WRITE BETTER

10 TIPS TO WRITE BETTER THAN YOU NORMALLY DO

Jul 17, 2018Essay writing tips

“Attention passengers, this isn’t your captain speaking.”

Above is an example of a one-sentence story. With merely seven words, the room is shaken with a dramatic sense of urgency. “What is going on?”

Before we proceed, we’d like to thank you for coming here to learn how to write better your essay. You’re doing yourself a favor.

There are many ways to write better. Sometimes less is more. Other times you need to shake your reader up, place them in a stolen car speeding down the highway, as sirens wail closer every second.

Firstly, we go through some tips from killer writers who have mastered the game. Next, we look at how to write better sentences, and how to treat every message like prose.

---

---

More words: more tools in your toolbox

Learning new words will help you be more precise in your writing. Why use “really good” when you can use “terrific?”

This doesn’t mean always use fancy words. Words are tools, and the more words you have in the toolbox, the more choices you can make.

Always be aware of new words. You might hear them in movies or read them in newspapers; they could even be words you’ve still used but never quite understood their meaning. Whenever new words come across, write them down in your notes. Before you know it, you’re fully equipped to communicate effectively in any setting.

Sometimes learning how to write better means carrying a pocket dictionary. They say that after reading the dictionary, every book is like a remix.

Pretend texts are prose

A great tip on how to write better is: treat texts like prose. People rarely handle text messages seriously. That’s because we send hundreds of texts daily.

• But what if we told you that you could practice great writing through texts?
• Check for grammar and punctuation.
• Check for word choice.
• Does this text communicate?
• Does it express your intentions?

Be more focused when writing texts, and your efforts will most certainly improve your writing in other mediums.

Write on a daily

Writing is a muscle. Regular training is what keeps you fit as a writer.

If you’re a student learning how to write better essays, there is nothing handier than keeping a journal. Write down your experiences, reactions, and ideas. Exam questions and in-class essays will merely be an opportunity to flex your writing muscle.

Keeping a journal may not work for everyone. However, there are many online writing communities where you can post your work and get reviewed.

Whether it’s short stories or poetry, you must find a daily writing activity to keep you in shape.

Punctuation - the right sentence length at the right time (MLK)

Writing has moments of tension and release.

Short sentences create tension. Long sentences help create rhythm.

“On a winter day, you fit the reader with ski goggles, place them in a sleigh and send them speeding down the snowy hill.”

Tension and release in writing are communicated through punctuation: commas, brackets, full stops, em dashes, etc. If you’re keen on learning how to write better by working with punctuation, check out our punctuation guide.

Writing is rewriting - try reading out loud

As Stephen King once put it, “To write is human, to edit is divine.”Take it from the best! Stephen King writes more books than Marvel makes films. How does he do it? He edits — a lot.

To be a more efficient writer, you have to accept that most of your writing won’t be perfect the first time around. It will take some proofreading and editing to get the job done.

When you’re convinced that the draft is final, read it to yourself out loud.

Give information in small doses

Imagine watching a movie which gives you all the backstory in 2 minutes and expects you to remember it. Yes, you’re not crazy. That is just a lousy filmmaking decision.

The reader needs some space to process information. Blog writers water down info-loaded text with fun and relatable references. Research papers often communicate difficult concepts in simple terms, so that an average reader can get it.

If you go to your professor for advice on how to write a better essay, they’ll tell you to keep it simple and straightforward. Pretend you’re writing your paper about thermonuclear astrophysics for an 8-year old.

Get to the point already

Imagine if this blog started with:

“I am an EssayPro writer, and I know how to write essays better than anyone. My qualifications are …” blah blah blah.

Get to the point, right? According to Google, most media (whether its blogs or Instagram posts) gets our attention for a few seconds before we click away. Hence all the clickbait.

Giving the reader what they came for is the best way to keep them on the page. Spending a paragraph warming them up, is being inconsiderate and wasting the reader’s time. If you’re a copywriter looking for ways to write better, “get to the point” should be a sticky note on your computer.

Replace -ly adverbs

Adverbs are where your vocabulary comes into play. People who use -ly adverbs don’t have the biggest toolbox when it comes to word choice. That’s why “very” and “amazingly” and “carefully” often sound like cliches used to fill a plot hole.

There are ways to write better without adverbs.

Instead of saying - “that man is very good looking,” you can simply say ”he’s handsome.” ”That kid isn’t “incredibly spendthrift,” he’s ”spoiled.”

Next time you’re trying to use a -ly adverb, think to yourself. “Is there a descriptive word I can use instead?”

Learn the rules to break them

To develop your unique style of writing, you must first learn the rules. There are plenty of books illustrating how to become a better writer, literary techniques and methods. Learn the basics of writing and take it from there.

Being familiar with basic writing guidelines will allow you to break conventions and develop your style. Lots of wannabe writers do this backward. Being overly rebellious without knowing conventions will make your work unreadable.

Never stop learning!

A great writer never stops learning. No matter how many blogs you’ve written or books you’ve read, there is always more to learn. The best piece of final advice we can give you is to keep an open mind and still be yourself.

Nobody wants to work with a know-it-all.

Keeping an open mind is what allows a writer to analyze themselves. Next time you read a good piece of text, the ideas will be ingrained into your head. Just reading other writers’ works will show you your strengths and weaknesses.

How To Write Better Sentences

Sentence structure is essential, even for an average writer. Every sentence has punctuation marks which add cadence to the writing. There is a considerable difference between “Let’s eat, Grandpa” and “Let’s eat Grandpa.”

Great writers know how to write better sentences. In the words of Eugene Schwartz:

No sentence can be useful if it contains facts alone. It must also include emotion, image, logic, and promise.

Let’s break down this epic quote and see what makes a great sentence:

Depending on your field of study, you may want to expand that list. A copywriter will include ACTION, as their job requires clients to take action. A screenwriter will consist of SETTINGbecause the setting is usually the first thing that pops up in a screenplay.

Expand the list with your knowledge, but stick to the essential elements. Facts, images, emotions, and promise are guaranteed to kickstart your writing career.

And lastly - practice, practice, and practice again