Buying a bus ticket, going to the doctor, renting an apartment, or simply opening your mouth to have a normal conversation – for most people learning English, speaking is the most important thing; After all, you learn primarily to communicate.
But you shouldn’t forget that writing is also a central way of communicating – even in the era of Snapchat and Instagram. To help you in this area, we have put together seven very practical tips to improve your written English.
1. Read, read, read
Have you heard that often? You’re not alone there. “Read more” is so often recommended when you want to improve your written expression, because it simply works! When you read, you learn new vocabulary and often come across interesting word choices and beautiful phrases that you can integrate into your own texts.
It doesn’t really matter what you read. It’s about reading often and a lot of different things. Novels, non-fiction books, blogs, newspaper articles, magazines – just read them, and if the texts are well written, all the better!
2. Banish these words
To take your writing to a new level, avoid these little villains: very, really, quite, good, got, stuff, and things. You may now be wondering whether just leaving out a few simple words will really make a difference. But these are meaningless words: they mean very little and without them your text means nothing else, but it reads much better!
Extra tip: Instead of “very/really + adjective” you can choose an extreme adjective. Then it’s over very hungry even ravenous. And instead run really fast you write sprint. Really dirty becomes too filthy. You have hundreds of adjectives to choose from, so use one that captures exactly what you want to say.
3. Use a synonym dictionary
After you have eliminated the less meaningful words from your texts, you have to look for really good replacements. Say hello to your new best friend, the synonym dictionary or thesaurus. With its help, you can replace those words that you use too often with more interesting, appropriate or advanced alternatives. (A few examples: cloth > fabric; money > cash; change > alter; happy > glad; decorate > embellish; improve > enhance.)
If you avoid overly common or simple vocabulary, your text will be more individual and sound more sophisticated or sophisticated. However, be careful not to overdo it! Your texts should still be readable fluently and appropriate for the respective addressee (see point 5).
4. Use and pay attention to idioms
Idioms are combinations of words that are used frequently, even if another combination would be just as grammatically correct. In English, for example, the phrase “heavy rain” is used. You could just as easily say “strong rain” – but that sounds very strange to native speakers.
Other examples would be weak tea (not like that feeble tea), excruciating pain (but not excruciating joy), tall trees (not tall trees), buy time (instead of purchase time), and almost cars (not quick cars), and many more. Acquiring typical phrases like these helps enormously in making your texts sound more natural.
To find out which word combinations are frequently used, you can start with a basic word – for example make, do, get, break, tell – and look up the associated phrases. Alternatively, you can start with a type and memorize some examples. There are, for example, the following types:
- Adverb + adjective (ex. completely satisfied, widely available, bitterly disappointed)
- adjective + noun (strong coffee, heavy traffic, severe weather)
- verb + noun (commit suicide, do your homework, make amendments)
- noun + noun (a surge of anger, liquor license, panic attack)
5. Who is a text intended for?
When writing, it is particularly important to always have the addressee in mind. Think about it: you use different terms when you polish your CV, write a term paper for university or write an article for your blog. There are differences in tone and choice of words.
So before you just start writing, think about the following: Is it going to be a formal text, for example a university application, a cover letter for a job application, or a term paper? Such texts have certain criteria:
- Usually complex, with longer sentences and aspects described in detail
- Less emotional and not intended to influence the reader
- Typically, the long form of words is used here, for example cannot, would not have, television instead of can’t, wouldn’t have, TV.
However, if you’re writing something less formal, such as a blog article, a personal letter, or an advertising copy, then different rules apply:
- You can use simpler language and shorter sentences to express your thoughts in an easy-to-understand way
- Here you tend to use short forms (can’t, wouldn’t have, TV)
- Colloquial language and a conversational tone that speaks directly to the reader also work well here (this includes slang expressions, stylistic figures, asides and personal pronouns (I, you, my, yours…)
- Experiment with empathy and emotions
6. Use active rather than passive expressions
For clear, precise texts, it is usually better to write in the active voice rather than the passive voice. (An example: “The shark bit the surfer” is clearer and somewhat more moving than “The surfer was begged by the shark.”)
There are a number of good reasons to use the passive voice – for example if you are setting binding rules or speaking from a position of authority (“Children are not allowed to swim without an adult”), or if you want to tactfully hide the subject of the sentence (“The cause of the confusion was unknown”) – but you should avoid formulating too many sentences in the passive voice if possible.
7. Ask others for help
It’s very difficult to learn alone – so be brave and ask for feedback on your writing. Native English speakers with an interest in texts and language are of course the best proofreaders, but a non-native speaker with advanced language skills can also help you.
After your proofreader has annotated or improved your text, make appropriate changes and ask for a final quick look before submitting or publishing your text anywhere.
