Writing Skills in English | 5 Free tips to improve

Writing skills in English are an essential part of English communication skills.

Though one might be from an English-speaking country, the writing skill might not be efficient.

And for those from non-speaking countries, it is quite the toughest job in the beginning.

This is so because writing in English has some communication rules, unlike in other languages.

It has to be written by use of proper grammar, punctuation, tenses, etc.

One has to put in some extra effort if they are desirous of improving their writing skills.

Writing Skills in English

Writing skill in English finds its use in the proper presentation of knowledge. It comes in handy in written competitive exams like civil services, literature degree exams, during schooling graduation, etc.

Even in professional and corporate deals, while communicating in written forms by email, hard copy letter writing skill indicates authenticity.

Have you ever noticed that a letter written in shabby grammar gets less response and weight?

Also, one needs to have good writing skills to draft a research paper, scientific journal, or academic essay. I have come across many cases where the research paper was rejected due to improper writing style.

Tips to Improve Writing Skills in English

Reading

  • Learn the skill by reading English books written primarily by authors recognized in English literature.
  • Read newspapers, magazines, and journals published in English.
  • Even if you have hobbies like poetry, go through those written in English. Listen to English news on television, radio, etc.

Speaking

  • Try to habituate to speaking in English with better vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
  • This seems a bit confusing, but talking and listening will feed the mind with the language requirements.
  • Even the same can be put on paper when you write in English.
  • So spoken English skills are also important and have an influence on writing in English.
  • If you are from non-English speaking countries, you can try speaking with those who are fluent in English, like your English teacher, tutor, etc.
  • If you are very young or interested in improving your children’s English writing skills, it is best to start at a very early age in their schooling.
  • Because many words, vocabulary, sentence formation, and handwriting styles form a memory in a fixed style.
  • As age progresses, early exposure always keeps influencing their skill in the future.
  • It can’t be changed so easily, just as one finds it difficult to change their handwriting after growing up.
  • Hence it is better to cultivate good reading and writing skills in English from childhood.

Handwriting

  • Many of us value good handwriting as it is impressive and attractive to read.
  • Even in exams, a student with good handwriting scores better than those without good handwriting of the same caliber.
  • So it is important to have good handwriting as an accessory for good writing skills in English.
  • This handwriting has to be practiced since childhood and can’t be easily altered during adult life.
  • The attractiveness of handwriting is not limited to just the appearance of letters but also the spacing between words, lines, paragraphs, etc.

The writing should preferably be easy to read without stress.

Grammar

  • The grammar used is important for especially those in literature and busyness fields compared to those in science and technology fields.
  • One has to be clear with present, past, and future tenses, participles, etc.
  • Be aware of simple rules like capitalizing the starting letter of all the nouns, Viz—names of persons, animals, places, etc.
  • Again, in using indefinite articles, i.e., A & An, one needs to be careful.
  • “A” has to be used to denote singulars of words starting with consonants and
  • “An” has to be used to denote singular words starting with vowels, viz A, E, I, O, U.

Punctuation marks

  • These are especially important in writing English but not in speaking.
  • One has to be careful with punctuation marks used, i.e., full stop (.) comma (,) hyphen (-), exclamation (!) apostrophe (‘)  question mark  (?), etc.
  • Punctuation organizes the structure of any sentence and misuse or non-use of punctuation gives a different meaning to the sentence than the intended one.

Correct spelling

  • Because a change in the alphabet can give different meanings to the sentence
  • Ex: words like- discreet- discrete, Know- Now, Bark-Dark, etc.
  • So try to use correct spelling, as it can change what you wish to communicate.
  • If you are writing over a computer or tablet, this problem might be minimal.
  • The software alerts regarding any incorrect spellings. But still, the software cannot recognize what you wish to communicate.
  • So spelling has been clear and verified.

Above are a few tips to improve Writing Skills in English.

But you may further take professional coaching for the purpose.

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