writing strategies in english

15 Best Writing Strategies With Examples

When you’re a writer , you need to know the best strategies to get your reader’s attention and hold onto it.

The goal is to get them hooked on your content, so they’ll want to read more.

Only then can you cultivate a relationship that serves you both.

So, how do you do that (without actually hypnotizing them)?

You learn different writing strategies, applied to advantage by the pros, and work on making them your own.

The first question to answer is, “What is a writing strategy?”

What Are the Different Types of Writing Strategies?

1. start with a strong hook. , 2. give your opening paragraph a strong sense of direction. , 3. be authentic in every sentence. , 4. create a reader avatar. , 5. create an outline. , 6. have fun with it. , 7. start a dialogue with your reader. , 8. get time on your side. , 9. prioritize clarity. , 10. break it up with visuals. , 11. put your reader to the test., 12. dazzle them with surprising facts. , 13. add interesting quotes from authorities in the field. , 14. ask questions to get your readers thinking , 15. tell your reader a story. , which writing strategies will you use.

A strategy is a general plan — or set of plans — you make to achieve a goal.

So, a writing strategy involves tactics you use to ensure your writing meets the goals you’ve set for it.

Your number one goal is to capture and hold onto your reader’s interest. Your related goals will depend on the overall purpose of your writing:

To sell something (and make money)
To motivate your reader to do something
To evoke an emotional response (pathos, anger, levity, etc.)

While the reason for your writing goal can vary, the goal itself does not. And the sooner you learn how to put the following 15 writing strategies into practice, the sooner your audience will grow.

15 Writing Strategies with Examples

No doubt, you’ve already become familiar with some of these time-tested examples of writing strategies. It’s what you don’t (yet) know that can hold you back and limit your influence.

That’s about to change.

Your first sentence should hook your reader and make them curious enough to read the second sentence, which should lead them irresistibly to the third, and so on.

That first sentence should grab hold of their interest and get them thinking, “I need to know what will come next.” Your entire opening hook doesn’t have to consist of one sentence, but a few sentences at most should suffice to get under your reader’s skin.

Strong hooks can include any of the following:

Probing or rhetorical questions
Anecdotes
Bold claims

Example:

“Did you know every year the amount of garbage we toss into the ocean is three times the weight of fish caught?” (statistic)

Your first paragraph should clearly communicate the direction of your piece. And it should give the reader a reason to care about it. They should want to know more and feel compelled to see what you’ll reveal. Give them a reason to feel invested.

Otherwise, they might bookmark your page to “save it for later,” but we all know what that usually means. It’s the internet version of walking away.

“As a lifelong crabber (that is, one who catches crabs, not a chronic complainer), I can tell you that anyone who has patience and a great love for the river is qualified to join the ranks of crabbers. However, if you want your first crabbing experience to be a successful one, you must come prepared.”

– (Mary Zeigler, “How to Catch River Crabs” )

Come as you are. This is not a place to show off or pretend to be someone else. Try to trick your reader, and they’ll most likely leave and never return. So, ix-nay on the bait and switch. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and give them what you know they would want.

Be genuine, and show that you care as much about their time as you do about yours.

“I haven’t wanted to call myself a functional alcoholic . For just a second, the word “functional” makes it easier to accept the word that comes after it.

“Then the reality hits: I’m not as functional as I’d like to think. And being an alcoholic means having to give up alcohol….”

Design an ideal reader based on what you know — including demographic info (married/single, age range, interests, culture, politics, geographical area). Then write as if addressing a respected friend.

Don’t assume your reader can’t figure stuff out, but don’t use ten-dollar words when one-dollar words will do. Write the way you would talk in a friendly conversation.

Ideal reader Alexis is a health-conscious socialite in her mid-twenties. Her interests include public relations, fashion, and social media (mainly Instagram). She reads to stay well-informed about things that matter to her. She’s visually oriented. Her dream is to work in New York as a successful public relations professional.

The easiest way to make sure you make all your points in a logical, easy-to-follow manner is to start with an outline, breaking down your work into smaller, more focused sections. Use your outline to plan your subheadings and brainstorm content ideas.

As you add content, you can connect each thought, making every sentence earn its place and respect its neighbors to ensure each thought flows effortlessly to the next.

I. Why soy candles are healthier than paraffin.

All natural (no toxic chemicals)
Supports U.S. soy farmers
Cleaner, cooler burn with less soot

II. 5 Best Sources of Ethically-Made Soy Candles

III. 3 Candle-Making Charities That Support Women

If you’re not all that interested in what you’re writing, your reader will pick up on that. Boredom is contagious. The good news? The opposite is even more so. Find something to love about what you’re writing, and your reader will feel your excitement and lean in.

The more fun you have with the writing, the more your audience will enjoy reading it.

Examples:

Include a fun, illustrative bit of dialogue.
Paint a (word) picture your reader will want to be a part of.
Lead with the thing that excites you (an interesting bit of news, etc.)

7 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

Writing, like any other skill, is something you can get better at with time and practice. Learn how.

[Featured Image]: A woman with curly hair and wearing a white long sleeve shirt, writing in her notebook, while sitting in front of her computer.

From sending emails to preparing presentations, writing is often a day-to-day task in many professions spanning diverse industries. Writing skills go beyond grammar and spelling. Accuracy, clarity, persuasiveness, and several other elements play a part in ensuring your writing is conveying the right message.

In this article, we'll explore various aspects of writing skills and offer tips for improving yours.

If you'd like to start enhancing your writing skills now, two popular options on Coursera are University of California Irvine's Academic English: Writing Specialization and University of Michigan's Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization .

What are writing skills?

Writing is a technical skill that you use to communicate effectively through the written word. Though these may vary depending on what you’re writing, there are several that transcend categories. Writing skills can more specifically include:

Sentence construction

Research and accuracy

Persuasiveness

Each of these components can influence the quality of writing.

Why are writing skills important?

Being able to write well is a form of effective communication , which many employers see as a crucial job skill . In fact, strong communication—spanning written, verbal, non-verbal, and visual—is among the nine common employability skills that employers seek in job candidates.

Regardless of your role, with good writing skills, you can clearly transcribe your thoughts into meaningful messages, enabling you to share your ideas, build relationships, and strengthen your professional image.

Learn more: Important Communication Skills and How to Improve Them

How to improve your writing skills

Writing, like any other skill, is something we can get better at with time and practice. Here are some strategies for developing your own written communication:

1. Review grammar and spelling basics.

Grammar and spelling form the foundation of good writing. Writing with proper grammar and spelling communicates your professionality and attention to detail to your reader. It also makes your writing easier to understand.

Plus, knowing when and how to use less-common punctuation, like colons, semicolons, and em-dashes, can unlock new ways to structure sentences and elevate your writing.

If you’re looking to strengthen your grammar and spelling, start by consulting a writing manual. The Elements of Style by William Stunk and E.B. White has long been considered a staple for writers. You can find similar resources at your local library, bookstore, or online.

2. Read what you want to write.

Knowing what a finished piece of writing can look like can guide your own. If you’re trying to write a humorous short story, read humorous short stories. Writing a book review? Find a few and take note of how they’re structured. Pay attention to what makes them good and what you want to emulate (without plagiarizing, of course). If you’re working on a school assignment, you can ask your instructor for examples of successful pieces from past students.

Make reading a part of your everyday life to improve your writing. Try reading the news in the morning or picking up a book before you head to bed. If you haven’t been a big reader in the past, start with topics you’re interested in, or ask friends and family for recommendations. You’ll gradually begin to understand what subjects, genres, and authors you enjoy.

3. Proofread.

While it’s tempting to submit work as soon as you’re done with it, build in some time to revisit what you’ve written to catch errors big and small. Here are a few proofreading tips to keep in mind:

Set your work aside before you edit. Try to step away from your writing for a day or more so you can come back to it with fresh, more objective eyes. Crunched for time? Even allotting 20 minutes between writing and proofreading can allow you to approach your work with renewed energy.

Start with easy fixes, then progress to bigger changes. Starting with easier changes can get you in the rhythm for proofreading, allow you to read through your work once more, and clear distractions so you can focus on bigger edits. Read through your work to catch misspellings, inconsistencies, and grammar errors. Then address the larger problems with structure or awkward transitions.

If you could say something in fewer words, do so. Being unnecessarily wordy can cloud your message and confuse the reader. Pare down phrases that are redundant, repetitive, or obvious.

Read out loud. Reading out loud can help you find awkward phrases and areas where your writing doesn’t flow well.

Should you use computer spelling and grammar tools?

Many computer-based tools—like spell check on your word processor, or Grammarly — can help you find and fix simple spelling and grammar errors. These tools are not perfect but can help even the most seasoned of writers avoid mistakes. Take note of any frequently highlighted words or phrases so that you can avoid the same mistakes in the future.

4. Get feedback.

Whether you’re writing emails or essays, asking for feedback is a great way to see how somebody besides yourself will interpret your text. Have an idea of what you’d like your proofreader to focus on—the structure, conclusion, the persuasiveness of an argument, or otherwise.

Approach a trusted friend, family member, coworker, or instructor. If you’re a student, your school might also have a writing resource center you can reach out to.

You might also consider forming a writing group or joining a writing class. Find writing courses online, at your local community college, or at independent writing workshops in your city.

5. Think about structure.

Grammar and spelling keep your writing consistent and legible, but structure ensures the big ideas get across to the reader.

In many cases, forming an outline will help solidify structure. An outline can clarify what you’re hoping to convey in each section, enable you to visualize the flow of your piece, and surface parts that require more research or thought.

Structure might look different depending on what you’re writing. An essay typically has an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. A fiction piece might follow the six-stage plot structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement. Choose what’s best for your purposes.

Like many skills, one of the best ways to improve your writing is to practice. Here are a few ways you can get started:

Start a journal or a blog.

Join a class or writing workshop.

Practice free writing.

Write letters to friends or family.

Put together an opinion piece for your local newspaper or publication you like.

7. Know some common fixes.

Even if a text is grammatically correct, you may be able to make it more dynamic and interesting with some polish. Here are some common ways you can sharpen your writing:

Choose strong verbs (for example, “sprinted,” “dashed,” or “bolted” instead of “ran”).

Avoid passive voice.

Vary sentence length.

Cut unnecessary words.

Replace cliches with original phrasing.

Showing your writing skills in a job search

Your writing skills will shine throughout the job search process , whether or not you intend to show them off. This is because job applications are largely written materials, including your cover letter , resume , and email communications . Use these opportunities to demonstrate your writing skills to prospective employers by submitting clear, accurate, and engaging materials.

Additionally, if you have specialized expertise, such as experience with legal writing, medical writing, technical writing, or scientific writing, you can note that in a resume skills section and further detail that experience within your cover letter or during your interviews .

Getting started

Whether you’re a scientist or a product manager, journalist or entrepreneur, writing effectively will enable you to communicate your ideas to the world. Through practice, exposure, and familiarizing yourself with basic rules, you’ll be able to use your writing to say exactly what you want to say.

If you’re looking for a structured way to expand your writing skillset, explore writing courses on Coursera —the first week is free.

Build job-ready skills with a Coursera Plus subscription

Get access to 7,000+ learning programs from world-class universities and companies, including Google, Yale, Salesforce, and more
Try different courses and find your best fit at no additional cost
Earn certificates for learning programs you complete
A subscription price of $59/month, cancel anytime

Give your team access to a catalog of 8,000+ engaging courses and hands-on Guided Projects to help them develop impactful skills. Learn more about Coursera for Business .

Keep reading

Coursera staff.

Editorial Team

Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact...

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

British Council India

How to improve your English writing skills

By Rajul Goveas

31 august 2021 - 12:16pm.

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

TRY OUR FREE APP

Write your book in Reedsy Studio. Try the beloved writing app for free today.

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Posted on Jul 13, 2018

20+ Writing Strategies (That Helped Bestselling Authors Finish Their Books)

So you've decided today that you want to write. Great!

Now how exactly are you going to do it?

Luckily, we have a precedent to which to turn. From idea generation to the art of editing, there are thousands of writing strategies out there to get you past the finish line — and we gathered the best ones in this post. Here are 20+ writing strategies that you can use to help you over the finish line .

1. Mary Lee Settle’s “Question” Writing Strategy

If you’re going through a drought of story ideas, you might want to run to an inspiration source that will never run out: questions.

In a talk with the New York Times, National Book Award-winner Mary Lee Settle explained:

“I start with a question. Then try to answer it.”

This writing strategy is endorsed by many other writers, most notably fantasy author Neil Gaiman. He wrote that a particularly magical question to ask yourself is, “What if _________?” For instance: “What if I wake up with wings?” Or, “What if your sister turned into a mouse?”

So your first plan of attack is to wonder about anything in the world: from the meaning to life to whether or not shrews could one day fall from the sky. As it turns out, no question is too silly — or weird — to give birth to a good story.

2. Ray Bradbury’s Library Scene

“When in doubt, go to the library,” as Hermione Granger might say. She’d be pleased to know that world-famous author Ray Bradbury is on her side:

“When I graduated from high school I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library 3 days a week for 10 years.”

Bradbury ended up taking out 10 books every week — meaning that he read at least a hundred books a year. Coincidentally, this was William Faulkner’s writing strategy, as well: "Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read!”

If you decide to follow their advice, you might turn the corner and come across an idea in the least surprising place of all: other books.

3. Orson Scott Card’s Mindfulness Approach

Sometimes writers get so stuck in their own minds that they can’t tell a great idea from a blob of words on the screen. If this sounds familiar, it’s probably time to go for a walk and smell the grass. According to Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game:

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.”

Walking is a proven writing strategy that improves creativity and gives your ideas some legs . Agatha Christie’s plots, for instance, were often purely inspired by a stroll around the neighborhood. Her second book, The Secret Adversary , arose from a conversation she overheard in a coffee shop. “Two people were talking at a table nearby, discussing somebody called Jane Fish…” she wrote. “That, I thought, would make a good beginning to a story — a name overheard at a tea shop — an unusual name, so that whoever heard it remembered it.”

To check out ten of Agatha Christie's best ever mysteries, go to this post right here .

4. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Notebook Scheme

Once you latch onto an idea that you know in your bones is good, you need to seize it with all your might and not let go. There’s nothing worse than realizing that you’ve forgotten the great idea that occurred to you the previous night — all because you neglected to write it down.

To avoid this potential catastrophe, Robert Louis Stevenson, author of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, offered this writing strategy:

"I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in."

For everyone living in the 21st-century: this probably means keeping the Notes app on your cellphone handy. But you won’t go wrong with an old-fashioned notebook, either — so long as it’s nearby whenever you come up with a story idea.

5. Mark Twain’s “Increment” Writing Strategy

Now that you're committed to writing a story, you may be intimidated by the blank sheet in front of you. All of a sudden, you can’t think anything else but the pages and pages of words that lie in your near future — oh, and is that a migraine coming on? Great.

For this particular brand of headache, Mark Twain proposed a cure:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

In short, make a molehill out of the mountain. You can tackle any 100,000-word monster if you just think of it in smaller parts: whether that’s by scene, chapter, arc, or a daily word count goal.

6. Norman Mailer’s Daily Routine Policy

It’s no secret that 50% of being an writer is, well, writing. The other 50% is complaining about writing. To counter the urge to procrastinate, we can draw on American novelist Norman Mailer’s wisdom here:

“Over the years, I’ve found one rule. It is the only one I give on those occasions when I talk about writing. A simple rule. If you tell yourself you are going to be at your desk tomorrow, you are by that declaration asking your unconscious to prepare the material. You are, in effect, contracting to pick up such valuables at a given time. Count on me, you are saying to a few forces below: I will be there to write.”

That said, there’s no proven “best time” to write. Benjamin Franklin supposedly sat down at his desk to write at 6 am. Then you have F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wouldn’t rise until just before midday to start his work. (You can check out the morning routines of more famous authors in this infographic here .)

Whenever you do decide to start your writing day, just make sure that the time you’ve set aside is sacred. As J.K. Rowling said, you must be absolutely ruthless about protecting writing days: “Do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days.”

7. Katherine Anne Porter’s “Last Line” Writing Strategy

According to Pulitzer Prize-winning Katherine Anne Porter, sometimes you might need to think upside-down in order to write right-side up:

“If I didn’t know the ending of a story, I wouldn’t begin. I always write my last line, my last paragraph, my last page first.”

Getting the ending down will give you something to write towards — and the confidence that a finish line is in sight.

8. Jane Yolen’s Work-Out Method

Unfortunately, writing isn’t magic. Once you’ve figured out a writing routine that works, you need to make sure you actually do the thing: write.

Many authors recommend writing at least once a day. There’s a good reason for it — and it isn’t masochism! Jane Yolen explains the reasoning here:

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.”

9. Ernest Hemingway’s “Stop While You’re Ahead” Gambit

Maintaining momentum during a multi-month slog is one of the hardest parts of writing. But Nobel Laureate Ernest Hemingway offered this as a tried and true strategy:

“The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day … you will never be stuck. Always stop while you are going good and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.”

Many authors who use this “stop while you’re ahead” strategy will pause mid-scene or mid-paragraph. Some even go so far as to quit writing mid-sentence. One writer who has sworn by this advice is none other than Roald Dahl: “You make yourself stop and you walk away. And you can’t wait to get back because you know what you want to say next.”

You may have your eyebrow raised in doubt. How can you learn not to worry? Hemingway has an answer for you, too: “By not thinking about it. As soon as you start to think about it stop it. Think about something else. You have to learn that.”

10. Henry David Thoreau’s “Full Speed Ahead” Strategy

That said, we understand that it can be hard to stop writing when you’re in full-flow — much like reining in a horse when he’s racing at full stride. If Hemingway’s writing strategy doesn’t sit well with you, Henry David Thoreau has this alternative:

“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.”

To put another slant to it, you can think about it in terms of Saul Bellow’s “Insomnia” Strategy. Bellow, the Pulitzer Prize winner, once wrote: “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” Just to be clear, we’re not telling you that you have to set your alarm to 3am every night. But it’s good to remember that the urge to write can overcome you at any time of the day. If something is so significant that it compels you to wake up from your sleep, jot it down.

11. Roald Dahl’s Cocoon System

Has nothing inspired you to write yet? Maybe it's time for a change of location. Here’s how a friend of Roald Dahl’s explained the author’s odd writing strategy:

“He steps into a sleeping bag, pulls it up to his waist and settles himself in a faded wing-backed armchair. His feet he rests on a battered travelling case full of logs. This is roped to the legs of the armchair so it’s always at a perfect distance.”

Dahl wasn’t alone in finding strange places to write. Gertrude Stein wrote in the driver’s seat of her Model T Ford, which meant that she was especially prolific during shopping expeditions. Marcel Proust refused to work anywhere but his bed. But perhaps the writing situation of Edith Sitwell takes the proverbial cake. Despite her name, she found that she wrote best lying down… in an open coffin. A grave mistake for most people, but not her.

12. Raymond Chandler’s “Man with a Gun” Method

Last but not least, whenever you’re not sure where to take your story next, you can heed Raymond Chandler’s strategy for chapter-writing:

“When in doubt how to end a chapter, bring in a man with a gun.”

Now, this probably isn’t going to be the kind of advice that you’ll want to take literally — but it’s a reminder to keep the ante upped so that your story never becomes stale. In other words, end each chapter with a metaphorical bang.

13. Neil Gaiman’s “Don’t Look at It Again” Approach

Have you every written a story, thought it was the best thing since sliced bread, and came back to it the next day to revel in your masterpiece — only to gape in horror because it turned into a demon baby in the middle of the night?

Luckily, this happens to every writer. In fact, Neil Gaiman says that time spent away from your manuscript is a necessary part of the editing process :

“The best advice I can give on this is, once it’s done, to put it away until you can read it with new eyes. Finish the short story, print it out, then put it in a drawer and write other things. When you’re ready, pick it up and read it, as if you’ve never read it before. If there are things you aren’t satisfied with as a reader, go in and fix them as a writer: that’s revision.”

Putting your story aside for a few days or months gives you the chance to evaluate your story objectively and see its faults. Most importantly, it allows you to experience your story as a reader. Ultimately, “revision” is a combination of “re-“ and “vision”: the act of returning to something with new eyes.

14. Anton Chekhov’s Ending and Beginning Strategy

Aside from his world-famous Gun technique , Anton Chekhov had some more neat advice on editing:

My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.

Readers are ruthless creatures: if your book doesn’t sweep them up in the first twenty pages, chances are that they’ll put your book down entirely. We don't think Chekhov meant you have to cut the entire beginning and end out — just that it’s worth re-visiting those parts of the story first when you’re tightening your narrative.

15. Stephen King’s “Road to Hell” Plan

Whether or not you’re religious, you’ll want to keep Stephen King’s advice in mind:

“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.”

Be cautious about using too many adverbs: their mere existence might mean that you’re telling, not showing , says King.

“To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one in your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day… fifty the day after that… and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s — GASP!! — too late.”

16. Mark Twain’s “Damn” Proposition

If you’re ever agonizing over whether or not you should take something out, Mark Twain has a very simple strategy for you:

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

To follow Twain's advice, delete any “filler” word unless it’s absolutely essential. This includes words like “very” and also “really,” “things,” and “stuff.” Quartz recommends substituting a more concise word for “very” — for instance, “terrified” instead of “very afraid.” You can see this post for some more helpful options.

17. Walt Whitman’s Comma Technique

Let us be crystal clear: there’s nothing that will get a reader or an agent to drop your manuscript quicker than a bunch of punctuation errors in a row. Walt Whitman boils it down into a very simple statement:

“I hate commas in the wrong places.”

Even after you’ve given your draft an edit to identify structural and flow issues, you’ll need to proofread it with a discerning eye. Identify speling erors, spots where commas are missing or overused, and places where someone says “Hello” without proper punctuation. Trust us — your readers will thank you for it.

18. Maya Angelou’s “Write Anything” Mode

Seriously, anything. You can take Maya Angelou’s award-winning words for it:

“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks, ‘The cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’”

“The cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,” doesn’t exactly sound very glamorous, does it? But Maya Angelou also wrote I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1971, so she knows a thing or two about writing.

19. George Plimpton’s Letter Strategy

If the thought of an agent or thousands of people reading your story makes you sweat, you might have the literary version of "stage fright." To help curb this type of writer's block , the Paris Review founder George Plimpton used to follow this strategy:

“Many years ago, I met John Steinbeck at a party in Sag Harbor, and told him that I had writer’s block. And he said something which I’ve always remembered, and which works. He said, “Pretend that you’re writing not to your editor or to an audience or to a readership, but to someone close, like your sister, or your mother, or someone that you like.” And at the time I was enamored of Jean Seberg, the actress, and I had to write an article about taking Marianne Moore to a baseball game, and I started it off, “Dear Jean . . . ,” and wrote this piece with some ease, I must say. And to my astonishment that’s the way it appeared in Harper’s Magazine. “Dear Jean . . .” Which surprised her, I think, and me, and very likely Marianne Moore.”

We’ll let Steinbeck, the person who first came up with this ingenious writing strategy, explain the reasoning behind it: “Write it as a letter aimed at one person. This removes the vague terror of addressing the large and faceless audience and it also, you will find, will give a sense of freedom and a lack of self-consciousness.”

Plimpton wasn’t kidding, by the way: you can read his October 1964 article in Harper’s Magazine here .

20. Hilary Mantel’s “Do Anything” Technique

What if you’re just sick of words altogether? For a change of pace, let’s try something that doesn’t involve writing — in any capacity. Hilary Mantel says that sometimes what you need to do in order to write is not write:

“If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don’t just stick there scowling at the problem. But don’t make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people’s words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.”

Force yourself to disengage from your manuscript and you might come back sharper and more aware of what you want to say. Jane Smiley, for instance, would drink Diet Cokes to distract herself, explaining: “When you sit down again on Saturday, you’re better. Not only because of all the practice, but also because of the walking away. I’m a firm believer in walking away.”

21. P.G. Wodehouse’s Cursing Approach

If you’ve come this far and all else has failed, know that you can always resort to P.G. Wodehouse’s tried, true, and completely professional advice:

“I just sit at my typewriter and curse a bit.”

Do you have any more writing strategies to share? How about writer's block memes ? Have you found any strategy useful so far? Tell us in the comments below!

Glen Barrington says:

23/10/2018 – 14:16

Hmmm! So the survey says! Nobody knows for sure!

Comments are currently closed.

Continue reading

What is Tone in Literature? Definition & Examples

We show you, with supporting examples, how tone in literature influences readers' emotions and perceptions of a text.

Writing Cozy Mysteries: 7 Essential Tips & Tropes

We show you how to write a compelling cozy mystery with advice from published authors and supporting examples from literature.

Man vs Nature: The Most Compelling Conflict in Writing

What is man vs nature? Learn all about this timeless conflict with examples of man vs nature in books, television, and film.

The Redemption Arc: Definition, Examples, and Writing Tips

Learn what it takes to redeem a character with these examples and writing tips.

How Many Sentences Are in a Paragraph?

From fiction to nonfiction works, the length of a paragraph varies depending on its purpose. Here's everything you need to know.

Narrative Structure: Definition, Examples, and Writing Tips

What's the difference between story structure and narrative structure? And how do you choose the right narrative structure for you novel?

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

Tips for Reading an Assignment Prompt
Asking Analytical Questions
Introductions
What Do Introductions Across the Disciplines Have in Common?
Anatomy of a Body Paragraph
Transitions
Tips for Organizing Your Essay
Counterargument
Conclusions
Strategies for Essay Writing: Downloadable PDFs
Brief Guides to Writing in the Disciplines

SUGGESTED TOPICS
The Magazine
Newsletters
Managing Yourself
Managing Teams
Work-life Balance
The Big Idea
Data & Visuals
Reading Lists
Case Selections
HBR Learning
Topic Feeds
Account Settings
Email Preferences

A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

Mark Rennella

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).

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.

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

Partner Center

Study Skills and Classroom Success

Writing strategies.

It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it. —Jack Kerouac, author

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Describe the purpose of writing assignments and what an instructor might expect to see from your writing
Identify common types of writing tasks in a college class
Understand and utilize writing-process steps for the development of academic writing
Differentiate between revision and proofreading, and explain the value of each
Identify strategies for ethical use of sources in writing

Why Do Writing Skills Matter?

Obviously you can write. And in the age of Facebook and smartphones, you may be writing all the time—perhaps more often than speaking. Many students today are awash in text like no other generation before.

So why spend yet more time and attention on writing skills? Research shows that deliberate practice —that is, close focus on improving one’s skills—makes all the difference in how one performs. Revisiting the craft of writing—especially early in college—will improve your writing much more than simply producing page after page in the same old way. Becoming an excellent communicator will save you a lot of time and hassle in your studies, advance your career, and promote better relationships and a higher quality of life off the job. Honing your writing is a good use of your scarce time.

Also, consider this: a recent survey of employers conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that 89 percent of employers say that colleges and universities should place more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing.” [1] It was the single-most favored skill in this survey. In addition, several of the other valued skills are grounded in written communication: “Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” (81 percent); “The ability to analyze and solve complex problems” (75 percent); and “The ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from multiple sources” (68 percent). This emphasis on communication probably reflects the changing reality of work in the professions. Employers also reported that employees will have to “take on more responsibilities,” “use a broader set of skills,” “work harder to coordinate with other departments,” face “more complex” challenges, and mobilize “higher levels of learning and knowledge.” [2]

If you want to be a professional who interacts frequently with others, you have to be someone who can anticipate and solve complex problems and coordinate your work with others, [3] all of which depend on effective communication.

The pay-off from improving your writing comes much sooner than graduation. Suppose you complete about 40 classes for a 120-credit bachelors’ degree, and—averaging across writing-intensive and non-writing-intensive courses—you produce about 2,500 words of formal writing per class. Even with that low estimate, you’ll write 100,000 words during your college career. That’s roughly equivalent to a 330-page book.

Spending a few hours sharpening your writing skills will make those 100,000 words much easier and more rewarding to write. All of your professors care about good writing.

It’s Different from High School

Because most professors have different expectations, it can be tricky knowing what exactly they’re looking for. Pay attention to the comments they leave on your paper, and make sure to use these as a reference for your next assignment. I try to pay attention and adapt to the professor’s style and preferences. —Aly Button, SUNY student

By the end of high school you probably mastered many of the key conventions of standard academic English, such as paragraphing, sentence-level mechanics, and the use of thesis statements. The essay portion of the SAT measures important skills such as organizing evidence within paragraphs that relate to a clear, consistent thesis, and choosing words and sentence structures to effectively convey your meaning. These practices are foundational, and your teachers have given you a wonderful gift in helping you master them. However, college writing assignments require you to apply those skills to new intellectual challenges. Professors assign papers because they want you to think rigorously and deeply about important questions in their fields.

To your instructors, writing is for working out complex ideas, not just explaining them. A paper that would earn a top score on the SAT might only get a C or D in a college class if it doesn’t show original and ambitious thinking.

Professors look at you as independent junior scholars and expect you to write as someone who has a genuine, driving interest in tackling a complex question. They envision you approaching an assignment without a preexisting thesis. They expect you to look deep into the evidence, consider several alternative explanations, and work out an original, insightful argument that you actually care about.

Activity: Examining Your Writing Assignments

what kind of writing task it is (essay, journal, memo, annotated bibliography, online discussion, scientific report, etc.)
how much of your course grade it represents
how much time you estimate it will take you to complete
what the purpose of the assignment seems to be – why it is a graded requirement of the class
Compare the list you’ve generated with a small group of your classmates. How do their lists of writing assignments compare to your own? What are some common factors across writing assignments? What are some notable differences?

What to Do With Essay Assignments

Writing assignments can be as varied as the instructors who assign them. Some assignments are explicit about what exactly you’ll need to do, in what order, and how it will be graded. Some assignments are very open-ended, leaving you to determine the best path toward answering the project. Most fall somewhere in the middle, containing details about some aspects but leaving other assumptions unstated. It’s important to remember that your first resource for getting clarification about an assignment is your instructor—she or he will be very willing to talk out ideas with you, to be sure you’re prepared at each step to do well with the writing.

Most writing in college will be a direct response to class materials—an assigned reading, a discussion in class, an experiment in a lab. Generally speaking, these writing tasks can be divided into three broad categories.

Summary Assignments

Being asked to summarize a source is a common task in many types of writing. It can also seem like a straightforward task: simply restate, in shorter form, what the source says. A lot of advanced skills are hidden in this seemingly simple assignment, however.

An effective summary does the following:

reflects your accurate understanding of a source’s thesis or purpose
differentiates between major and minor ideas in a source
demonstrates your ability to identify key phrases to quote
demonstrates your ability to effectively paraphrase most of the source’s ideas
captures the tone, style, and distinguishing features of a source
does not reflect your personal opinion about the source

That last point is often the most challenging: we are opinionated creatures, by nature, and it can be very difficult to keep our opinions from creeping into a summary, which is meant to be completely neutral.

In college-level writing, assignments that are only summary are rare. That said, many types of writing tasks contain at least some element of summary, from a biology report that explains what happened during a chemical process, to an analysis essay that requires you to explain what several prominent positions about gun control are, as a component of comparing them against one another.

Defined-Topic Assignments

Many writing tasks will ask you to address a particular topic or a narrow set of topic options. Even with the topic identified, however, it can sometimes be difficult to determine what aspects of the writing will be most important when it comes to grading.

Often, the handout or other written text explaining the assignment—what professors call the assignment prompt —will explain the purpose of the assignment, the required parameters (length, number and type of sources, referencing style, etc.), and the criteria for evaluation. Sometimes, though—especially when you are new to a field—you will encounter the baffling situation in which you comprehend every single sentence in the prompt but still have absolutely no idea how to approach the assignment. No one is doing anything wrong in a situation like that. It just means that further discussion of the assignment is in order. Below are some tips:

Focus on the verbs . Look for verbs like compare, explain, justify, reflect , or the all-purpose analyze . You’re not just producing a paper as an artifact; you’re conveying, in written communication, some intellectual work you have done. So the question is, what kind of thinking are you supposed to do to deepen your learning?
Put the assignment in context . Many professors think in terms of assignment sequences. For example, a social science professor may ask you to write about a controversial issue three times: first, arguing for one side of the debate; second, arguing for another; and finally, from a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective, incorporating text produced in the first two assignments. A sequence like that is designed to help you think through a complex issue. If the assignment isn’t part of a sequence, think about where it falls in the span of the course (early, midterm, or toward the end), and how it relates to readings and other assignments. For example, if you see that a paper comes at the end of a three-week unit on the role of the Internet in organizational behavior, then your professor likely wants you to synthesize that material in your own way.
Try a free-write . A free-write is when you just write, without stopping, for a set period of time. That doesn’t sound very “free”; it actually sounds kind of coerced, right? The “free” part is what you write—it can be whatever comes to mind. Professional writers use free-writing to get started on a challenging (or distasteful) writing task or to overcome writer’s block or a powerful urge to procrastinate. The idea is that if you just make yourself write, you can’t help but produce some kind of useful nugget. Thus, even if the first eight sentences of your free write are all variations on “I don’t understand this” or “I’d really rather be doing something else,” eventually you’ll write something like “I guess the main point of this is . . . ,” and—booyah!—you’re off and running.
Ask for clarification . Even the most carefully crafted assignments may need some verbal clarification, especially if you’re new to a course or field. Try to convey to your instructor that you want to learn and you’re ready to work, and not just looking for advice on how to get an A.

Although the topic may be defined, you can’t just grind out four or five pages of discussion, explanation, or analysis. It may seem strange, but even when you’re asked to “show how” or “illustrate,” you’re still being asked to make an argument. You must shape and focus that discussion or analysis so that it supports a claim that you discovered and formulated and that all of your discussion and explanation develops and supports.

Defined-topic writing assignments are used primarily to identify your familiarity with the subject matter.

Undefined-Topic Assignments

Another writing assignment you’ll potentially encounter is one in which the topic may be only broadly identified (“water conservation” in an ecology course, for instance, or “the Dust Bowl” in a U.S. History course), or even completely open (“compose an argumentative research essay on a subject of your choice”).

Where defined-topic essays demonstrate your knowledge of the content , undefined-topic assignments are used to demonstrate your skills— your ability to perform academic research, to synthesize ideas, and to apply the various stages of the writing process.

The first hurdle with this type of task is to find a focus that interests you. Don’t just pick something you feel will be “easy to write about”—that almost always turns out to be a false assumption. Instead, you’ll get the most value out of, and find it easier to work on, a topic that intrigues you personally in some way.

The same getting-started ideas described for defined-topic assignments will help with these kinds of projects, too. You can also try talking with your instructor or a writing tutor (at your college’s writing center) to help brainstorm ideas and make sure you’re on track. You want to feel confident that you’ve got a clear idea of what it means to be successful in the writing and not waste time working in a direction that won’t be fruitful.

The Writing Process

The following video provides an excellent overview of research essays, one of the most common kinds of writing assignments you’re likely to encounter in college.

No writer, not even a professional, composes a perfect draft in her first attempt. Every writer fumbles and has to work through a series of steps to arrive at a high-quality finished project.

You may have encountered these steps as assignments in classes—draft a thesis statement; complete an outline; turn in a rough draft; participate in a peer review. The further you get into higher education, the less often these steps will be completed as part of class.

That’s not to say that you won’t still need to follow these steps on your own time. It helps to recognize that these steps, commonly referred to as the writing process , aren’t rigid and prescribed. Instead, it can be liberating to see them as flexible, allowing you to adapt them to your own personal habits, preferences, and the topic at hand. You will probably find that your process changes, depending on the type of writing you’re doing and your comfort level with the subject matter.

Consider the following flowchart of the writing process:

The flowchart is a helpful visualization of the steps involved, outside of the classroom, toward completing an essay. Keep in mind that it isn’t always a linear process, though. It’s okay to loop back to earlier steps again if needed. For instance, after completing a draft, you may realize that a significant aspect of the topic is missing, which sends you back to researching. Or the process of research may lead you to an unexpected subtopic, which shifts your focus and leads you to revise your thesis. Embrace the circular path that writing often takes!

Revision and Proofreading

These last two stages of the writing process are often confused with each other, but they mean very different things, and serve very different purposes.

Revision is literally “reseeing.” It asks a writer to step away from a piece of work for a significant amount of time and return later to see it with new eyes. This is why the process of producing multiple drafts of an essay is so important. It allows some space in between, to let thoughts mature, connections to arise, and gaps in content or an argument to appear. It’s also difficult to do, especially given that most college students face tight time lines to get big writing projects done. Still, there are some tricks to help you “resee” a piece of writing when you’re short on time, such as reading a paper backward, sentence by sentence, and reading your work aloud. Both are ways of reconceptualizing your own writing so you approach it from a fresh perspective. Whenever possible, though, build in at least a day or two to set a draft aside before returning to work on the final version.

Proofreading , on the other hand, is the very last step taken before turning in a project. This is the point where spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting all take center stage.

Learn these rules, and if you hate them, learn to love them. In college, writing stops being about “how well did you understand fill-in-the-blank” and becomes “how professionally and strongly do you argue your point.” Professionalism, I have found, is the key to the real world, and college is, in part, preparing you for it. If you do not learn how to write in a way that projects professionalism (i.e., these rules), then expect to get, at best, Cs on your papers. —Kaethe Leonard, SUNY student

A person can be the best writer in the world and still be a terrible proofreader. It’s okay not to memorize every rule out there, but know where to turn for help. Utilizing the grammar-check feature of your word processor is a good start, but it won’t solve every issue (and may even cause a few itself).

Your campus tutoring or writing center is a good place to turn for support and help. They will NOT proofread your paper for you, but they will offer you strategies for how to spot issues that are a pattern in your writing.

Finding a trusted person to help you edit is perfectly ethical, as long as that person offers you advice and doesn’t actually do any of the writing for you. Professional writers rely on outside readers for both the revision and editing process, and it’s a good practice for you to do so, too.

Using Sources

College courses offer a few opportunities for writing that won’t require using outside resources. Creative writing classes, applied lab classes, or field research classes will value what you create entirely from your own mind or from the work completed for the class. For most college writing, however, you will need to consult at least one outside source, and possibly more.

The following video provides a helpful overview of the ways in which sources are used most effectively and responsibly in academic writing.

Note that this video models MLA-style citations. This is one of several different styles you might be asked to practice within your classes. Your instructors should make it clear which of the major styles they expect you to use in their courses: MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago, or another.

Regardless of the style, the same principles are true any time a source is used: give credit to the source when it is used in the writing itself, as well as in a bibliography (or Works Cited page, or References page) at the end.

Resources for Academic Writing

Writing Commons
Style for Students
Handouts from the Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill
Hart Research Associates, Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn, http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf , 9. ↵
Ibid., 5. ↵
Hart Research Associates, It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success. http://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2013_EmployerSurvey.pdf . ↵
Writing Strategies. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
Image of journals. Authored by : Eli Juicy Jones. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/7NBXo4 . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence. Authored by : Amy Guptill. Provided by : SUNY Open Textbooks. Located at : http://textbooks.opensuny.org/writing-in-college-from-competence-to-excellence/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Writing. Authored by : UBC LEAP. Located at : https://youtu.be/6Jgwc3sXLCc . License : CC BY: Attribution
Image of Research Paper Writing. Provided by : University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus. Located at : http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/student-toolkits-2/writing/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
Using Sources. Authored by : Katrina Kimbril. Located at : https://youtu.be/u6Pxx5q2u5g . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

Writing Skills Guide

why you should write in English
what you should write
writing topics and how to narrow them down
tips and strategies for writing
common writing questions in exams
vocabulary used in this writing guide

What to Write

Writing topics, 10 tips for better english writing, writing strategies, common writing problems, writing tests.

Writing Checklist

Writing Glossary

I'm sorry to write such a long letter. I didn't have time to write a short one. variously attributed to Blaise Pascal, Abraham Lincoln, Marc Twain et al.

Like reading, writing is something you can do on your own .
You can get feedback about your language errors based on your writing. Teachers can easily find areas that you need to work on.
Writing is enjoyable and relaxing . Show your creative side in a new language.
Good writing skills demonstrate a high level of English . You’ve spent many hours studying the language. It’s time to show what you can do with it!
Writing out your thoughts helps you clarify them . This is useful before a presentation.
Writing allows you to actively use new English vocabulary , expressions and grammar that you have learned. If you don’t use it, you will forget it.
Writing after you read something, shows that you have understood what you have read.
Writing in English is necessary for many jobs . Many academic institutes require you to demonstrate your English writing skills.
Write an introductory post.
Write about your day. Choose a memorable moment. Include a photo.
Comment on a current event in the news (in your own writing).
Share cultural information about your country or a holiday.
Choose a writing challenge topic from Tara's blog . Make sure to link to your blog post from the comments in the original blog post. This will help more readers find your post.
Share and describe a photo.
Describe a funny or embarrassing moment from your past.
Write a review about a movie, book, album, or website.
Write a post using EnglishClub’s idiom of the day .
Choose your favourite quote and write a post about it.
Pose a question to MyEnglishClub members and invite readers to comment.
Invent a game or challenge for your readers. Write the instructions.
Provide a weather report for your town.
Write a poem or song.
Write a letter to a famous person.
Do men and women enjoy equal opportunities in your country?
Should children go to school in the summertime?
Are video games harmful to children?
Will ebooks replace paper-based books entirely?
What’s the worst thing humans do to the environment?
Should couples live together before marriage?
Is it better to have one best friend or many acquaintances?
Do self-employed people live happier lives?
How important are childhood dreams?
Should the government pay for post-secondary tuition?
Is bullying a regular part of growing up?
What are the most important qualities in a teacher/parent/friend?
How has technology changed since your parents’ generation?
What is the best way to travel?
Should smoking be allowed in public?
Should mobile phones be banned in schools?
Is airport screening worth the cost of security?
Who has been your most important mentor?
Are vegetarians healthier people?
What are the secrets to living a long life?

Narrowing Down a Topic

age or stage in life (teenagers, elderly, generation X) in relation to this topic
a specific problem related to this topic
a specific country or city and this topic
a specific time period in history in relation to this topic
Write quickly without thinking (stream of consciousness).
Learn spelling tricks.
Practise different types of brainstorming, such as mind mapping, free writing, list making and collage.
Focus on one aspect of writing at a time (punctuation, verb tense, transitional phrases, introductions, conclusions, writing questions).
Give yourself a deadline for each assignment, project or blog post.
Write regularly.
Practise the different stages of writing (pre-write, first draft, second draft, rest, proofread, polish, publish).
Study and practise using persuasive language.
Find and read many examples.
Become a strong researcher.
Practise note-taking.
Practise timed writings. Give yourself a writing task to complete in 2, 5, 10 or 20 minutes. For example: Write an email to your dad about your week (2 minutes). Write an ad to sell your bike (5 minutes). Write a letter of complaint to the news editor in your town (20 minutes).
Create a writer’s checklist like this example .
The writer doesn’t plan or brainstorm first.
The writer doesn’t use punctuation properly.
The writer doesn’t include organized paragraphs.
The writer doesn’t use capital letters properly.
The writer tries to use long sentences.
The writer tries to use advanced vocabulary.
The writer doesn’t understand how to use different verb tenses .
The writer doesn’t use articles .
The writer copies someone else’s writing (plagiarism ).
The writer doesn’t check his/her spelling .
The writer submits, shares or publishes without proofreading .
The writer doesn’t think about the audience.
The writer tries to translate word-for-word.

Types of questions

Give your opinion.
State the main idea.
Provide reasons.
Provide examples.
Summarize the main points.
Agree/support with reasons.
Disagree/oppose with reasons.
Write about what you heard (dialogue, lecture, ad).
Compare and contrast.
Infer something about what you read or heard.
Write sentences based on pictures.
Respond to an email or letter.

Writing Checklist for English Learners

Planning and content, organization, proofing and final stage.

Written for EnglishClub by: Tara Benwell

British Council Malaysia

English schools
myClass Login
Show search Search Search Close search

Strategies for improving writing in English

Learning English focuses on four main skills; reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Many students consider writing to be particularly difficult. Students hesitate in writing and lack confidence in this skill area. Many students worry that their ideas aren’t good enough or the words they are using aren’t correct. However, there are strategies to practice and improve writing skills both in class and outside of class.

Quick Writes

If you find it very difficult to start writing or come up with ideas, it could be useful to find short topics or questions and just practice writing for five to ten minutes without stopping. The main idea is to keep writing without stopping and not worry about spelling mistakes or grammar. It is recommended to use a timer to time yourself for five to ten minutes in order to avoid stopping. If students do “quick writes” every day, they will see an increase in written fluency and creativity in coming up with ideas in a less pressured way. The following site has a list of writing topics that might be useful as quick writes: https://eslgold.com/writing/topics/

Attempting different types of written discourse

Students often face different types of writing tasks in class or everyday life. These tasks could be anything from emails, blog, a short story, essays and so forth. It is important to understand that each type is different and requires different language such as formal or informal English. Therefore students can start out by looking at an example of the type of writing they want to write. Then they should come up with a list of words or ideas related to their topic. Initial brainstorming of ideas and vocabulary helps students start thinking about the topic further. It is also useful to brainstorm with a friend or classmate in case the topic is quite challenging.

Next, come up with an outline or plan to make the actual writing process easier. By having a plan, it makes it easier to imagine what will go in each paragraph or section. After having written a first draft, it is useful to re-read and circle any mistakes that you might have made.

Editing your own work will help you understand your mistakes in grammar, spelling, and sentence structure and make your aware of them when you write in the future. An experienced writer or teacher can give further feedback and provide useful insight on ideas, language, and grammar.

There are many useful examples and writing prompts for different writing tasks on the main British Council Site. The site also has prompts to practice these tasks. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/writing

Here at the British Council we support students in developing writing skills both inside and outside of the classroom that will equip you for exams and beyond. To learn more about our Young Learners programme visit https://www.britishcouncil.my/english/courses-children .

How It Works
Prices & Discounts

Improve Your Writing Skills: 8 Writing Strategies for ESL Students

Table of contents

You’re asked to write an English essay, and you’re in panic mode. You find yourself second-guessing every sentence you write; before you know it, it’s time to submit the essay.

Have you ever experienced this? After reading this article, we hope you aren’t in such a situation.

As someone who isn’t a native English speaker, we understand how unnerving essays, dissertations, research papers, and other assignments might be.

In this article, we outline eight useful writing strategies to help ESL students like you improve their writing.

8 Writing Strategies for ESL Students to Write Better

For ESL students, it can be difficult to find the right words or phrases to articulate or follow grammar and sentence formation rules while writing essays. Here are eight writing strategies to improve your writing skills.

Read multiple times

Reading books, novels, articles, biographies, or any other reading material helps enhance your vocabulary, familiarize yourself with metaphors, idioms, or even sentence structure, and guides you into constructing complex phrases.

Read everything in English that you can find -- form the words, and narrate them out slowly and coherently.

Pick out words from the text that you are not familiar with and write them down. You can continue finding the meaning of these words online or in dictionaries for better understanding.

You can also underline or highlight phrases or sentences that are confusing so that later you can ask your professors about what they meant.

In short: the more you read in English, the better you’ll be able to understand and write in English.

Use sentence frames

Your professor gives you a writing assignment, but it can be intimidating to write without any help. Use sentence frames to make the writing task more manageable. A sentence frame is a pre-written sentence with spaces in it for you to fill in the remaining words to complete it.

Using sentence frames can help in figuring out the correct structure and the flow of the English language, and can help you in easing the pressure of not trying to come up with your own sentences.

If you are unsure about what word to use, you can write the word down in your native language and continue with the rest of the sentences that you can fill in without any difficulties. After you finish, you can come back to the words that you don't know and try to find alternatives to make sense of the sentence given.

Work towards writing in the language you already know while also gaining the experience of using proper grammar and practicing writing in sentence frames until you are confident and comfortable in writing similar sentences independently.

You can find sentence frame structures for multiple writing tasks such as compare and contrast, persuasive, narrative , sequence, and many other forms of writing.

Organize your thoughts graphically

Graphic organizers are a very beneficial writing strategy for ESL students to help them learn how to read and write better in English. Using this method can help you learn how to organize your thoughts, points, or even sentences systematically with the use of different kinds of graphics.

These organizers can be used for every stage of the writing process -- from brainstorming, pre-writing, and drafting to revision.

Graphic organizing writing tools such as Word Clusters or Topic Wheels can be handy for brainstorming your thoughts and finding purposeful meanings every time you get stuck on a word or phrase.

Here’s what the word clustering method looks like.

You can also use Story Maps if you need guidance to learn how to write a story on your own.

Use templates instead of blank sheets of paper to note down points, and answers, and fill in sentences. You can use these templates to model your writing method and use it as a reference.

Use the Four Square Writing Method

The Four Square Writing Method is a tried and tested writing and organizing strategy that teaches students better structure and helps them write cohesively. Through this strategy, you can also learn how to properly organize a paragraph.

In this method, a blank square is divided into four quadrants. In the center, you make a smaller square and write your topic sentence. Fill in your opening statements and support in the first quadrant, and write down any important points and supporting facts that relate to the topic sentence in the other two quadrants. Leave the 4th quadrant for writing your closing statements.

This visual method will help you focus on writing, provide details and enhance your vocabulary. This will also help you conceptualize, understand and structure a piece of writing without difficulties.

Keep sentences simple and short

A sign of good writing is crisp, short, and easy-to-understand sentences. Some people use complex words because they think they sound more academic, but that is far from the truth.

Using complicated, formal words and unnecessarily long sentences will only make your readers get confused and bored with your writing. They will probably lose track of what you’re trying to convey. So instead, cut short your sentences, use terms related to your topic, include transition words correctly, and keep the language simple.

When editing your work, look out for long sentences and try to divide them into two separate sentences. This will allow you to break down what you want to say in manageable chunks of words.

As an ESL student, you might not be confident about using English words, and this might make you stick to one particular sentence structure, but try to vary your sentence length based on the purpose of what you want to say.

Check out this insightful video by Karen Dudek-Brannan on simple sentences

Practice writing

Practice makes you perfect, and what better way to enhance your English writing skills than just writing whatever you want on a blank piece of paper?

Every time you take notes, try to understand a novel, write an email, or even a text message, practice it in writing first to improve your English writing skills. Allot a period in your daily schedule to sit and write.

You can also practice by writing a paragraph about the day that you have had, some exciting experiences, your fears, goals, likes, dislikes, or literally anything else to increase your speed and dexterity of writing in English.

Use online tools

If you want to be clear and make it easy for your readers to understand what you want to convey in English, it is very important to know the grammatical rules because using the wrong verb tense or writing a sentence in the wrong order will make your readers confused.

That's why you can find multiple websites and online tools that can help you write better in a different language, such as:

Grammarly (one of the sleekest tools for checking grammar);
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (comprehensive online writing source that has a dedicated space for ESL students and teachers);
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionaries;
Quora (you can ask questions and seek answers from people in this online community).

Keep a journal

Suppose you still feel insecure about your English language skills. In that case, it’s good practice to keep a journal as a daily habit to write down anything that comes to your mind, thoughts, new phrases, unfamiliar words, etc., without having the pressure to show anyone what you wrote.

This creates an opportunity to write as much as you want in English and, if needed, words in your native language to understand the meaning behind the English words you’ve used.

When you are and feel skilled enough to read, write and speak fluent English, you can go back to your journals and re-read your notes. This will show you the progress you’ve made and can help you feel more confident.

It is okay to make mistakes in your journals because as you keep practicing how to write, you will only get better and faster and gain momentum and fluency in your English language skills. So, go ahead, and challenge yourself.

Using the right strategies and tools makes learning how to write in a different language much more accessible, interesting, and fun.

These eight writing strategies for ESL students will help you become more confident about writing in English and be open to feedback.

If you’re still in two minds about writing that essay, reach out to Writers Per Hour. Our native English speakers are not just well-versed in the language but also experts in the subject matter.

So, write to us with your requirements, and we’ll get back to you with a 100% original, high-quality essay.

Share this article

Achieve Academic Success with Expert Assistance!

Crafted from Scratch for You.

Ensuring Your Work’s Originality.

Transform Your Draft into Excellence.

Perfecting Your Paper’s Grammar, Style, and Format (APA, MLA, etc.).

Calculate the cost of your paper

Get ideas for your essay

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Four Strategies for Effective Writing Instruction

(This is the first post in a two-part series.)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What is the single most effective instructional strategy you have used to teach writing?

Teaching and learning good writing can be a challenge to educators and students alike.

The topic is no stranger to this column—you can see many previous related posts at Writing Instruction .

But I don’t think any of us can get too much good instructional advice in this area.

Today, Jenny Vo, Michele Morgan, and Joy Hamm share wisdom gained from their teaching experience.

Before I turn over the column to them, though, I’d like to share my favorite tool(s).

Graphic organizers, including writing frames (which are basically more expansive sentence starters) and writing structures (which function more as guides and less as “fill-in-the-blanks”) are critical elements of my writing instruction.

You can see an example of how I incorporate them in my seven-week story-writing unit and in the adaptations I made in it for concurrent teaching.

You might also be interested in The Best Scaffolded Writing Frames For Students .

Now, to today’s guests:

‘Shared Writing’

Jenny Vo earned her B.A. in English from Rice University and her M.Ed. in educational leadership from Lamar University. She has worked with English-learners during all of her 24 years in education and is currently an ESL ISST in Katy ISD in Katy, Texas. Jenny is the president-elect of TexTESOL IV and works to advocate for all ELs:

The single most effective instructional strategy that I have used to teach writing is shared writing. Shared writing is when the teacher and students write collaboratively. In shared writing, the teacher is the primary holder of the pen, even though the process is a collaborative one. The teacher serves as the scribe, while also questioning and prompting the students.

The students engage in discussions with the teacher and their peers on what should be included in the text. Shared writing can be done with the whole class or as a small-group activity.

There are two reasons why I love using shared writing. One, it is a great opportunity for the teacher to model the structures and functions of different types of writing while also weaving in lessons on spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

It is a perfect activity to do at the beginning of the unit for a new genre. Use shared writing to introduce the students to the purpose of the genre. Model the writing process from beginning to end, taking the students from idea generation to planning to drafting to revising to publishing. As you are writing, make sure you refrain from making errors, as you want your finished product to serve as a high-quality model for the students to refer back to as they write independently.

Another reason why I love using shared writing is that it connects the writing process with oral language. As the students co-construct the writing piece with the teacher, they are orally expressing their ideas and listening to the ideas of their classmates. It gives them the opportunity to practice rehearsing what they are going to say before it is written down on paper. Shared writing gives the teacher many opportunities to encourage their quieter or more reluctant students to engage in the discussion with the types of questions the teacher asks.

Writing well is a skill that is developed over time with much practice. Shared writing allows students to engage in the writing process while observing the construction of a high-quality sample. It is a very effective instructional strategy used to teach writing.

‘Four Square’

Michele Morgan has been writing IEPs and behavior plans to help students be more successful for 17 years. She is a national-board-certified teacher, Utah Teacher Fellow with Hope Street Group, and a special education elementary new-teacher specialist with the Granite school district. Follow her @MicheleTMorgan1:

For many students, writing is the most dreaded part of the school day. Writing involves many complex processes that students have to engage in before they produce a product—they must determine what they will write about, they must organize their thoughts into a logical sequence, and they must do the actual writing, whether on a computer or by hand. Still they are not done—they must edit their writing and revise mistakes. With all of that, it’s no wonder that students struggle with writing assignments.

In my years working with elementary special education students, I have found that writing is the most difficult subject to teach. Not only do my students struggle with the writing process, but they often have the added difficulties of not knowing how to spell words and not understanding how to use punctuation correctly. That is why the single most effective strategy I use when teaching writing is the Four Square graphic organizer.

The Four Square instructional strategy was developed in 1999 by Judith S. Gould and Evan Jay Gould. When I first started teaching, a colleague allowed me to borrow the Goulds’ book about using the Four Square method, and I have used it ever since. The Four Square is a graphic organizer that students can make themselves when given a blank sheet of paper. They fold it into four squares and draw a box in the middle of the page. The genius of this instructional strategy is that it can be used by any student, in any grade level, for any writing assignment. These are some of the ways I have used this strategy successfully with my students:

* Writing sentences: Students can write the topic for the sentence in the middle box, and in each square, they can draw pictures of details they want to add to their writing.

* Writing paragraphs: Students write the topic sentence in the middle box. They write a sentence containing a supporting detail in three of the squares and they write a concluding sentence in the last square.

* Writing short essays: Students write what information goes in the topic paragraph in the middle box, then list details to include in supporting paragraphs in the squares.

When I gave students writing assignments, the first thing I had them do was create a Four Square. We did this so often that it became automatic. After filling in the Four Square, they wrote rough drafts by copying their work off of the graphic organizer and into the correct format, either on lined paper or in a Word document. This worked for all of my special education students!

I was able to modify tasks using the Four Square so that all of my students could participate, regardless of their disabilities. Even if they did not know what to write about, they knew how to start the assignment (which is often the hardest part of getting it done!) and they grew to be more confident in their writing abilities.

In addition, when it was time to take the high-stakes state writing tests at the end of the year, this was a strategy my students could use to help them do well on the tests. I was able to give them a sheet of blank paper, and they knew what to do with it. I have used many different curriculum materials and programs to teach writing in the last 16 years, but the Four Square is the one strategy that I have used with every writing assignment, no matter the grade level, because it is so effective.

‘Swift Structures’

Joy Hamm has taught 11 years in a variety of English-language settings, ranging from kindergarten to adult learners. The last few years working with middle and high school Newcomers and completing her M.Ed in TESOL have fostered stronger advocacy in her district and beyond:

A majority of secondary content assessments include open-ended essay questions. Many students falter (not just ELs) because they are unaware of how to quickly organize their thoughts into a cohesive argument. In fact, the WIDA CAN DO Descriptors list level 5 writing proficiency as “organizing details logically and cohesively.” Thus, the most effective cross-curricular secondary writing strategy I use with my intermediate LTELs (long-term English-learners) is what I call “Swift Structures.” This term simply means reading a prompt across any content area and quickly jotting down an outline to organize a strong response.

To implement Swift Structures, begin by displaying a prompt and modeling how to swiftly create a bubble map or outline beginning with a thesis/opinion, then connecting the three main topics, which are each supported by at least three details. Emphasize this is NOT the time for complete sentences, just bulleted words or phrases.

Once the outline is completed, show your ELs how easy it is to plug in transitions, expand the bullets into detailed sentences, and add a brief introduction and conclusion. After modeling and guided practice, set a 5-10 minute timer and have students practice independently. Swift Structures is one of my weekly bell ringers, so students build confidence and skill over time. It is best to start with easy prompts where students have preformed opinions and knowledge in order to focus their attention on the thesis-topics-supporting-details outline, not struggling with the rigor of a content prompt.

Here is one easy prompt example: “Should students be allowed to use their cellphones in class?”

Swift Structure outline:

Thesis - Students should be allowed to use cellphones because (1) higher engagement (2) learning tools/apps (3) gain 21st-century skills

Topic 1. Cellphones create higher engagement in students...

Details A. interactive (Flipgrid, Kahoot)

B. less tempted by distractions

C. teaches responsibility

Topic 2. Furthermore,...access to learning tools...

A. Google Translate description

B. language practice (Duolingo)

C. content tutorials (Kahn Academy)

Topic 3. In addition,...practice 21st-century skills…

Details A. prep for workforce

B. access to information

C. time-management support

This bare-bones outline is like the frame of a house. Get the structure right, and it’s easier to fill in the interior decorating (style, grammar), roof (introduction) and driveway (conclusion). Without the frame, the roof and walls will fall apart, and the reader is left confused by circuitous rubble.

Once LTELs have mastered creating simple Swift Structures in less than 10 minutes, it is time to introduce complex questions similar to prompts found on content assessments or essays. Students need to gain assurance that they can quickly and logically explain and justify their opinions on multiple content essays without freezing under pressure.

Thanks to Jenny, Michele, and Joy for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching .

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign—new ones are not yet available). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first nine years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below.

This Year’s Most Popular Q&A Posts
Race & Racism in Schools
School Closures & the Coronavirus Crisis
Classroom-Management Advice
Best Ways to Begin the School Year
Best Ways to End the School Year
Student Motivation & Social-Emotional Learning
Implementing the Common Core
Facing Gender Challenges in Education
Teaching Social Studies
Cooperative & Collaborative Learning
Using Tech in the Classroom
Student Voices
Parent Engagement in Schools
Teaching English-Language Learners
Reading Instruction
Writing Instruction
Education Policy Issues
Differentiating Instruction
Math Instruction
Science Instruction
Advice for New Teachers
Author Interviews
Entering the Teaching Profession
The Inclusive Classroom
Learning & the Brain
Administrator Leadership
Teacher Leadership
Relationships in Schools
Professional Development
Instructional Strategies
Best of Classroom Q&A
Professional Collaboration
Classroom Organization
Mistakes in Education
Project-Based Learning

I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column .

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

Edweek top school jobs.

Kid Characters Observe Sky with Moon, Milky Way and Reach for the stars!

Sign Up & Sign In

10 Effective Writing Strategies For English Language Learners: Engaging Content That Inspires

This article provides valuable tips and writing strategies for English language learners (ELL).

Introduction:.

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on effective writing strategies for English language learners (ELLs). In this article, we will explore strategies to create engaging content that inspires ELLs to become proficient writers. By combining insights from content writing and teaching practices, we aim to equip educators with valuable techniques to address the specific needs of ELLs and foster their writing skills.

Before listing the 10 effective writing strategies for English language learners, let’s first understand the challenges of teaching writing to ELLs.

Understanding the Challenges of Teaching Writing to ELLs:

Teaching writing to English language learners (ELLs) presents unique challenges that require a thoughtful approach. By understanding the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of ELLs, tailoring the teaching approach to address their individual needs, and creating an inclusive and supportive classroom environment, educators can effectively support ELLs in developing their writing skills.

Recognizing the Linguistic and Cultural Backgrounds of ELLs : One of the first steps in teaching writing to ELLs is recognizing and appreciating their diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. ELLs come from various countries and language backgrounds, each with its own unique set of challenges and strengths. Educators should familiarize themselves with the languages spoken by their students and gain insights into their cultural perspectives on writing. This understanding enables educators to provide relevant and meaningful writing instruction that respects and acknowledges the students’ linguistic and cultural identities.
Tailoring the Teaching Approach to Address Individual Needs : Each ELL student has unique needs and abilities when it comes to writing. It is crucial for educators to adopt a flexible teaching approach that takes into account the individual strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles of their students. This may involve differentiating instruction, providing additional support for struggling writers, and challenging advanced writers with more complex writing tasks. By tailoring the teaching approach, educators can effectively scaffold the learning process and provide targeted instruction that meets the specific needs of each ELL student.
Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Classroom Environment : A supportive classroom environment is essential for ELLs to feel safe, motivated, and confident in their writing endeavors. Educators should foster a sense of inclusivity and create a classroom culture that values and respects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of all students. This can be achieved by promoting open dialogue, encouraging peer collaboration, and celebrating the achievements of ELL writers. Creating a safe space where students feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes is crucial for their growth and development as writers. Additionally, providing constructive feedback and offering guidance in a supportive manner helps ELLs build their writing skills with confidence.

Effective Writing Strategies for English Language Learners

Here are nine effective writing strategies for English language learners.

Pre-writing stage

1. preparing for writing:.

Preparing ELLs for the writing process involves engaging them in meaningful activities that activate their prior knowledge and help them generate ideas. By building a word bank of relevant vocabulary and utilizing graphic organizers, educators can provide valuable scaffolding for their writing journey.

Engaging ELLs in Discussions : To kickstart the writing process, engage ELLs in discussions that encourage idea generation and activate their prior knowledge. These discussions can revolve around the topic of the writing assignment, allowing students to share their thoughts, experiences, and opinions. By fostering a collaborative and interactive environment, educators can help ELLs feel more confident and prepared to express themselves in writing.
Building a Word Bank : A word bank filled with vocabulary relevant to the writing task can be a valuable resource for ELLs. Educators should introduce and reinforce key vocabulary words, phrases, and expressions related to the topic. This equips ELLs with the necessary language tools to effectively communicate their ideas and thoughts in writing. The word bank serves as a reference point, enabling students to enhance their vocabulary and make their writing more precise and engaging.
Utilizing Graphic Organizers : Graphic organizers are visual tools that assist ELLs in organizing their thoughts and ideas before they begin writing. These tools can take various forms, such as mind maps, flowcharts, or outlines. Graphic organizers provide a visual framework that helps ELLs structure their writing, making it easier for them to convey their ideas logically and coherently. By utilizing graphic organizers, educators empower ELLs to plan their writing effectively and reduce the overwhelm that can come with a blank page.

2. Modeling and Guided Practice:

Modeling and guided practice are effective strategies to support ELLs in understanding the writing process. Educators can model the writing process by thinking aloud and demonstrating how to plan, draft, revise, and edit a piece of writing. By explicitly explaining their thought process and decision-making, educators provide ELLs with a clear model to follow. The guided practice involves providing structured activities and exercises that gradually release responsibility to the students. Educators can provide writing prompts, sentence frames, or sentence starters to guide ELLs through the writing process, ensuring they receive the necessary support to develop their writing skills.

Introducing Different Writing Styles : Expose ELLs to various writing styles, such as descriptive, narrative, persuasive, or expository writing. By familiarizing students with different genres and formats, educators broaden their understanding of the possibilities within writing. This exposure helps ELLs develop a versatile skill set and encourages them to experiment with different writing approaches.
Sharing and Analyzing Model Pieces : Share exemplary pieces of writing with ELLs to provide them with models to emulate. Analyze these model pieces together, discussing the structure, organization, language use, and overall effectiveness. This process helps ELLs identify key elements of successful writing and gives them a reference point to enhance their own writing skills.
Explaining the Thinking Process : Verbalize your thought process as you engage in writing tasks. Share your thinking aloud, explaining the decisions you make, the strategies you employ, and the considerations you take into account. By providing insight into the thinking behind the writing process, educators demystify writing for ELLs and help them understand the intentional choices that go into crafting effective pieces.

3. Incorporating Dialogue Journals

Dialogue journals offer ELLs a valuable opportunity to engage in written conversations with teachers or peers. By encouraging regular written exchanges, dialogue journals foster writing fluency, build relationships, serve as assessment tools, and provide direct feedback.

Encouraging Regular Written Conversations : Promote regular written exchanges between ELLs and their teachers or among peers. Dialogue journals create a safe and private space for students to express their thoughts, ask questions, and receive personalized feedback. These written conversations can cover a wide range of topics, allowing ELLs to practice their writing skills in a supportive environment.
Promoting Writing Fluency and Relationship-Building : Dialogue journals provide ELLs with a platform to develop their writing fluency and build meaningful relationships with their teachers or peers. Through the ongoing written conversations, ELLs can refine their written expression, expand their vocabulary, and gain confidence in their ability to communicate effectively in writing. The personal nature of the dialogue journals also creates a sense of connection and trust, fostering a positive learning environment.
Utilizing Dialogue Journals as Assessment Tools : Dialogue journals serve as valuable assessment tools for both educators and ELLs. Teachers can gain insights into the linguistic progress, writing development, and critical thinking skills of their students. By reviewing the entries in the dialogue journals, educators can identify areas of strength and areas that require further support. Additionally, ELLs can reflect on their own writing growth, track their progress over time, and set personal writing goals.
Providing Direct Feedback : One of the key benefits of dialogue journals is the opportunity for direct feedback. Teachers can offer specific and constructive feedback on the content, language use, grammar, and overall effectiveness of the student’s writing. This individualized feedback helps ELLs understand their strengths and areas for improvement, guiding them toward continued growth as writers.

Process Writing

5. collecting organizing ideas and preparing an outline.

Collecting and organizing ideas and preparing an outline is a crucial step in the process of writing. It involves brainstorming, gathering relevant information, and structuring thoughts in a logical manner. This step ensures that writers remain coherent n their writing, as well as maintain a clear focus on their topic.

The outline serves as a roadmap, guiding the writer throughout the writing process and helping them stay organized and on track. This step allows writers to establish a solid foundation for their work. It facilitates the creation of a well-structured and cohesive piece of writing.

6. The Drafting Stage for ELLs

During the drafting stage, it is crucial to differentiate writing assignments based on the language proficiency levels of ELLs. By supporting vocabulary development through labeling pictures and encouraging free writing, as well as providing writing prompts and using sentence and paragraph frames, educators can scaffold ELLs’ writing and ensure their success.

Differentiating Writing Assignments : Recognize that ELLs may be at different levels of language proficiency and adapt the writing assignments accordingly. Offer a range of tasks that allow ELLs to express their ideas and thoughts at a level that matches their linguistic abilities. Provide additional support and guidance to those who require it, while challenging more advanced ELLs with more complex writing tasks.
Supporting Vocabulary Development : Help ELLs expand their vocabulary by incorporating labeling exercises. Provide them with opportunities to label pictures or diagrams related to the writing topic. This activity reinforces their understanding of key vocabulary and improves their ability to use these words in context. Additionally, encourage free writing in journals, allowing ELLs to practice using newly acquired vocabulary and express themselves creatively.
Providing Writing Prompts and Using Sentence and Paragraph Frames : Offer clear writing prompts that provide ELLs with a specific focus and purpose for their writing. Writing prompts help ELLs generate ideas and structure their writing. Additionally, utilize sentence and paragraph frames to scaffold their writing. These frames serve as models that guide ELLs in constructing sentences and organizing their ideas into coherent paragraphs. By providing this support, educators empower ELLs to communicate their thoughts effectively and develop their writing skills.

7. Revising and Editing

Revising and editing are critical stages in the writing process for ELLs. By facilitating peer review sessions for constructive feedback and self-improvement, leveraging technology tools such as assistive technology and digital dictionaries, and cultivating a growth mindset, educators can support ELLs in refining their writing and boosting their confidence.

Facilitating Peer Review Sessions : Encourage ELLs to participate in peer review sessions where they can exchange their written work and provide constructive feedback to their peers. Peer review allows ELLs to receive multiple perspectives on their writing, identify areas for improvement, and learn from their peers’ strengths. It promotes collaboration, critical thinking, and active engagement in the writing process.
Leveraging Technology Tools : Utilize technology tools to support ELLs in the revising and editing stages. Assistive technology, such as grammar and spell-checking tools, can help ELLs identify and correct errors in their writing. Digital dictionaries provide instant access to definitions, synonyms, and examples, aiding ELLs in expanding their vocabulary and improving their language skills. These technological resources empower ELLs to independently revise and edit their writing, promoting autonomy and self-correction.
Cultivating a Growth Mindset : Foster a growth mindset among ELLs when it comes to revising and editing their writing. Encourage them to view mistakes and revisions as opportunities for learning and improvement, rather than as failures. Emphasize that writing is a process that involves continuous refinement and that their efforts to revise and edit are valuable contributions to their growth as writers. By creating a supportive and non-judgmental environment, educators can instill confidence in ELLs and motivate them to actively engage in the revision and editing process.

By implementing these strategies during the drafting, revising, and editing stages, educators can guide ELLs toward producing well-crafted written pieces. These approaches take into account the specific needs of ELLs, providing the necessary scaffolding, support, and feedback to enhance their writing skills and foster their confidence as writers.

Writing lesson management

8. promoting language development:.

Writing provides an excellent opportunity for ELLs to enhance their language skills. Educators should encourage ELLs to incorporate new vocabulary and sentence structures in their writing, while also providing targeted language support as needed. This can be done through mini-lessons on grammar, syntax, or idiomatic expressions, as well as individualized feedback and revision suggestions. By promoting language development alongside writing instruction, educators empower ELLs to express themselves more effectively and confidently in written form.

9. Encouraging Peer Collaboration and Feedback:

Peer collaboration and feedback are valuable components of the writing process for ELLs. Engaging in peer discussions, collaborative writing activities, and peer editing allows ELLs to practice their writing skills in a supportive and interactive environment. Educators should establish clear guidelines for peer collaboration and provide ELLs with structured protocols for giving and receiving feedback. Peer collaboration not only enhances ELLs’ writing skills but also fosters a sense of community and active engagement in the writing process.

10. Celebrating and Showcasing ELL Writing:

It is important to celebrate and showcase the writing achievements of ELLs. Educators can create opportunities for ELLs to share their writing with their classmates, the school community, or even a wider audience. This can be done through author’s showcases, publishing written works, or participating in writing competitions. By recognizing and celebrating the efforts and progress of ELL writers, educators instill a sense of pride, motivation, and confidence in their abilities.

Here are some practical suggestions for educators to create such opportunities:

Classroom Presentations: Dedicate specific class sessions where ELLs can present their written work to their peers. Encourage them to share their thoughts, experiences, and creative pieces. This helps build speaking skills and boosts their confidence.
School-wide Events: Collaborate with other educators and organize school-wide writing showcases or open mic events where ELLs can share their writing with a larger audience. This allows ELLs to feel valued and appreciated for their linguistic and cultural contributions.
Class Anthologies: Create class anthologies by collecting and compiling ELLs’ written work throughout the year. Make physical copies or create digital versions to showcase their writing achievements. Distribute copies to students, teachers, and school staff, and consider displaying them in the school library.
Online Blogs or Websites: Set up an online blog or website specifically for ELLs to publish their written pieces. Provide guidance on internet safety and responsible online behavior. Encourage ELLs to share their work on the platform and interact with peers by leaving comments or feedback.
Pen Pal Programs: Connect ELLs with English-speaking pen pals who are interested in reading and exchanging written letters. This not only enhances writing skills but also promotes intercultural communication and friendship.

Remember to provide ongoing support, encouragement, and guidance to ELLs throughout the writing process. By implementing these practical suggestions, educators can create inclusive and empowering environments where ELLs can confidently share their writing with others, fostering language development and cultural exchange.

Plan and Prepare:

Encourage your students to begin by defining their goal and aligning it with their overall writing plan. Identify the specific response you want to elicit from your readers and determine how you can deliver value to them. Ask your students to take the time to understand the topic and conduct research to gain insights into what is to include in their writing. Collecting ideas and information is a crucial step in designing an appropriate outline for the writing task. Planning and preparation set the foundation for creating great content.

Craft a Meaningful Message:

Ask students to serve a big idea in their content and infuse it with captivating elements. Encourage them to think about how they can tell a unique story that resonates with their target audience. By creating a meaningful message, they can capture the attention and interest of your readers, making their content more engaging and relevant.

Hit The Headline Hard:

The headline or title is the first impression readers have of your content. Students must make it attention-grabbing and enticing. They should use language that sparks curiosity and teases their audience.

Elicit Feelings:

Emotions play a significant role in captivating readers. Students should prioritize eliciting emotions before appealing to reasoning. They have to understand the desires and motivations of their audience and weave those emotions into their content to create a powerful connection. Whether it’s joy, excitement, empathy, or inspiration, tapping into your readers’ emotions can make your content more compelling and memorable.

Write to a reader:

Another effective writing tip is to adopt a conversational tone in their writing to engage their readers. Creating a sense of familiarity and rapport can help build a strong connection with your audience.

Activate with Verbs:

Verbs add energy and action to content. Encourage students to use them with vigor and economy. Strong verbs can evoke a sense of excitement and urgency, driving readers to engage with the content.

Express themselves:

Encourage students to make the content unique by expressing their personality and injecting their personal touch. They have to find their voice and use it to create a distinctive style that resonates with their audience.

Sometimes it is desirable to inject a sense of fun and playfulness into their content. They may lighten the tone, be cheeky, and use rhetorical questions to engage their audience. Adding an element of enjoyment can make their content more memorable and leave a positive impression on their readers.

Tell Stories:

Storytelling is a powerful technique to captivate readers. Encourage students to Incorporate storytelling elements such as time and place, characters, conflict, and resolution. By creating narratives, they can make your content more relatable and memorable. Stories have the ability to transport readers, evoke emotions, and create a deeper connection with your audience.

Arouse and Teach:

Encourage students to capture their readers’ curiosity and make their hearts pound by utilizing curiosity, foreshadowing, and cliffhangers. Additionally, encourage them to focus on sharing knowledge. By delivering value and teaching, they establish themselves as a trusted authority.

Conclusion:

Effective writing strategies for English language learners (ELLs) involve recognizing their unique linguistic and cultural backgrounds, tailoring teaching approaches to address individual needs, and creating an inclusive and supportive classroom environment. By engaging ELLs in meaningful activities, providing scaffolding, promoting language development, encouraging peer collaboration, and celebrating their achievements, educators can foster the growth and development of ELLs as proficient writers. With these strategies in place, ELLs can confidently navigate the writing process and express their ideas with clarity and creativity.

COMMENTS

15 Writing Strategies With Examples
Examples: Surprising statistics about bullying to reconsider "zero-tolerance" policies. The truth about "German" chocolate cake in a post on a beloved family recipe. Daniel Radcliffe's allergy to his Harry Potter glasses in a post on unusual allergies. 13. Add interesting quotes from authorities in the field.
7 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills
Here are some strategies for developing your own written communication: 1. Review grammar and spelling basics. Grammar and spelling form the foundation of good writing. Writing with proper grammar and spelling communicates your professionality and attention to detail to your reader. It also makes your writing easier to understand.
How to improve your English 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 ...
20 Expert-Tested Writing Strategies in 2020 That You Have to Try
7. Katherine Anne Porter's "Last Line" Writing Strategy. According to Pulitzer Prize-winning Katherine Anne Porter, sometimes you might need to think upside-down in order to write right-side up: "If I didn't know the ending of a story, I wouldn't begin.
PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
prompt on your own. You'd be surprised how often someone comes to the Writing Center to ask for help on a paper before reading the prompt. Once they do read the prompt, they often find that it answers many of their questions. When you read the assignment prompt, you should do the following: • Look for action verbs.
Strategies for Essay Writing
Tips for Reading an Assignment Prompt. Asking Analytical Questions. Thesis. Introductions. What Do Introductions Across the Disciplines Have in Common? Anatomy of a Body Paragraph. Transitions. Tips for Organizing Your Essay. Counterargument.
A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing
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 ...
The Writing Process
Table of contents. Step 1: Prewriting. Step 2: Planning and outlining. Step 3: Writing a first draft. Step 4: Redrafting and revising. Step 5: Editing and proofreading. Other interesting articles. Frequently asked questions about the writing process.
Writing Strategies
Revisiting the craft of writing—especially early in college—will improve your writing much more than simply producing page after page in the same old way. Becoming an excellent communicator will save you a lot of time and hassle in your studies, advance your career, and promote better relationships and a higher quality of life off the job.
Writing Skills Guide
Give yourself a writing task to complete in 2, 5, 10 or 20 minutes. For example: Write an email to your dad about your week (2 minutes). Write an ad to sell your bike (5 minutes). Write a letter of complaint to the news editor in your town (20 minutes). Create a writer's checklist like this example.
Strategies for improving writing in English
Strategies for improving writing in English. Learning English focuses on four main skills; reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Many students consider writing to be particularly difficult. Students hesitate in writing and lack confidence in this skill area. Many students worry that their ideas aren't good enough or the words they are ...
8 Writing Strategies to Write More Effectively
Paige teaches QuillBot writers about grammar rules and writing conventions. She has a BA in English, which she received by reading and writing a lot of fiction. That is all she knows how to do. We're beating procrastination once and for all. With writing strategies like taking breaks, asking questions, and paraphrasing, you'll be writing more ...
Improve Your Writing Skills: 8 Writing Strategies for ESL Students
In the center, you make a smaller square and write your topic sentence. Fill in your opening statements and support in the first quadrant, and write down any important points and supporting facts that relate to the topic sentence in the other two quadrants. Leave the 4th quadrant for writing your closing statements.
Four Strategies for Effective Writing Instruction
One, it is a great opportunity for the teacher to model the structures and functions of different types of writing while also weaving in lessons on spelling, punctuation, and grammar. It is a ...
10 Effective Writing Strategies For English Language Learners
Understanding the Challenges of Teaching Writing to ELLs: Effective Writing Strategies for English Language Learners. Pre-writing stage. 1. Preparing for Writing: 2. Modeling and Guided Practice: 3. Incorporating Dialogue Journals.
11 Writing Strategies for Effective Communication
Strategies for effective writing. If you want to improve your written communication skills, consider these strategies to help you write clear and engaging material: Read. Target your audience. Use an outline. Open strong. Answer the 5 Ws & H. Be simple and direct. Choose strong verbs.
Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers
Teach students the writing process 1. Teach students strategies for the various components of the writing process. Students need to acquire specific strategies for each component of the writing process. Students should learn basic strategies, such as POW (Pick ideas, Organize their notes, Write and say more), in 1st or 2nd grade.
PDF NSW Department of Education Writing guide
Writing guide - Years 3 to 10 18. use of effective questioning and prompting to guide students to use and experiment with grammar and punctuation. supporting students to monitor, evaluate and refine their compositional choices. provides opportunities for independent practice.