Writing Tips Guides Resources

Painless Writing (Barron's Painless) Updated with many new references, this entertaining book advises students on ways to enliven their essay assignments with vivid images, avoid the dull passive voice, and construct smooth, well-crafted sentences that flow together to create unified themes. Short quizzes called "Brain Ticklers" appear throughout the text. Titles in Barron's Painless Series are written especially for middle school and high school students who are having a difficult time with a specific subject. In many ... [Find out more ...]

Writing in the English language is pretty straightforward and not that difficult. In order to improve your English language writing, you just have to put in a lot of time to practice writing in English. Here are some useful ideas that will help you improve your English writing.

Putting Sentences Together

Sentence construction is the basic building block of English writing. Words do not mean much until you are able to put them together into meaningful sentences. This is where many English writers run into problems.

Avoid run-on sentences that ramble on and on. Sentences that are too long tend to contain mistakes. When readers read your writing, their breath actually follows the rhythms of you writing. For instance, the reader will pause when there is a comma. If you use a period, the pause is a little longer. When you write very long sentences, your readers will find there is no time to catch their breath!

In addition, long sentences also tend to contain more grammatical errors. It is more difficult to check for correct tenses in a long sentence. The answer is to write in short, clear and … [Find out more ...]

Painless Writing (Barron's Painless) Updated with many new references, this entertaining book advises students on ways to enliven their essay assignments with vivid images, avoid the dull passive voice, and construct smooth, well-crafted sentences that flow together to create unified themes. Short quizzes called "Brain Ticklers" appear throughout the text. Titles in Barron's Painless Series are written especially for middle school and high school students who are having a difficult time with a specific subject. In many ... [Find out more ...]

The English language is a very tricky language to master. Learning to read and understand English may be easier than most think. However, learning to writing well in the English language can be very challenging. It could take many years, even decades, of practice in order to be proficient in English writing. The reasons for this are many fold.

Language of Contradictions

English language has a variety of contradictions that throw people off track. For instance, why do we “park on driveways but drive on parkways”? How can “slim chance” and “fat chance” be the same whereas “wise man” and “wise guy” are different? Why is a person who plays the piano called a “pianist”, but a person who drives a race car is not called a “racist”? If “horrific” means horrible, should “terrific” means terrible? If “vegetarians” eat vegetables, what do “humanitarians” eat? These are just a few conundrums of the English language. There are too many instances which make the English language seem senseless due to contradictions

Melting Pot of Languages

English words and English language rules are derived from many different languages. The English language borrows words … [Find out more ...]

Painless Writing (Barron's Painless) Updated with many new references, this entertaining book advises students on ways to enliven their essay assignments with vivid images, avoid the dull passive voice, and construct smooth, well-crafted sentences that flow together to create unified themes. Short quizzes called "Brain Ticklers" appear throughout the text. Titles in Barron's Painless Series are written especially for middle school and high school students who are having a difficult time with a specific subject. In many ... [Find out more ...]

Good writing skills can open up a lot of rewarding opportunities for you. English is pretty much an universal language. It is the language of business. And good communication skills in written English can allow you the access to opportunities on a global scale that you may not even know existed. From corresponding to networking, the more knowledgeable you are in English writing, the more successful you can be. In order to make the most of your English writing abilities, it is important to adhere to these practical writing tips:

Keep It Simple

Fancy adjectives and elegant adverbs may make you feel like you are a great writer, but it is not how people communicate. In fact, most people read and write on a ninth grade level. It is not a matter of ignorance. It is simply a necessity. The shorter sentences you write, the better you can give instructions and get your idea across without any breakdown in the process.

Beware of those “—ly” Words

Words ending in “ly” are often misused and abused because of the mistaken notion that they “sound” more intelligent. In reality, they … [Find out more ...]