Baby Steps: 10 Proven suggestions to Write Better Essays in English
If writing an essay sounds a little bit scary, just think about it as an opportunity to enhance your writing skills.
Nobody expects your essay that is first to perfect. Nor your second, nor your third…
Not really your fiftieth (50th)!
Just be sure you learn something new every right time you write an essay, and also you will grow your abilities.
Plus, you don’t need to do it alone.
We’re going to help you out with ten strategies for writing better essays while you’re learning English.
This is certainly an approach that is interesting writing your essay. First, choose a topic and write a thesis. A thesis is the main argument of the essay. By way of example, if for example the topic is reading, your thesis might be “Reading allows you to smarter.”
After you have a thesis, consider carefully your main topic and discover words that relate solely to it in different ways. Then, branch out (broaden, diversify) your list to words that aren’t as closely linked to your main topic.
When it comes to example above, your primary list might include words like “books,” “reading” and “intelligent.” Your other “branched out” list might include “Harry Potter,” “reading by a fire“test or” scores.”
This process will help expand your vocabulary in the long run. Making use of these words when you write may also create your essay more vibrant (energetic, colorful).
You will find vocabulary that is great add to your word list by using the FluentU English program.
FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into language learning experiences.
There are many different forms of videos, as you can plainly see here:
FluentU makes it simple to watch and understand native English videos with interactive captions. Tap or click on any expressed word to see what it means, learn how to use it, hear it pronounced and more.
For example, then you see this if you tap on the word “brought:
Any video’s can be learned by you vocabulary with FluentU’s fun quizzes. Swipe left or directly to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
The videos are organized by level and genre, therefore it’s quite simple to get the ones that really work for your needs. FluentU also keeps tabs on your learning, then suggests videos and examples ideal for you.
If you are first assigned the topic, go ahead and really explore the possible alternatives for your thesis. Make inquiries. Get curious. The greater questions you may well ask you will have to use in the essay before you start writing, the more information.
A essay that is strong one that covers a lot of content in a succinct (short, to-the-point) way. This method of acting like a reporter will give you quotes that are valuable resources and vocabulary to begin the writing process.
By way of example, if you’re writing about a unique diet program, you could make inquiries like, “Who is the best candidate because of this diet plan?,” “How can someone get started?” and “What is the hardest part of this plan?”
A topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph, plus it summarizes all of those other paragraph. It is possible to create them first to assist you remain on track when writing your essay.
For the thesis “Reading enables you to smarter,” one paragraph’s topic sentence might be, “Newspapers allow you to be more aware of current events.” Another paragraph’s sentence that is topic be, “Reading plays and classic literature could make you more cultured.”
If you’re writing concerning the three main issues facing writers today, you might write three full sentences that each address one issue that is main. Set these aside. Then, when you begin writing the essay, refer to your topic sentences to produce a solid structure that begins at point A and ends at point C.
When you have to write a longer or more complex essay, it could make it possible to outline both sides associated with the argument before you start writing. Whenever you write the essay, you will need to choose one side to spotlight. But as you prepare, having a side-by-side listing of points are a good idea in developing your thesis.
Also, by arguing when it comes to side that is opposite of opinion, you will learn which points you need to better address in your essay. You will find out about the topic, and you’ll gain more vocabulary words to enrich the essay.
As an example, you may be writing an essay arguing that people should drink less coffee. To argue both sides, you’ll need certainly to look at the opposite side: the advantages of coffee. How will people quit if they are addicted? Think about the antioxidants in coffee? Aren’t those good for you? Really explore the entire concept (both sides of this argument) before you write.
Proper grammar is difficult for even the most fluent English speakers. You actually have an advantage because you are learning English. Many native speakers learned improper grammar from the beginning. It’s difficult to undo the destruction brought on by a lifetime of writing improperly.
While you learn the English language, make a serious effort to practice your grammar and sentence structure. One method to spot improper grammar in your own personal writing is always to read each sentence backwards (start with the last word and end aided by the first). In this manner, you won’t be fooled by the way the expressed words sound once you read them in your thoughts.
Is everything in the correct tense (past, present, future, etc.)? If you’re writing about plurals, are the possessive nouns plural? Will be the apostrophes into the right places? Does every sentence end with a punctuation mark (period, question mark, exclamation point)? Reading the text backwards make you concentrate on the rules of grammar instead of the flow of this sentence.
Use an on-line Thesaurus and a Dictionary
It’s likely you have learned a number that is large of words when studying for an entrance exam. But in academic essays, be very sure you know what they mean in the context of your essay before you start using them. This is where the dictionary can come in handy.
A thesaurus is yet another valuable tool when writing an essay. A thesaurus lets you know synonyms, or words which have exactly the same or a meaning that is similar your message you appear up. It’s important because some volume can be added by it to your essay while increasing the impact of one’s words.
For instance, if you’re writing about cooking, the language “stir” and “add” might come up a lot. This repetition is boring for a reader.
So in place of constantly saying, “Add the tomato” and “add the eggs,” a thesaurus will teach you to say such things as “whisk when you look at the eggs” or fold in the“gently tomatoes.” See? It sounds a complete lot better and adds interest to your essay.
Visual Thesaurus is a reference that works well just like a thesaurus that is regular but it addittionally demonstrates to you the connections involving the words. For instance, if you key in the phrase “stir,” you’ll immediately see a complete circle of other words attached to “stir” with lines. After that, it is possible to click on any of the words in the circle (like “move,” in this situation) and then see all the words related to that word. This helps you see and learn words that are new, and it’s also fun!
Combine and Separate Sentences
Once the essay is created, return back through the writing to locate any sentences that seem a long time or wordy. Break these into a couple of sentences.
As an example, the following sentence is too long, rendering it unclear:
If you wish to write an additional language, you need to practice writing in creative ways, like writing on a blog, writing fun poems or texting a friend who speaks the language you’re learning every day.
Instead, you could write it as two clearer sentences (with less repetition of the word “writing”):
If you wish to write in another language, you’ll want to practice in creative ways each day. A friend for example, you could start a blog, create fun poems or text.
Do the alternative with sentences you will find too short.
Also, look for sentences which are very closely linked to each other. If two sentences seem like the thoughts are connected, you can combine these with a semicolon ( ; ).
As an example, the following sentences are very closely related:
Learning how to write in another language may be really difficult, especially when you’re first getting started. That’s why it will help to practice every day.
That’s why you can write it because of this:
Understanding how to write in another language can be all challenging, particularly when you’re first getting started; daily practice is useful.