Do you want to write better English?
Read this guide!
On this page, we discuss four ways to improve your written English. (The first two are the most important.)
Let’s begin.
1. Read in English
This is the first thing you should do.
If you want to write English well, you need to study English a lot.
I’m not talking about reading a little… every once in a while… for a few weeks.
This is not enough.
Your learning should be consistent and continuous.
This means that you have to adjust the routine so that you can study in English every day.
This is optional.
You can’t improve your writing without reading a lot!
How reading can improve your writing
First of all, reading will increase your vocabulary.
It is impossible to write English well without a strong vocabulary.
Imagine having to write an English essay on “The best diet for weight loss” without knowing words like calories, appetite, eating, additionor acceptance. It will be difficult.
Most importantly, reading helps with writing in a way that conforms to grammatical rules.
The cause of many spelling mistakes by non-native speakers is that they do not have a “proper” command of English.
To prove my point, let’s discuss the word “advice” that some people use incorrectly:
In the above example, “advices,” this is incorrect; There is no plural form of the word.
For people who read a lot of English, such mistakes are rare.
Because the more you read, the more you will be exposed to the correct usage of the word:
- “His advice was very helpful.” (No “His advice was very helpful.”)
- “Let me give you a tip.” (No “Let me give you some advice.”)
- “That’s good advice.” (No “That’s good advice.”)
So if you want to write English correctly, spend more time studying English.
But why not study grammar instead?
Now you might be thinking, “If I want to write grammatical English, wouldn’t it be faster to learn grammar rules?”
No, you cannot substitute reading for grammar.
You see, the English language has many subtleties (rules or details that are complicated or difficult to explain).
It is difficult to understand these subtleties by reading the grammar.
Let me give an example.
Consider the words say, speech, sayand to talk. For a beginner, the differences between these words are subtle and confusing. It is difficult to teach someone these differences through explanation alone.
This is the best way to learn words read a lot to see countless usage examples.
Therefore, reading cannot be replaced.
Also, there are many deviations in the English language – they do not seem to follow certain rules.
For example, we can say why “It worked well at school“ instead of “in his school” or “in the school?”
Why can we say “He lives in a bad part of town” instead of “a part of”. the city?”
Why do we say? “two fish” and no “two fishes?”
It is better to say why “Let’s change course” instead of “Let’s change the of course?”
These exceptions cannot be learned by memorizing the rules (because they seem to contradict the rules). The best way to learn them is through massive exposure to the language.
What study materials should be read?
If you want to write well, you have to discover yourself quality writing.
If you read something full of mistakes, it will have a negative effect on your written English.
My favorite type of reading materials are books.
In terms of quality, books are superior to online content.
Most books are carefully reviewed by professional editors before publication, so there are very few grammatical errors.
In contrast, posts you find online (web articles, Facebook posts, message boards) contain misspellings, incorrect word usage, poor sentence structure, and grammatical errors. (Native speakers make grammatical mistakes, especially when writing online.)
So reading is the best way to discover quality writing in English.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of money to buy books. No need to buy expensive physical books. You can Buy digital books on Amazon and read them with the Kindle reading app.
Many digital books are free or very cheap. (This was not possible with physical books due to printing and distribution costs.)
See this page for book recommendations.
2. Practice imitation
While reading is great, it’s a passive activity—a slow way to improve your English writing skills.
If you want to improve faster, you need to “actively” practice your writing skills.
But how to exercise?
Need to write about a random topic in English?
Should I start journaling in English?
While these writing exercises can be helpful, I have a good practice idea for you.
You see, the problem with writing English on your own is that if you make mistakes (which you definitely will), there’s no way to correct them. And if you repeat these mistakes often, they become habits that are hard to break.
Moreover, when you write something yourself, you only use words that you know. So it won’t increase your writing vocabulary.
For these reasons, casual writing may not be the best practice for beginners.
There would be a better way imitation technique.
It is a way of learning English writing by “copying” the writing of native speakers.
Watch this video to see how it works:
This exercise will teach you to write like your hometown. It will also expand your writing vocabulary.
This will improve your writing faster than anyone else!
That being said, it takes time to see improvement. So don’t just practice for a week and expect to be a good writer.
Practice regularly for at least two months or until you are satisfied with your writing skills.
You can practice by copying the text of the English book you are reading. As I mentioned earlier, books have better writing than other materials, so they are ideal for Imitation practice.
3. Write freely
After spending a lot of time practicing imitation, you should no longer make obvious spelling mistakes. And your writing should be completely clear.
At this level, you can do something more difficult.
Now you can practice writing English in your own wordswithout moving anyone.
It’s obviously going to be harder than Imitation.
While imitation improves basic skills such as sentence structure and vocabulary, writing fluently develops higher-level skills such as word choice (choosing the right words to convey an idea) and flow (organizing points in a logical manner).
These advanced skills cannot be taught. You can refine them only through experience.
And free writing is the best exercise for that.
How you incorporate freewriting into your life is up to you. If you are serious, you can add it to your training schedule. For example, you can practice Imitation 5 days a week and Free Writing 2 days a week.
During your free writing experience, you can write about anything you want:
- Your favorite movies, TV shows or books and why you like them.
- A brief biography about yourself.
- What is democracy and how does it work?
Additionally, you can join discussion websites in English Reddit or Facebook groups related to your interests. It’s more interactive than just writing what you see.
When you’re on these sites, don’t just passively read. Participate in discussions. Share your thoughts. Write something!
The more you write, the better you can express yourself. (If you don’t write often, your mind will be empty when you have to write.)
A warning to beginners
The freewriting prompt is suitable for intermediate and above levels.
But if you’re just starting out, freewriting can do more harm than good.
Why? Because at this point, your written English is very different from your native speaker.
If you learn to write in your own words now, you will make many mistakes and your writing will be unclear.
Over time, you may be able to write faster, but your writing will not be as native.
So if your written English is weak, don’t learn to write fluently just yet.
Do the first two activities (reading and imitation exercise). Skip this activity and the next one for now.
Once your writing is more correct, you can start writing in your own words.
4. Writing guidelines
If you use the previous suggestions, your writing will be good enough for everyday communication, like writing an email, talking to customer support, or sharing your thoughts online.
However, it takes a lot of work, especially if you want to produce high-quality writing.
Ask yourself, do you need to create professional posts like this?
- Advertisements
- Business proposals
- Product manual or instructions
- Company newsletters
- Research or scientific papers
- Academic essays
If so, you should read books on writing.
Available on Amazon.com books that teach you to write English well. (You can buy digital versions and read them on your phone.)
These books cover important concepts like punctuation, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, as well as how to make your writing easier to read, how to make your ideas memorable, and more. can provide useful writing tips such as
If you need to learn a certain type of writing for your profession, there are books for that too.
For example, if you are a marketer or product owner, there are copywriting books that teach you how to write profitable ads and product descriptions. There are also books on writing scientific papers, fiction, and other writing activities.
Reading these books and applying their suggestions will take your writing to the next level!
Conclusion: How to improve your written English
We have discussed four ways to improve your writing skills in English:
- Read on
- Practice imitation
- Write freely
- Reading writing guides
Now you might be thinking, “What if you need to spend time improving other skills, like speaking English? How can you find time to do all this?”
Don’t worry. You don’t have to do all four steps.
If you want to write English well for everyday communication, focus on the first two actions. They are most effective and useful for students of all levels.
That way you keep things simple and don’t overdo it.
Most people don’t need perfectly written English. Instead of spending countless hours perfecting your English writing skills, be moderate about it so that you have time for other things.
However, if your profession involves writing professional English on a regular basis, you may need to incorporate activities #3 and #4 into your routine.
You will have to work harder than most, but it is necessary to master English writing.
Thanks for reading. I wish you success in improving your English writing skills.