Tips to make your writing more effective

One of the toughest skills faced by English learners across the globe is writing and understandably so; writing seems to require a distinct ability of conveying thoughts and ideas on paper, and many English learners quickly give up learning this particular area.

However, what leads to this frustration is simply a lack of a ‘writing voice’. What is your writing voice? Well, what most English learners are not aware of is that the way one writes is very different from the way one speaks. Where speaking is more dependent on the flow and incoming thoughts, writing, in contrast, is not free-flowing and one needs to acquire the skill of organizing ideas into an understandable, correct, and a natural set of words and phrases to communicate effectively.

Another point to remember is that writing is not a linear process; instead, it is a latticework of grammar, sentence structures, vocabulary, and a writing style that all interweave with each other. Thus, to be better at it, you need to practice a variety of skills simultaneously.

Below, I have given a few tips that you should look out for next time you are writing:

Tip# 1 Prepare key phrases

In order to avoid mistakes in your writing, it is a great idea to have a collection of phrases and keywords that you can use. A good example of these is linking words. This post does not cover all the classifications of linking words (look out for another blog on this!) but will give you a good idea about what you need to do.

Linking phrases

• In the same way

• At the same time

• On the contrary

• For instance

• To illustrate

• From my perspective/point of view

• All things considered

• Undoubtedly

• To begin with

• Consequently

These are just a few examples of phrases that you can memorize and use in both speaking and writing to sound more organized and fluent.

Tip# 2 Get to writing every day 

Practice makes perfect and whether you like it or not, writing is one of the things that is best done every day. The more you write, the more you are trained to notice your strengths and weaknesses and learn faster without wasting time by taking unnecessary breaks and intervals. Writing regularly will develop you writing voice and help you see the difference between writing and speaking. 

How to do it

Depending on your level, interest, and time, you can write for 15 minutes every day or take one hour out of your day to devote to writing. You can keep a daily diary or work on a story (which you can publish later!). A great way to do this is to make a weekly plan of your activities and set aside a time in which you will practice your writing. Of course, this requires you to sit down on the weekend and look at your schedule, but since you are learning a language, readjusting your lifestyle during this process will prove to be fruitful. The best thing about this approach is that this will help you identify what areas you need work on.