines for every writing type, from blogs to books to service pages to emails.

Most of these are handwritten in my “spew” tablets, which are those inexpensive Moleskine Cahier ones I carry everywhere with me.

writing by hand helps you write better

I used those for outlines and, sometimes, as I did for this piece, first drafts.

Handwritten slows everything down, allowing you to think between the spaces of words.

This tiny change has drastic differences in my writing.

My handwritten first drafts are always less cluttered than my typed drafts.

Let’s use a blog as an example. Ninety-percent of the blogs I create follow the same formula:

  • Engaging intro
  • Statement about struggles and what the blog is all about
  • List of subtopics that offer solutions to the struggles

From there, I’ll write “Intro,” then summarize what I want to say.

I typically use some storytelling function within the intro.

We’re humans, and love stories.

Next, you provide a few sentences or words about a statement you’ll make about a struggle or some huge problem the reader is looking to solve, such as struggling with clear and concise writing.

Next, offer a few sentences about the blog’s intention, such as asking readers to follow your writing tips.

From there, thoughts on what subtopics you’ll use.

I typically create my headings here, and a few notes about what I’ll write under those headings.

Lastly, I’ll create some concluding thoughts that wrap it up.

The outline will answer what I was attempting to say if I’ll say it, and where this guidance can take the reader.

As for the act of creating these outlines, the order rarely matters.

Sometimes I begin with the conclusion, move to subtopics, and leave the intro for last.

This is also sometimes the way I’ll write articles once they’re outlined.

Writing backward offers unique perspectives because it allows you to see and think differently about what you didn’t say yet – or were about to tell.

5. Active Voice Dominates

The dog was walked by Peter.

Peter walked the dog.

Which sounds and visually appears cleaner? The second, of course.

Use an active voice as much as possible.

The subject should always receive the action.

But there’s nothing wrong with passive voice.

Use it wisely to make a point and change the rhythm of your writing.

6. Choose Your Point of View Wisely

First, second, or third?

Regardless of what point of view you use, stick with it throughout your writing – especially for smaller pieces.

With that said, it’s OK to use two tenses when writing longer pieces, such as a book.

I like to use the first and second person in most of my work.

I like talking to you as a reader directly, but also like sharing my stories from a first-person perspective.

7. Short Sentences, Short Paragraphs

Short sentences don’t confuse.

Read Hemingway. Then read Faulkner.

Which author reads easier?

Hemingway’s work is clear and concise – two elements that every author should chase religiously.

His paragraphs and sentences are also shorter, which helps clear the reader’s psychological space, assisting in understanding.

I love short and choppy sentences and short paragraphs.

Others hate it.

Find your style, and always stick to it.

Another great read on this subject is Hunter S. Thompson.

Read “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

The entire book can be read within three hours due to his use of short and snappy sentences and short paragraphs.

8. Always Tell A Story

Storytelling is everything. Humans thrive on stories.

Whenever you’re writing, try to insert a storytelling element.

For example, my debut book is a how-to guide for modern writers, but it’s loaded with many anecdotes about my life as a writer.

This helps keep people engaged, especially when the storytelling is somewhat unusual.

9. Paper Print Out for Edits

When I finished my debut book, I printed it out after my final edit on the computer.

Over 40,000 words of content need serious review.

When I finished my first round of paper edits, I found 86 mistakes.

I changed them and then printed out another round. I found 12 more mistakes, and my wife another six or so.

Seeing a hard copy helps us recognize mistakes quicker. Try it – it’s a game-changer.

10. Read Out Loud

To add to the above point, when I published with my book, I hired a fellow writer, Geoff Sturtevant, to create an audio version through Amazon’s ACX.

By reading each passage aloud, my audio partner found an additional four mistakes, which led to me finding yet another spelling mistake. (Sorry, Joe Pulizzi – I’ll never put two Ls in your name again. All fixed now.)

Perform the reading out loud portion after you complete the final edits.

I promise you’ll find something – even if it’s merely the rhythm of a sentence that sounds a bit off.

Sturtevant taught me to take that one step further.

When editing a piece of text on a Mac, place it into a .txt file (note that you can’t do this through Google Docs or Word).

Then, highlight a selection or all, and right-click the text.

Select A dd to iTunes as a spoken track.  Minutes later, you have a digital audiobook.

Listen to it (though the voice is annoying), and you’ll quickly recognize a mistake.

Genius – wish I thought of that!

walking away from it all before final edits helps writers

11. Walk Before Final Edits

I make it a habit of walking away from a piece of content for an entire day before doing my final edit and submitting it.

I use this practice for my personal and client content.

This allows your mind to refresh, and you’ll read the piece with a new focus and more energy.

I can’t explain the science behind it and don’t care to.

And I’m religious about this practice because it works so well.

12. Read & Write More

Read more and write more, and you’ll improve your craft dramatically within a short period.

Stephen King says it perfectly:

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”

I demand at least 1,000 words daily across various subjects – personal articles like this, non-fiction and fiction books, and some client work.

I have many talented writers on my team, but I continue to write for specific clients.

This also keeps me fresh and closer to the clients because writing is truly the quickest way to learn.

13. Keyword Research

Though I said I would stray from SEO talk, I still must mention keyword research .

It’s that important and should be done before anything is written.

Except for the outline, though, even having some keyword knowledge beforehand can benefit greatly.

Let me explain.

When you perform keyword research around a topic using a tool like my go-to, SEMrush, you’ll discover some other ideas of what people are searching for around that topic.

The examples may initiate another thought, helping you discover something else you’d like to say.

This is especially true when you check out the “questions” related to the analyzed keyword through a tool like SEMrush.

Serch Engine Journal readers know keyword research, but here’s a quick recap of what’s essential.

Chasing keywords that your website can rank for is crucial.

For example, SEJ can both rank number one for longer-tail terms like “why amp pages” that have a search volume of 40 and a huge term like “search engines” that has 90,500.

That’s the power of strong SEO – and endless amounts of content daily.

But others can only try to rank for those longer-tail, less-volume keywords .

One must also consider voice search, which is where the “related keywords” are powerful tools.

If you choose to optimize a page for, say Stephen King Books, a related keyword that would help in voice search would be “does stephen king still write books.”

14. Provide Meta Descriptions When Writing Online Content

OK, one more SEO bit.

We all know customized meta descriptions are SEO 101.

Providing meta descriptions helps improve your writing because it forces you to focus sharply on summarizing your entire piece in 160 characters – not words.

Offer a meta description with each writing piece, whether a blog, product page, service page, or about page.

Not only will they help you improve your craft – short summaries that market a piece are more challenging than the actual writing sometimes – they will also increase up your client’s respect levels for your work.

Keep the descriptions between 150 and 160 characters, and get creative.

A simple formula is the struggles/solution formula.

Basically, mention what someone’s struggling with, and how the content they’ll read will address the problem.

always write strong meta descriptions for your online content

Here are a few other simple guidelines:

  • Grammatically correct. (Do I need to say why?)
  • Don’t duplicate others (your own or competitors).
  • Use active voice.
  • Use target keyword (these become bold when searched for, influencing searchers for more click-throughs).
  • Call to action : These are not mandatory for long-form informative articles like blogs or white papers but can help drive action for pages where the action is needed, such as product page (buy here today) or newsletter signup (Join here today).

15. Endless Energy

Before you can create content that engages, you need energy.

To fight unproductive, my productivity writing habits include the following daily.

This list has some of the best hacks that simply work for me:

Stand-up Desk

Don’t sit; it robs energy.

Unless you have some serious health issues, stand and write all day.

Your energy levels will thank you, as will your posture.

Unscrew the LEDs

LEDs may provide great light, but they rob energy .

Multiple Supplements Daily

A few of my favorites that supercharge the brain are GABA, Theacrine, and Huperzine.

(Author’s Note: I am not a doctor. These supplements work for me. So do your own research and consult a doctor to see what could work for you.)

Zero Caffeine After 2 P.M.

Yeah – odd as it sounds, but it helps me with sleep, which helps with my energy.

Ending Every Shower Ice-Cold

Try this for 30 seconds and work your way up to two minutes during every shower.

This simple act multiplies the electrical impulses to your brain, helping with clarity and energy.

It also helps circulation, which helps with energy levels.

Mini Trampoline

Rebounding on a trampoline is not discussed often, but the benefits are many.

Trampolining provides the benefits of a jog without all the stress on your joints, and can be done within any office setting due to the small sizes of mini-trampolines.

I jump about two minutes every hour – it provides a natural energy boost by getting the heart rate raised and improving circulation.

It also stimulates your lymphatic system, which assists in detoxification.

Circadian Optics Light Therapy

Light in the morning mimics the sun to awake us.

Stay on a pattern of sleep daily.

Read “Sleep Smarter” by Shawn Stevenson, and you’ll quickly understand the serious power of consistent sleep.

Monitor Alcohol Before Bed

Yes – I hate this one because I love winemaking and drinking it.

But alcohol messes with your sleep.

SleepFoundation.org says you should stop drinking four hours before bedtime (*sigh).

More energy hacks exist. But these are the top players from my experience.

The Takeaway

All writers can improve their writing, and those improvements start today.

Above all, remember that learning to write well is a process, and the more you write, the better you’ll get.

Implement the above 15 tips into your everyday writing life, 365 days a year, and you’ll develop stronger skills quickly.

More Resources:

  • 5 Content Writing Tips: How to Get to the Point Clearer & Faster
  • How to Write Content Better & Faster: 10 Secrets to Try Now
  • Content Marketing: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to What Works

Image Credits

Screenshot taken by author, September 2020

Ron Lieback is the author of “365 to Vision: Modern Writer’s Guide (How to Produce More Quality Writing in Less ...

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British Council India

How to improve your English writing skills

By Rajul Goveas

31 august 2021 - 12:16pm.

Creative Writing adults

by Rajul Goveas

Are you the kind of person who picks up a pen to write and has words on the tip of your tongue, but they refuse to come on to the paper? Or maybe they quickly fall on to the paper, show up on your screen, but you don’t want to show anyone your writing? Don’t panic. Even the best writers get writer’s block or have had their work rejected many times.

Writing requires vocabulary, grammar, spelling, punctuation, structure and, most importantly, ideas.

But the first step is a simple one: Just sit down and get started.

In this post, we’ll look at some general tips to help you improve your writing, whatever you want to write. Then we’ll focus on some specific areas to help you get better at different types of writing.

These areas are:

  • Email and letter writing
  • Creative writing
  • Paragraph writing
  • Cohesion in writing

I’ll also share some useful links for some more practice below, so don’t forget to check those out too.

Why should you write? There are many reasons to write: Maybe you need to write emails or letters in English for work or business. You might be a creative person wanting to write stories in English or content for an advertisement. Perhaps you are a script writer wanting to write dialogues in English. Maybe you have an English exam coming up, such as IELTS, and want to get a high band score with that perfect essay.

On top of all this, you can also write for fun! Write because you like to use the words you know and see them on the screen or on paper. Writing for fun is also a great way to build your confidence and ability.

Tips for improving your all-round writing skills

There are some good ways to improve your all-round writing skills, whatever you want to write:

  • To write well, read a lot and read different things e.g. storybooks, newspapers, magazines. As you read, notice the words, their spellings, ideas in the writing and the message they are trying to convey. Try to use this in your own writing to build your range of expression.
  • You can improve your writing by reading texts in the style you want to write in (emails, stories, scripts and adverts all have different structures and rules). Look beyond the text and try to understand how they are structured – are headings used? How are paragraphs written? What kind of language is used?
  • Some people like to keep a diary. Do you keep one? Try making some notes in it often. This means you will get into the habit of writing which will help you improve.
  • Try expressing yourself when you message using words instead of using emojis. This will help you build vocabulary.
  • Remember what you heard in the news, or on TV talks etc. and recreate it in your own words. This will help you build your information-giving and storytelling skills.  
  • Be creative. Rewrite fight scenes into romantic or comedy scenes to enjoy your writing. Share with your friends to have a good laugh. Creativity is good to help you generate ideas and make your writing interesting.
  • Plan your writing and check what you have written after completing it. Read it as if you are the intended reader and not the writer. Will your reader understand everything?

I mproving your writing approach

It’s a good idea to follow the same approach whenever you write, whatever you are writing.

Well, here’s one simple and POWER ful technique:

POWER writing

Watch this video for some more great tips to help you improve your writing skills.

Improving specific writing skills

Now let’s look at how you can improve specific areas of your writing. We’ll cover:

Tips for emails or letter writing in English

Do you write emails and or letters? If the answer is yes, here are some easy to remember tips.

(Do note, there are many similarities between emails and letter; so, let’s put the two together and call it email writing as there are more emails written these days than letters.)

  • Write with the reader in mind – what message do you want to get across?
  • Write in an active voice instead of passive voice, this makes your message clear.
  • Avoid jargon to help your reader understand fully.
  • Develop a personal, warm tone – personal emails are usually informal and business emails are usually formal or semi-formal.
  • Avoid long sentences as these can be difficult to read.
  • Use short paragraphs so you reader can follow easily.
  • Write to the point and avoid unnecessary information.

Look at this email between colleagues. Notice the tips from above in action.

From : Sonika Gomez To : Simran Raj Subject : Request for new price list for Golden Glow face creams

Dear Simran,  

We are presenting to some new clients next Monday 10 December and they are interested in our Golden Glow face creams.

I understand from Anya that the prices have changed recently. She mentioned that you have the new price list. Do you think you could email it to me?

I would be grateful if we could have it by close of business on Thursday 6 December. That would give us time to prepare for our presentation.

Thanks very much for your help.

Best regards,

Finally, there are a couple of important things you need to remember; email etiquette and the ‘KISS’ rule.

Email etiquette means you choose the right approach and level of formality. Semi-formal or formal emails, for example, use the correct salutation and sign off and usually avoid using contractions (I’d, we’re, you’ll etc.)

Learn more about email etiquette here .

The KISS rule is: K eep I t S hort & S imple – your reader will thank you!

Tips for creative writing

Let’s turn our thoughts to some fun writing; story writing in English, or creative writing. Are you curious as to what I am going to say here? Good! Then you are on the right track as creative writers should always be curious. Why? Because that’s where you will get your ideas from.

Look around you for inspiration, your family and personal experiences are great sources for interesting stories. The ordinary or the extraordinary events and people you have experienced lend colour to your life, don’t they?

Think of other stories from movies or plays you have seen. Are there ideas from there you can borrow?

  • Think of stories that have different emotions. Step back into the past and think of your time in school, the friends you made and lost, your best friends in college and the ones you were so jealous of. Then the lovely warm moments, like being at home with wonderful grandparents you wished would live forever.

Turn your inspiration into a story. Think of the setting or backdrop of your story. All the people become the characters and all the emotions help you develop the narrative.

Develop your vocabulary, especially nouns, verbs and adjectives that will help you describe things and vary your language.

Are you starting out as a story writer? You can find some great beginner tips here .

Do you want to build your vocabulary to help your describe things? Start here with an activity on describing appearance.

Tips for paragraph writing

Why do we need paragraphs? Because they help the reader progress through your writing and understand your ideas. It is a good idea to write a new idea in each new paragraph. You can follow a basic paragraph structure to help you write clearly and logically.  

Note that is normal to leave a line between each paragraph to clearly mark the division.

Look at this example to see good paragraphing in action:

My last holiday was a 3-week trip to Cairns in North Queensland, Australia. I know Cairns well because I lived there when I was at university, more than fifteen years ago.

Instead of staying in a hotel, I stayed with two of my old friends in their lovely spacious home. It was so much fun, and a little bit like my old life. I wanted to do all the same things I did in my university days, so I visited all the familiar places and mainly the university. It has changed, is a lot bigger and looks more modern. I also cycled down to the supermarket near my old house. I loved seeing all the different foods. I was really happy to find my favourite Woodside cheese and double coated chocolate Tim Tam biscuits, but they were a bit more expensive than I remember!

  • Each paragraph has one central idea.
  • There is a topic sentence which tells you what the paragraph is about. This is usually the first sentence in the paragraph.
  • Add a few more sentences to give a supporting point or develop the idea written about in the topic sentence.
  • The last sentence in each paragraph sums up the main idea of the paragraph and it can also link to the next paragraph.

To find out more about writing about a holiday like the example above visit this site .

Tips for cohesion in writing

Cohesion is the use of various cohesive devices to link individual sentences and ideas. This is required to make our ideas flow naturally and help the reader follow what we are saying.

Look at this paragraph and notice how the underlined words and phrases link the text together:

It is true that these days everything you want to know is a few clicks away as long as you have internet access. However, not everyone has working internet all the time, for example in certain buildings or remote locations, so we do need to be able to remember information. Moreover, it takes time to look up everything you need to know online, whereas remembering something is immediate. The human memory is a much more efficient system.

Here are some ideas to help you link your text: 

  • Use linking words, devices and expressions (although, in addition, what’s more etc.) to link different parts of text.
  • Use signposting words like firstly, secondly, and finally.
  • Use pronouns to refer to things mentioned before or after (I went out with Jo on Sunday. She looked awful).
  • Organise or list your points (see how I use bullet points?)
  • Use examples to support your point
  • State contrasting ideas (on the other hand, however etc.)
  • Write about consequences if any (as a result, due to this etc.)

Find out more about linking words here and here .

Are you ready to write? Get started now!

  • Best ways to improve your English speaking skills

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Advanced English: 23 Methods and Additional Resources for Continuous Improvement

As we all know, learning a language is not an easy task.

At higher levels of language learning , it’s very common to reach a plateau—a point where you feel like you’re no longer making progress.

In this post, we’ll discuss 23 methods to continue improving the four major language skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking) at an advanced level of English proficiency.

The Receptive Skills

1. change your usual resources, 2. test yourself on the text, 3. try speed reading, 4. get familiar with different accents, 5. try listening to different podcasts, news and speeches, 6. watch fun english videos, 7. transcribe exactly what you hear, the productive skills, 8. study and practice the fundamentals of writing, 9. test your ability to write to different people, 10. experiment with advanced grammar structures, 11. challenge yourself with new vocabulary, 12. practice academic and formal writing, 13. learn to edit your writing, 14. seek feedback and corrections, 15. write for fun, 16. do english crossword puzzles, 17. incorporate idioms and expressions into your speech, 18. keep working on your pronunciation, 19. practice with a native speaker or friend, improving vocabulary for advanced english learners, 20. develop a “deep study” habit, 21. find memorization techniques that work for you, 22. increase your exposure to english vocabulary, 23. move out of your comfort zone, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Reading and listening are receptive skills. This means you’ll receive English-language input and need to understand it.

Here are some things you can try to improve each.

One of the reasons students reach a plateau in their advanced English reading skills is because they often read the same kind of text over and over again.

Do you read the same newspaper every day? Are you reading the fifteenth book in a series of mystery novels?

To get better at reading, change it up! Choose a newspaper you’ve never read before. Select your next novel from a genre that is new to you. Read an English-language blog .

If you’re like me, then perhaps you like to check the news in the morning.

By simply  switching languages and checking  relevant English news sources   you’ll be able to both keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the world and practice your English reading comprehension.

If you read a wider variety of genres and authors, you’ll encounter more varied language and you’ll be more likely to learn something new.

If you’re hesitant to read new material because looking up new words is time-consuming, consider using the online extension Readlang .

Adding Readlang to your devices will allow you to click on any English word for an instant translation. It will even automatically save the words you’ve clicked as flashcards so you can study them.

Of course, reading anything is better than not reading at all. But to improve your reading skills, you have to get out of your comfort zone!

Are you studying English by yourself without a classroom or teacher? Has it been a long time since your last formal English reading exam?

If so, then you may be out of practice with certain skills. For example, guessing the meaning of a new word based on its context is a skill often taught to students when they’re going to take exams.

So, next time you read something for pleasure, take a few minutes after you finish to study the text as if you were preparing for an exam.

Pretend that it’s very important for you to remember all of the most important information about the reading. Imagine what type of questions could appear on an exam, and then try to answer them.

You don’t have to sign up for a speed reading course or get competitive about it, but you can try to increase the number of English words you’re able to read and understand per minute.

Follow these steps to give it a go:

  • Time yourself while reading a paragraph of a book or other text. For example, read quickly for 30 seconds.
  • Then, without timing yourself, read the paragraph again to check for any key information that you didn’t understand.
  • If you missed something, review it. Then, do more practice reading at the same speed.
  • Keep reading at the same speed (or even a little slower!) until you’re able to understand almost everything.

If you can read the text without missing key information, then you know you can try the next paragraph a bit faster.

Little by little, your speed will improve along with your advanced English reading skills.

Reading quickly takes practice , but remember—it’s only helpful if you actually understand what you’re reading.

One challenge of learning any language is the fact that different regions have different dialects and accents .

You may be perfectly comfortable listening to an American speaker, but have you mastered the Australian accent ? What about the Northern Irish accent?

If you still find certain accents difficult to understand, focus on improving your listening comprehension .

These days, it’s easy to find YouTube videos narrated by users from around the world, or even full-length films featuring actors with the accent you’d like to work on.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

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Using authentic content intended for native speakers will allow you to pick out the nuances of different accents so you can practice listening to all types of English.

Like all language skills, your listening comprehension of English accents will improve with practice. Once you feel more comfortable, you could even try to find a language partner from that region to practice with!

Nowadays, podcasts and videos on just about every niche (very specific topic) are available online.

Listening to a podcast or video on a topic that you know a lot about in your native language will improve your language skills in English.

You’ll already know the general idea because you learned about this topic before you learned English.

If you need some resources for finding interesting videos or podcasts at advanced English levels, you can check out:

  • BBC Learning News Review . They release 10-minute news stories every Tuesday about the relevant issues of the week. It’s free, and you can download the transcript and audio, and take a multiple-choice quiz for each episode.
  • TED Talks . Whatever you’re curious about—whether it’s street art, technology trends or something else—there’s probably a TED talk about it. Each talk has transcripts and subtitles in 30+ languages to aid your understanding.
  • English Learning for Curious Minds . This podcast focuses on interesting people and weird history like banned books and the quest for immortality. 

If you’re looking for some morning motivation before you start your workday or gym session, you can  listen to some  inspiring and memorable English speeches .  English speeches are short, powerful and vocabulary-rich sources of English practice.

Speeches are a fantastic tool to use for your learning because they also teach you about English culture. They also help you with other skills such as public speaking, confidence and tone.

If you absolutely fall in love with a speech, you can even find a transcript and practice it yourself in the mirror.

If you like to watch YouTube videos to unwind, you can watch some  cool YouTube videos to help you study English .

Due to the entertainment value of many YouTube videos, you’ll be having fun while practicing your English. Find a channel that you’re interested in and then keep up-to-date with the content. To take it a step further you can even comment and interact with other viewers.

If you’re more of a  TV   buff  (TV fan), you can  explore some of the most  addictive TV shows from the English-speaking world .  Watching TV series with different themes is a great way to explore new and exciting vocabulary. You can go from a nature documentary to a horror series very easily with today’s platforms.

Start out by watching with subtitles, and turn them off when you feel comfortable. While watching, record new vocabulary and try to notice differences in the characters’ accents.

One of the best ways to truly test your listening comprehension is to try transcribing or writing down everything you hear.

You can type your transcription on the computer, but writing by hand is much better for your memory .

Transcribing will give you an idea of how much you actually understand when you’re listening. You’ll also learn whether that understanding is based on your real comprehension of individual words, or just on overall, general context.

That is, did you understand 100% of the words that were spoken? Or did you understand 50% of the words and the overall message from context?

Transcribing everything you hear, word by word, will draw your attention to important language features like unstressed syllables, different forms of words, which words connect other words and which words blend together—all features of spoken English which can be problem areas for learners.

Writing and speaking are the productive skills, where you’ll need to create English sentences yourself, sometimes without any input.

Many learners find these skills more difficult because they require more knowledge about English and how it works. 

It’s never a bad idea to go back to the basics.

Before you try to get fancy, make sure you’ve mastered basic concepts such as spelling.

English spelling can be very difficult  and in addition to this, it can be tempting to rely on spell checkers and modern apps. But remember that spelling study also helps with your reading skills and writing skills.

If you’re using some sort of spell checker be sure to attempt to spell difficult vocabulary first. If it’s incorrect then try again before checking with your app or dictionary.

Once you’re sure your spelling is correct, you can move on to other fundamentals such as  structure, tone, voice and level of formality.  This will allow you to write like a native English speaker.

How would you write an email invitation to dinner for your 13-year-old niece? You would probably be very casual, cute and simple.

How would you write a letter to your grandmother? It would probably be casual and friendly, but also very respectful and polite.

How would you write a business letter to your boss? You would most likely be very formal, polite and professional.

Practicing different registers, or levels of formality , is a useful exercise that will keep your advanced English writing skills fresh and varied.

To help you improve the style of your writing, you can try using Hemingway . Named after the American writer Ernest Hemingway, this program provides immediate feedback that tells you how to simplify your writing in order to be more clear and concise, no matter who you’re writing to.

Even if there are English registers that you don’t normally have to use, it’s good to practice them. You never know when those skills might be helpful, or even required!

If your daily writing needs are limited to text messages, you may find that you’ve forgotten the advanced English grammar you’ve learned.

But just because you don’t need to use advanced grammar patterns doesn’t mean you should avoid them. In fact, they’ll help take your English skills to the next level !

Try to use more:

  • Verb tenses
  • Conditionals
  • Phrasal verbs

If you need a refresher or want to learn more, check out the Advanced Grammar and Punctuation Specialization course on Coursera. You’ll get free online lessons, plus assignments and projects to help the concepts stick.

Another option is the book “Advanced Grammar in Use.” It’s geared towards C1-C2 level English learners and functions as a combination reference and practice book, so you can study grammar on your own as you’d like.

For one-on-one feedback, you can try Go Correct . For a fee of either £10 or £16.50, you’ll receive three to five questions per week. Reply to each question using 70 words or less, and an English teacher will correct your writing, complete with grammar explanations.

So, next time you sit down to practice writing in English , try including some more advanced grammar!

Just like with grammar, most language learners understand much more vocabulary  than they actually use.

However, there’s no reason not to use the words that you spent such a long time learning! Again, it’s important to get out of your comfort zone and try out vocabulary that you don’t use often.

You can practice using vocabulary in different ways. For example, you can first choose one new word you want to master and write it multiple times in different sentences. Next time you practice, write something longer and replace a few words in each paragraph with more advanced synonyms.

Make sure to stay true to the meaning of new words you use. You should be sure of the word’s meaning and proper usage, otherwise, your writing might sound awkward or have a meaning that you didn’t intend.

If you want a fun way to build up your English vocabulary, check out the daily crossword puzzle at Dictionary.com . You’ll get pop culture tidbits about movies, artists and slang while expanding your knowledge of English words.

Another method is to practice your academic writing. Reports, emails, essays and presentations  are included in this group. If you’re an advanced English speaker then there’s a chance that you’ve already come across  academic writing in English as a university student .

Some great tips for writing academic English include learning grammatical structures, staying away from contractions and upgrading basic vocabulary. For example, when you edit your writing you can exchange words like  good  for  excellent  and so on.

There are also many  great resources online to help with any academic writing skills . Even if you’re not attending an academic institution, you’ll still find these resources useful.

Many great authors will tell you that the editing process is the most important step in good writing.

Once you reach an advanced level of writing,  it’s advisable to edit your writing.  To do this, first, take a step back and away from your work. Then approach it with fresh eyes and assess your work for spelling, grammar and structure.

If it’s an essay, ask yourself if there’s a clear introduction that introduces your main idea, many well-written body paragraphs and a conclusion that emphasizes your key points.

After checking the structure, you can edit the language.  Is it forceful, direct and clear? If not, consider your word choice and make appropriate changes.

After the self-editing process,  it’s advisable to have your writing checked by somebody else.  This can be done by a native speaking partner, your English teacher or an online service.

This is a key way to improve your writing. Corrections and feedback can then be implemented into your writing study and upcoming work. You can do this with any piece of work. It’s sometimes known as a  feedback loop,  and it’s an important step if you’re looking to seriously improve your writing level.

Another great way to improve writing skills is to write for fun.  It’s important to play around with different writing forms.  With some  excellent descriptive writing tricks , you’ll be able to discover more advanced vocabulary and explore different writing forms.

One of the best ways to practice is to  write in a creative writing style.  You can write stories, poetry or any type of creative fiction.

Start by freewriting. This means that you just write whatever comes to your head. After this, you can edit for spelling, grammar and style.

Challenging crossword puzzles in English  are an excellent tool to help develop spelling skills. Crosswords are also a great exercise to fill time when you’re waiting for something like an appointment or a train.

In addition to this, they’re a great tool to practice reasoning skills in English. Weekend morning crossword puzzles were and still are a popular weekend morning activity with the morning newspaper. Of course, you can also find them online.

You can even challenge your friends for social English learning!

Native speakers of every language use a lot of idioms and expressions in their everyday speech. One way to take your advanced English closer to fluency is to make sure you use them too!

You’ve probably already learned a lot of idioms and expressions. After all, there are many books, websites and videos about them. The Accurate English YouTube channel , for example, specializes in advanced English speaking and explains many useful expressions.

The real key is to start using more English idioms and expressions yourself!

Every day, make a list of five idioms that you’d like to use. It’s okay to repeat them for a few days, or even a few weeks. Challenge yourself to find appropriate moments to use the expressions each day.

Even if you speak your native language all day at work or school, you can do this practice silently in your head. The next time you find a good moment to use an idiom in English , it will come to you more readily and your English will sound more natural and carefree.

Unless you moved to an English-speaking country before the age of about four years old, you won’t sound like a native speaker when you speak English—and that’s okay!

Being a native speaker doesn’t automatically make someone a perfect speaker, anyway. And being a non-native speaker doesn’t mean someone speaks English badly.

The most important thing about English pronunciation is that you’re well-understood by the people with whom you converse.

Check out this video to learn more about the common mistakes in English pronunciation:

Since you’re at the advanced level of English proficiency, I’m sure people already understand you pretty easily. If so, it’s time to perfect your English accent !

You can do this with ELSA , an AI-powered pronunciation coach designed to help you develop a more standard American accent. Talk out loud to the app, and it will highlight the exact sounds and syllables in your speech that you can work on to get closer to native pronunciation.

For other accents and further practice, keep listening to native speaker pronunciation, as well as friends who have a higher level of English than you do. Try to mimic these people and figure out exactly what mouth shape and tongue positions are necessary to keep improving.

You probably knew this advice was coming. What is the number one way to improve your English speaking skills? Speaking , of course!

Aim to spend as much time as possible practicing your speaking skills. If you have a very advanced level of English, you’ll make the most progress by having lots of different conversations with native speakers.

No native speakers around you? Don’t worry!

There are plenty of other solutions, including practicing with a friend who has the same or a higher level of English than you. You can also find native speakers to practice with online —and you may make some new friends in the process!

Just remember that it’s okay to make mistakes, even at the highest levels of language learning. Even native speakers don’t speak perfectly all the time!

Invite your friends or language partners to correct your mistakes , and you’ll keep improving.

Building a  deep and unique vocabulary is an excellent tool for your future English capabilities. Let’s take a look at a few strategies below.

Take one central topic or one vocabulary word and then think about all the different ways to talk about it.

For example, if we start with the word  happy,  we can make a list of several English ways of saying happy  including synonyms, expressions, idioms, and sayings.

You can take the same approach with any word or concept.

Here’s another example: start with the English concept of “luck.” You can dive deep into the English language of luck .

You can look at history, superstitions, expressions, phrases, and words that all relate to this central concept.

All this “deep study” helps create a map in our mind and helps learn vocabulary in a natural way.

Memorization techniques are one of the most effective ways to learn  hard English words .

You can use visualization strategies or memory devices to help learn and remember complex English vocabulary.

This approach is especially important if you have an exam or project and are required to learn a specific amount of vocabulary words in a short period of time.

The more time you spend reading and listening to English, the more vocabulary you’ll learn.

Take music, for example. There are many examples of English vocabulary from famous English songs . You can use music to boost vocabulary by taking advantage of lyrics, repetition and context. By simply introducing English music into your daily routine, you’ll increase your ability to speak like a native speaker.

Movies, TV, books and the news are other great ways to increase your vocabulary exposure.

If you understand every single word in your English study materials, it’s time to find new materials.

There are many ways to get out of your comfort zone. You can choose to study a different type of English like business or technical English. You can start to speak with native speakers from around the world.

A great tip is to notify your native speaking partner that you’re in the process of learning advanced vocabulary. They can consciously try to use more advanced vocabulary when you’re speaking together.

When you’re at an advanced English level, it’s important to know your own language needs.

Every learner has individual strengths and weaknesses. To keep improving, you’ll need to focus on certain skills more than others.

But that’s great, because you are the boss of your own language learning process! You got this!

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

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If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

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FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

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FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

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FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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15 Tips for Improving Your Writing in Graduate School

Featured image

A few weeks ago I submitted an application for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award , commonly known as the ‘F31.’ While the experience is fresh in my mind, I figured I’d share reflections and resources for writing in graduate school. Since I’m certainly not an expert at this yet, I also reached out to friends at my own institution and around the country to see what peers I respect have to say on the subject. While this list leans heavily towards advice specific to grant writing, many of the lessons can be applied broadly to academically writing such as the qualifying exam, the thesis, or publications. Please comment or tweet at us with suggestions of your own!

Getting Started

  • You can’t start too early. I struggle with allotting enough time for big projects like writing and presentation preparations. I make any excuse I can, and sometimes end up cleaning my entire apartment (which I’ve dubbed “procrasti-cleaning”) before sitting down to write. But the reality is that academic writing requires time and revision. And lengthy grant applications often have multiple sections—you don’t want to be one day from submission and discover there is a section you hadn’t noticed before. You’ll also likely find that as you do the background reading that you’ve been meaning to do forever in order to write your introduction, that you might come up with new ideas for experiments. You’ll need time for major edits like this. I suggest setting internal deadlines for yourself, for example, pick a date for sending a draft to friends and actually hold yourself accountable to sticking to it. This will cut down on stress in a big way.
  • Make a timeline & tack on extra days for the non-science sections. My graduate school has grant writing workshops which force you into a timeline of working on specific sections of the application at specific times. I think this was a great idea, although I suggest giving yourself extra time for any non-science sections. Grant applications can have multiple sections other than the actual research proposal. For example, the F31 requires a ‘Facilities and Resources’ document and an ‘Equipment’ document. It may seem like the research proposal is the only part of the application that should really matter, but all the other sections are still part of your evaluation. Whatever time you think it will take to write these sections, add a few extra days—you may be surprised how long it takes you to complete these documents.
  • Motivate yourself with scheduling tricks. Of course, setting internal deadlines is a great goal, but you may still find it hard to get started. Fellow PLOS ECR editor Mary Gearing suggests scheduling specific time for uninterrupted writing. No running a gel or incubating samples at the same time—just writing. She also sent along this link about the “Pebble Rock Boulder” method of timing yourself in increasingly long increments to help you get started and stay on task. For something a bit more whimsical, I suggest you add cats .
  • Take breaks and try new writing locations. This hearkens back to my point about starting early. It’s important to be able to take a break from writing so that you can return to it with fresh eyes and a rested mind. It’s also not a bad idea to try out different locations for your writing. Think about what matters to you in a work spot (outlets, snacks, and a nearby bathroom are the trifecta for me) and then try out places until you see where you work best.

The Actual Writing

  • Read good writing! The more you read the more you will gain a knack for writing like a scientist, and you’ll be able to pick up on things you like and don’t like. My friend Vidur Garg, a fellow PhD candidate at Weill Cornell Medical College, suggests that to get a better insight into the style of science writing for your field, read reviews and previews in the journals your field respects most. These are generally put together by experts in the field, and as Vidur said via email, “They put the scope and results in a simpler format and are also more informal in style with the goal of communicating to a broader audience.” You can set email alerts for these summaries and briefings for pretty much any journal, and if you discover authors whose writing you really respect, you can set a PubMed alert so you don’t miss anything they publish.
  • Know your terminology. Vidur also pointed out that making sense of scientific terminology can be a major challenge for new writers. Word choice and usage can lead to confusion at best and fierce debates at worst. Read as much as you can to get a sense of what terms currently mean in your field (definitions change as new discoveries are made), and if you aren’t sure about something speak up and ask your mentors.
  • Be aware of how different writing training experiences compare and contrast . While working on my grant application, I found that I was treating it like a qualifying exam—discussing the potential pitfalls in great detail to demonstrate I could think critically about the project. This is great for a qualifying exam, but labmates pointed out to me that when you are trying to get funding, you need to focus more on the reasons why your project will work than why it might not work. You still need to discuss pitfalls of course, but be careful to drive home why you have confidence in your plan.
  • Talk to students who have applied successfully . I was fortunate to have this built into my graduate school’s grant writing workshop, as they had surveyed past grant awardees to get their advice for us. Your graduate school likely has kept track of who has won in previous years and can connect you if you ask.
  • The more eyes the better. Asking a friend to proofread a draft is always a good idea, since they introduce a level of objectivity that cannot be achieved by self-editing. They are familiar with science, and maybe even your field, but they don’t know the minute details of your project until they read your proposal. I find it most valuable to ask labmates who are older (and wiser) than I am for advice, and then someone in a different lab or program to diversify my proofreader portfolio. I have found discussing my work with my grad school friends has led to some of my favorite moments of my PhD thus far. Of course, if your work contains proprietary information of some kind, getting proofreaders may be more difficult. And for a qualifying exam, there may be restrictions on who can read your work. Before getting proofreaders, always be sure of any rules in the grant or exam and discuss with your PI who is authorized to read the work.
  • Keep your sources organized.  I remember in undergrad, before I learned to use a citation manager, I tried to keep track of all my sources myself and typed out each citation. Do not do this!! You’re making unnecessary work for yourself and are likely to forget a citation or make other mistakes. I love Mendeley for keeping track of citations, and it’s free too. There’s also a number of programs like Endnote where you can keep track of your citations; some of these programs do cost money, but some university libraries can offer discounts. Try a few until you find one that works for you. I’ve been using Mendeley long enough now that I have a nice record of all the publications I’ve ever used in my writing. This was helpful for my NIH Biosketch, where I had to document previous contributions to science. I was able to easily go back and refresh my memory by skimming through the papers I read for my undergrad thesis.  

Where to Turn for Help  

  • Draw on the resources your graduate school offers. My graduate school offers many programs throughout the year to improve writing, which allow for discussion with peers and provide useful handouts and online resources. Keep your eyes peeled for emails from your institution about workshops or classes, and then actually go. You may feel like you had enough experience writing in undergrad and don’t need further instruction, but these programs can offer great value. My school’s F31 workshop brought in previous awardees from our school to discuss how to apply, and brought in professors who had served on study sections to share advice. If your institution doesn’t have something like this, try petitioning to get one started. It’s in the best interest of the institution to have graduate students winning grants, both from a reputation and a financial standpoint, so there’s no harm in going for it.
  • Look for workshops in your community. If your aren’t finding adequate resources through your graduate school, check for events at other local universities and institutions. For example, the New York Academy of Sciences is having a grant writing event later this fall open to members and non-members alike (for a fee). Agencies such as NYAS and even journals may have webcast events like this as well, so you can tune in from around the globe. Alternatively, you can find online workshops too.
  • Read old applications if you can. You’ll be able to get a feel for good formatting, language, and logical flow. I find this is a good way to get started, since reading the work of others who’ve been there can help you get your head in the game and get inspired. Of course, this should go without saying, but when reading old applications never, ever plagiarize and make sure the format of the grant/exam hasn’t changed since their submission .
  • Carefully read the instructions for the grant. Following from my last point, read the instructions well and be wary of modeling your work off of a friend’s old submission rather than the actual instructions. The NIH and other granting agencies can change the required forms or instructions from year to year. The ‘Funding Opportunity Announcement’ or FOA is dense and confusing to read, but you must slog through it carefully. The NIH also has ‘Grant Writing Tips Sheets’ which can help you prepare.
  • Ten Simple Rules for Getting Grants by Philip Bourne and Leo Chalupa, published February 24, 2006.
  • Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review by Marco Pautasso, published July 18, 2013.
  • Ten Simple Rules for Writing Research Papers by Weixiong Zhang, published January 30, 2014.
  • Ten Simple (Empirical) Rules for Writing Science by Cody Weinberger, James Evans, and Stafano Allesina, published April 30, 2015. Note that this is not an opinion piece, but a survey of literature to see if common advice for writing actually led to more citations.
  • Submit even if you don’t think you’ll win. As Wayne Gretzky (and then Michael Scott) once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Grant writing is not just about winning the funding and the ensuing resume glory. It’s a way to force yourself to sit down and think hard about your project on a grander scale than the daily grind of running experiments. You’re likely to get into some great discussions with your sponsor and your proofreaders which may lead to new ideas. Some of the non-science sections require you to discuss your future plans, so you will have an opportunity to reflect on your goals, which may have changed since writing your grad school application essays. Also, failed submissions may come back to you with useful comments to help you improve. They may also come back with some tough love (minus the love), which has its place too. And you might surprise yourself — but you won’t know if you don’t try.

NIH Individual Fellowships https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/fellowships/F31 , NIH, 2016.

Writing Rocks http://www.facultydiversity.org/?page=MM_WritingRocks , Kerry Ann Rockquemore, National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, The Monday Motivator.

Written Kitten http://writtenkitten.co/ , Josh Walcher.

How do I set up auto alerts from PubMed/Medline? https://library.uthsc.edu/faqs/current-awareness-services-email/how-do-i-set-up-auto-alerts-from-pubmedmedline/ , The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, January 30, 2012.

Mendeley https://www.mendeley.com/ .

Endnote http://endnote.com/ .

Workbooks http://www.grantcentral.com/workbooks/ , Grant Writers’ Seminars & Workshops LLC, Training in the Art of Grantsmanship, 2016.

Grantsmanship for Students and Postdocs http://www.nyas.org/Events/Detail.aspx?cid=acfa5398-dfd5-4b3a-a5b4-c1cf68d2d7e1 , The New York Academy of Sciences, 2016.

About https://suwtuesdays.wordpress.com/about-2/ , Shut Up & Write Tuesdays, Siobhan O’Dwyer, 2016.

Grant Writing Tips Sheets https://grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm , NIH, March 30, 2012.

Bourne PE, Chalupa LM (2006) Ten Simple Rules for Getting Grants. PLoS Comput Biol 2(2): e12. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020012

Pautasso M (2013) Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review. PLoS Comput Biol 9(7): e1003149. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149

Zhang W (2014) Ten Simple Rules for Writing Research Papers. PLoS Comput Biol 10(1): e1003453. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003453

Weinberger CJ, Evans JA, Allesina S (2015) Ten Simple (Empirical) Rules for Writing Science. PLoS Comput Biol 11(4): e1004205. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004205

Featured image: Photo of the author’s workspace during the writing process of her qualifying exam, modified from her Instagram post .

very nice post this blog is realy helful for me and u reach this blog every day when i open my laptop because this is the blog where we find good though. nice work admin..

[…] Source: 15 Tips for Improving Your Writing in Graduate School […]

Meredith, thank you for these insightful tips! It is always smart to have a plan and be stick to your writing schedule.

When there is a way to bring some extra motivation to your writing, you should use this chance in any case.

WrittenKitten is a wonderful tool, it brings cuteness to such serious process as scientific writing! It helps to stay motivated during the all stages in the writing process. You mentioned that you use Mendeley – I think that it is awesome too. Keeping all your citations in a one place is essential, if you want to create a really well-researched article.

Another tool which I find useful for research purposes, because it gives an honest feedback on your writing, is Unplag https://unplag.com . It is an intuitive plagiarism checker, that have some cool features such as detecting citations and references and ability to exclude them from the similarity report.

P.S. Michael Scott has got the point. Beau Taplin once said: “Better an oops than an what if”. Well said, truly.

[…] Formatting a CV for a faculty job application (Link) 15 Tips for Improving Your Writing in Graduate School (Link) […]

Thanks Christine! I’ll have to check out Unplag. Glad you caught the Michael Scott reference 🙂

[…] 15 Tips For Improving Your Writing In Graduate School – Meredith Wright […]

Thank you for the useful tips, Meredith. Motivation and schedule are the hardest thing for me.

very nice post this blog is really helpful for me

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improve writing level

Improve %%Writing%% Skills

The need for writing skills goes beyond the classroom. From text messages and emails to cover letters and presentations, the ability to craft sentences with clarity is important in both your personal and professional life. But after school, what's the best way to learn how to improve your writing? Our answer: the Elevate app. Its brain training program targets the key components of effective writing, from punctuation to word choice.

9 Engaging %%Writing%% Games

When you push play on Elevate's writing games, you can feel confident that you're engaging with challenges that are backed by educational experts. Everything is designed to teach you the fundamentals of writing style and improve how you communicate. 

Brevity - the Elevate app's writing concision game

Learn to express yourself clearly and concisely.

Commas - the Elevate app's commas game

Improve your understanding of how to use commas correctly.

Detail - the Elevate app's proofreading game

Learn to quickly spot mistakes and typos in your writing.

Expression - the Elevate app's idiom game

Learn tricky idioms, phrases, and sayings.

Inversion - the Elevate app's antonym matching game

Match antonyms to master new words and expand your vocabulary.

Punctuation - the Elevate app's punctuation game

Punctuation

Improve your use of apostrophes, commas, hyphens, and more.

Refinement - the Elevate app's writing structure game

Learn to get your point across faster with more organized writing.

Spelling - the Elevate app's spelling game

Eliminate spelling errors and catch things spell-check overlooks.

Syntax - the Elevate app's syntax game

Learn tricky grammar rules and avoid making embarrassing writing mistakes

The Long-Lasting Benefits of Improved %%Writing%% Skills

When your writing improves, so does your ability to connect with others. Consider how much of your daily communication is currently done in written form. Social media posts, text messages, and emails all rely on your confidence and skill at stringing sentences together. 

And the more you commit to improving your writing, the more benefits you'll uncover. That's because a solid grasp of your writing process and style can help you communicate more persuasively, whether you're convincing a potential employer that you're right for a role or trying to nudge your friends toward picking a certain restaurant in your group chat. 

Improved writing can also help you become a more critical thinker. Facing a blank page requires you to organize your thoughts and ideas in a logical and coherent manner, and that skill can extend to how you approach problem solving and decision-making in every aspect of your life.

Finally, working on your writing can be enjoyable . Once you nail tricky grammar rules and learn how to break down complex sentences, you can start having fun with the process. Confident writing can be both playful and surprising.

5 Tips for Improving %%Writing%% Skills

The key to improving your writing skills is consistency. Just like a sport or musical instrument, regular practice is the best way to start seeing results. Here are five tips to get you started:

  • Be intentional about your everyday writing: Are you used to sending a text message without thinking about it much? Try slowing down, even in casual communication. Think about word choice and the tone of your message.
  • Read often: Great writers read—often a lot . So take a page from someone else, whether that's in a book, magazine, or newspaper article. Making reading a habit can expand your vocabulary and give you a better understanding of sentence structure and style.
  • Consider who's reading what you're writing: Effective writing is clear and easy to understand. So when you start writing, think about who will be getting the message and what information they might need.
  • Edit and revise: Good writing is often the result of careful editing and revision. Take the time to review and edit your work for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. ‍
  • Play games that give you writing practice: Not only can the Elevate app improve the way you communicate, it can also track your progress. As you train, the program adjusts to your specific learning level and grows with you.

From business writing to creative writing, everyone can benefit from improved writing. It's a skill that has direct benefits for your work, personal relationships, critical thinking, and more. And there's an easy, fun way to add writing practice to your daily routine. With Elevate, you get an award-winning brain training program with writing games specifically designed to demystify the tricky rules of smart, effective communication.

Download Elevate on iOS or Android and start improving your writing skills today.

Start Improving Your %%Writing%% Skills

Partners in Fire

Partners in Fire

Powerful Tips To Lift Your Writing To the Next Level

Posted: September 23, 2023 | Last updated: September 23, 2023

<p><span>Most of us aren’t lucky enough to land <a href="https://partnersinfire.com/lifestyle/dream-job/" rel="noopener">dream jobs</a> or work in industries that align with our passions. Instead, we take jobs we don’t like and, if lucky, have a little free time to do what we love. </span></p><p><span>While scrolling through my favorite Reddit community, R/Askreddit, I stumbled upon a question seeking to discover why more people don’t follow their dreams. </span></p><p><span>The answers, though unsurprising, showcase some of the problems inherent in our current system. </span></p>

Everyone wants to write the next great American novel until they sit down and discover that writing is hard!

It takes a particular skill and mindset to craft an intriguing story and write in a way others will appreciate. On the plus side, it’s a skill anyone can learn. While scrolling through a fantastic writing community on Reddit, I found a great question asking writing enthusiasts to share the best advice they ever received on how to improve their writing. 

Use some of this advice to practice your craft and become a better writer. 

improve writing level

Write Often

They say practice makes perfect, and the same is true for writing. The more you write, the better you will become. 

“ Get in the habit of writing as often as you can,” shared one user, adding, “you’ll get nothing done if you wait to be inspired.”

<p>Need more help being productive? <a href="https://partnersinfire.com/lifestyle/books-for-productivity/">Here are 11 of the top books on productivity to help you get more done</a>. </p>

To be a great author, you should learn from the greats (and not so greats.) Devour as many books as possible to taste different genres , writing styles, and techniques. Discover through reading what works and what doesn’t. 

“I got into a big writer’s block with all options and ideas. Reading really dug me out; I understood what I liked, what I didn’t, reminded me why I wanted to write,” admitted one commenter. 

<p><span>Holidays are ideal for learning about our history and culture. Take the opportunity to teach your kids about the pilgrims, natives, and the true story of Thanksgiving.</span></p><p><span>Don’t neglect the negatives as they do in school. Showing the whole story, warts and all, will help your kids understand the mistakes of the past and help them build a better future.</span></p>

Write What You Want to Read

“When I first started in writing, I took any gig I could to make ends meet, and rarely was I writing about something that interested me, and my god, could you tell,” explained one user. 

Although you have to do what you have to do to make ends meet, the best stories will be the ones you’re excited about writing. 

<p><span>Someone volunteered, “My faith in humanity.” Another agreed, “So true. Before, you just had a heavy suspicion that fools surrounded you. Now, you have the depressing certainty. It sucks.” </span></p><p><span>A third confessed, “Some dark corners of the internet make me really hate people. And I’d like to know if the internet ruined people or enabled us to see how terrible people are.”</span></p>

Don’t Judge Your First Draft

First drafts are drafts for a reason. They aren’t going to be good. “It should be really bad!” exclaimed one user, discussing the quality of first drafts. 

The user went on to give a great lesson for all aspiring writers that they heard elsewhere “Every first draft is perfect because the only purpose of a first draft is to exist,” they said, explaining, “if you wrote and finished a first draft, you did it perfectly.”

<p><span>Everyone wants a partner they can trust. Even white lies can spell doom for a budding relationship. </span></p><p><span>If you want a successful partnership, embrace honesty, even when it’s hard. The only things that you should ever lie about are surprises. </span></p>

Character Develop is Vital

Compelling characters are critical to a great story . “Flat characters are way too common these days, even in ‘professionally’ made stuff,” lamented one user. 

Others said you need to make your characters want something and make them change as the story develops. “In the end, make sure they have undergone some change,” advised one Redditor, “even if they didn’t get what they wanted.”

<p><span>There are lots of ways to</span><a href="https://partnersinfire.com/blog/10-awesome-ways-to-save-money-on-groceries/"><span> save money at the grocery store</span></a><span>. You can clip coupons, compare prices per unit, use the store’s loyalty program, and choose </span><a href="https://partnersinfire.com/lifestyle/5-things-to-never-buy-generic/"><span>generic offerings</span></a><span>. Limiting unhealthy snacks and skipping sugar-laden soft drinks will also save you a bundle – and are better for your overall health.</span></p><h3><b>Getting Help</b></h3><p><span>If you’re truly strapped, consider going to a food bank. Numerous charities offer food to households in need. However, please don’t use a <a href="https://partnersinfire.com/lifestyle/relationships/wife-leaves-husband-because-he-gets-groceries-at-the-food-bank/" rel="noopener">food bank if you can afford to buy your own groceries</a>. </span></p>

Understand When Inspiration Happens

One user shared words of wisdom from acclaimed author Madeleine L’Engle “Inspiration usually comes during work rather than before it.”

You need to start. It’s unlikely a random spark of inspiration will hit while you’re twiddling your thumbs, waiting for it. Get started, and you’ll be surprised by how quickly the words flow. 

<p><span>Sometimes it takes a conscious effort to make yourself productive. You must tell yourself what you will do and stop yourself from getting distracted.</span></p> <p><span>Here are ten things that will help you achieve that:</span></p>

How many stories have you started but not finished? “You don’t know what the story really is until you finish it.” shared one user. 

Don’t leave your stories hanging. You may discover a gem of an idea hidden in your initial story’s ending. 

<p><span>What’s a warning that everyone should heed? For example, don’t eat yellow snow. It’s basic. It’s stupid, but it’s accurate. After polling the internet, here are the top-voted warnings.</span></p>

Stop Caring About Politeness

One user shared a gem they picked up from Stephen King’s best-selling resource On Writing . 

“If you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second-to-least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway,” King said in the book. 

When writing, you need to be truthful. You need to dig deep into the vast darkness of humanity and showcase what you’ve found, flaws and all. If you avoid the truth to appease the pearl cultures, you’ll never be successful as a writer. 

<p><span>Some writers try to mimic the popular stories of their time. How many aspiring writers attempted to emulate the success of works like </span><i><span>Harry Potter</span></i><span>, </span><i><span>Twilight</span></i><span>, and the </span><i><span>Hunger Games</span></i><span> to disappointing results?</span></p><p><span>“You’ll never make a splash by just doing what everyone else is doing,” advised one user, adding, “If you’re not passionate about something, then it usually shows in the writing.”</span></p><p><span>Write the story you want to write, regardless of current trends. Your passion for your story will shine through. </span></p>

Don’t Worry About What’s “Hot”

Some writers try to mimic the popular stories of their time. How many aspiring writers attempted to emulate the success of works like Harry Potter , Twilight , and the Hunger Games to disappointing results?

“You’ll never make a splash by just doing what everyone else is doing,” advised one user, adding, “If you’re not passionate about something, then it usually shows in the writing.”

Write the story you want to write, regardless of current trends. Your passion for your story will shine through. 

<p><span>Getting things perfect seems like a standard to strive for, but perfection has a downside. Some folks get so obsessed with perfection that they never finish anything. </span></p><p><span>Perfection is really the enemy of progress. </span></p>

Perfection is the Enemy of Progress

“Stop trying to make it perfect and just write!” exclaimed one user. 

Your writing will never be perfect. Nothing we do in life will be perfect. Perfect is an unachievable goal that gives people an excuse not to accomplish anything. 

Instead, just write. Write horribly at first. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re doing it. The more you do it, the better you will get at it. If writing is worth doing to you, it should be worth doing poorly . 

improve writing level

Show, Don’t Tell

Show, don’t tell is one of the biggest rules of literature. One aspiring writer in the thread said it prevents them from writing a boring story and helps them expand their vocabulary. 

You don’t need to explain everything in a book. Show the reader what’s happening through action and dialogue, don’t describe it. 

<p><span>Homer wrote the Greek epics </span><i><span>The Odyssey</span></i><span> and the </span><i><span>Illiad</span></i><span>, while Sun Tzu authored </span><i><span>The Art of War</span></i><span>. </span></p><p><span>But is that true?</span></p><p><span>Reddit users claim there’s no historical record of either author outside these books, and most were compiled centuries after they supposedly lived. The works are likely compilations from various authors accredited to a single source. </span></p>

Use Flourish

Great authors use literary devices to enhance their writing and story telling. Try incorporating some of t hese 25 literary devices into your story . 

<p><span>Creative writing allows you to explore the world of your imagination. Put pen to paper and let the characters running around in your head come to life.</span></p> <p><span>Creative writing allows you to build worlds or make a statement about modern society. It lets you dig deep into your subconscious and unleash your inner dreams and desires.</span></p> <p><span>The best part about picking up creative writing as an artistic hobby is a cost. All you need is a pen and paper. If you need help developing ideas, you can use a <a href="https://partnersinfire.com/passion-fire-2/creative-writing-prompts/" rel="noopener">creative writing prompt</a> to get your juices flowing.</span></p>

Creative Writing Prompts

If you’re struggling to come up with a great tale, use a prompt to help. Creative writing prompts can spark your creativity . 

<p><span>Sometimes, we are so overwhelmed with everything in our heads that we can’t focus on the most critical task. We might need help to determine what that task is!</span></p> <p><span>A</span><a href="https://partnersinfire.com/lifestyle/brain-dump/"> <span>brain dump</span></a><span> can help. It’s a system of getting everything floating in your head out on paper. Getting your thoughts on paper will help you organize them and stay focused on what is essential. </span></p>

Write an Epic Rising Action Sequence

Rising action is the most important part of your plot. Here’s how to write it . 

<p>Literary elements are the building blocks to every story. <a href="https://partnersinfire.com/passion-fire-2/art/literary-elements/">Here’s how to excel at the basics</a>. </p>

Know the Basic Literary Elements

Literary elements are the building blocks to every story. Here’s how to excel at the basics . 

improve writing level

The Most Compelling Characters in Fiction

Consider popular character archeotypes when writing your tale. Dungeons & Dragons chaotic neutral alignment makes great characters . 

<p><span>The internet is a fantastic source of knowledge and entertainment. It’s filled with resources to help you learn, create, and relax. </span></p> <p><span>The vastness of the internet has one shocking limitation: with so much content, it’s hard to find valuable resources online. Therefore, I was delighted to see a thread in my favorite Reddit sub, R/Askreddit, asking users to share their favorite fun, free internet resources. </span></p> <p><span>You may be shocked at how many cool things you could have gotten for free online!</span></p>

Writing is Tough, But Practice Makes Perfect

You can be a great writer. The Reddit thread is filled with advice to help you on your journey, but the most important thing you can do is start. 

Write that first chapter. Develop engaging characters. Revisit your story and revise your drafts. Before you know it, you will have a fantastic tale you’ll be proud to share.

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IMAGES

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