HOW TO WRITE BETTER IN ENGLISH : ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS

HOW TO WRITE BETTER IN ENGLISH : ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS

Hi guys I'm Nouhaila from Speaking English With Nouha  and in today’s lesson, I’m gonna show you some tips to help you improve your English writing skills 

Are you ready?

HOW TO WRITE BETTER IN ENGLISH

Your English skills are obviously important if you are taking an exam. Are you studying English for an exam like IELTS or TOEFL? They wrote sections in their exam, didn't they? Writing skills are therefore important for exams, but let's examine them now.

Being able to write well in English is a skill that can really help you stand out when you are looking for a job. Your essay is the first thing your future employer sees about you when you submit your resume, isn't it? And you write a cover letter, your well-written business emails you send will show the English skills your employer is looking for. For those of you who are considering studying abroad, you may need to write your application in English. Many scholarships or competitions in which you can participate will ask you to write a creative essay when you apply or at least answer open questions in English.

I mean, do some of these things look like something you're treating right now? Which is something that makes you fear for your English writing skills? And even if none of these things apply specifically to improve your level of English. So I hope you're ready for a mini writing workshop today, because that's what we're going to do now. I have some tips to help you improve your writing.

#1 Start small

And the first is to start small. Now you no longer have to write a novel every time you practice. This must be something you can do every day. So keep it simple and start small. Why? Why? Because I want you to bring your English writing practice every day.

Now, if that sounds intimidating or boring, well, I bet you actually do it more than you already thought. Enter the text messages you write to your friends or emails you send to your co-workers or comments you write on Instagram. You probably spend more time writing in English every day than you realize. And yes, all these things are considered as forms of writing.

Writing does not mean that you sit down and write ten pages, or even one page. So I say that your practice of writing in English can mean all kinds of things. You can write a Facebook post every day in English. Challenge yourself or at the end of a work day, wait another ten minutes to translate one of the emails you wrote that day into English. Whether you send it or not, it doesn't matter. You probably already write WhatsApp messages in English to your friends, don't you? Or if not, maybe you should. But I also want to introduce you to the idea of a daily newspaper, because it is a really fantastic way to get a daily practice. Just write down what you like or something new you learned that day or just write down what you did, report on what you did. No one else ever has to read it ever. It's not about publishing this text, it's just for you. Don't underestimate the power to write a few short sentences every day. It's a great habit to get into.

#2 Accuracy

Accuracy is important. Now, in some areas of English such as listening or speaking, you can get away with a little less precision, but writing is not really like that. And I think that's one of the most discouraging aspects of writing. Once you have put your words on paper, it is recorded in the story. Everyone can see what you've done, right? Especially if you publish it on social media. This is where everyone can judge you, because your mistakes are very visible. Your choice of grammar and your choice of words are therefore very important. Now, finding someone to review what you've written and show you how you can improve it is obviously very useful. And it can be part of your learning experience. It's not just about eliminating mistakes, but also about learning to correct your work and understand the mistakes you've made so that you don't do it again.

So if you can, taking an online course or working with a writing expert or teacher would be a really great step, if you can do it. I have shared some links to some of my favorite courses and teachers I know in the description below of this video. So if you are looking for expert help, I suggest you start there.

But if this is not an option for you, then you must take the time to review your own writing. Challenge the grammar and word choices you have made. And do some research to try to confirm the choices you have made. This lesson below is useful to help you check the ten most common mistakes made by English learners. This will give you useful tools to help you make corrections to your own writing.

# 3 Read

Why should I tell you to read in a video how to become a better writer? Because reading is one of the best ways to get used to different writing structures and formats that you can then use in your own writing. So watch out for other writers. What type of tone do they use in their language? How do they structure their writing? Note the vocabulary they have chosen. Is it formal enough or is it informal in this type of writing?

You can even practice imitating your favorite writers or bloggers. Be careful, I said imitate not copy. You have to use your own words and ideas, right? But nothing prevents you from writing your own material while using another written material as a structural guide to help you.

Reading can certainly help you to improve your writing. So, when you have the opportunity, I would like you to watch this video, which deals specifically with improving your reading skills.

# 4 Learn to pre-write

This is a good habit to get into when you start your own daily writing practice. It's one of the best things about writing. You have time to think about what you want to say and plan it. And this preparation is what will help you improve the quality of your writing in general.

Competency is particularly important to develop if you take a test with a writing section. If you have to write something long, like an essay, a report or something like that, it's a great skill to develop. And there are many different ways to plan. You can complete a plan. Or if it seems a little rigid, then maybe a mind map or a Web, a Web vocabulary. You may simply want to write a list of important vocabulary words or thoughts that you want to include.

And whatever you do, take a few minutes to think and plan before you start writing. Your writing will be more organized, you will not forget to say something important and, better still, you will not have to make as many changes afterwards. So it's a good idea.

# 5 Think in English

Think in the language in which you write. So, if you write in English, think and plan in English and not in your native language. There are so many grammatical structures and words that do not translate well from one language to another.

Thus, for example, in Spanish, verbs do not change if the sentence is a question or a statement. But these sentence structures are very different in English, so if you think first in your own language, and then try to translate, you are much more likely to end up making mistakes or mistakes. So try to change your brain.

Think of each word or sentence you want to write in English. This part is not easy, is it? It takes practice, but the more you practice, the more you do it, the easier it gets, so it's a very good workout for you.

# 6 Make mistakes

And be cool with that. If you try to write perfectly from the first try, you really won't go very far. In addition, mistakes are among the best ways to learn and improve in the future. Now, the beauty of writing is that it is not engraved in stone. It's not as if you were saying something out loud and everyone could hear you and you couldn't repeat that sentence, right?

Take advantage of the fact that you can write it, you can read it again, check it, delete it, modify it and rewrite it. Now, if you are not sure of the exact wording or grammar rule, search! There are so many options to help you correct your mistakes. Obviously, you can ask a teacher or a native speaker. Yes, you can.

So I'm talking about spelling errors, but also grammatical errors, which is why this tool is so useful to you. If you want to try it, see what it looks like, you can check it for free using the link in the description below. Of course, computers are not always right, but they offer you very good tools to train when you do it yourself, right?

So don't be afraid to make mistakes, the more mistakes you make, the more opportunities you have to improve your writing. It is in this state of mind that you must enter.

# 7 Finding a writing partner

And that brings us to our last tip of the day: find a writing partner. This may be my last piece of advice, but it's my favorite. If you don't do anything, if you don't listen to anything I've said so far, be careful with this one because finding a writing partner is probably the best thing to do to improve your writing skills.

A writing partner is not a teacher. And it's not just a friend reading your handwriting for you. Your writing partner should be someone who is also trying to improve his or her writing. Someone you can share and count with.

It is now very simple. You both agree that everyone should write something. You can choose a specific subject or length or simply leave it open but choose a date to finish writing. Then exchange. Notice what you like about everyone's writing and make sure you share it, but also help yourself find and correct mistakes. Now, there are several reasons why this is a good habit to get into.

Having a writing partner will keep you on track, it will force you to respect a schedule, you will have a better chance of following your writing practice if you know there is someone waiting for you to exchange and exchange. right?

Now, working with someone else, who has a level similar to the one you are, may also seem a little less scary to take risks and make mistakes in your writing. They will not judge you for your mistakes, as they have probably also made mistakes in their own writing and the goal is to find them and help each other.

Finally, correcting someone else's work or at least trying to correct it is a very bad way to practice your own English skills. Think about it. You have to read their writing and then think about these correct grammar rules? You may need to do some research to find out if this co-location is working or not. Teaching someone what you know yourself is a great way to help you improve. So you can do it with a friend who is on the same level as you. You can also use the comments in this video to try to find a writing partner.

And for something a little different, there are many online pen pal exchanges where you can write to someone who is really learning your own mother tongue so that you can then share and exchange your text and have it corrected for you. So I left some links in the description also if you want to check some of these options to find a writing partner.

thank you for reading this, if you enjoyed the lesson say something or just  Hi in the comments and if you have any question or suggestion to the next lesson put them in the comments and I’m gonna answer to all of your questions

See you soon in some new vocabulary words lesson.