8 Ways to Improve Essay Writing Skills in English
Are you struggling with your essay writing and dreaming of dealing with your essays fast and efficiently, even when the deadline is too close? Well, many students dream about the same, you are not original in this sense. At least for now essay writing is the key skill that you need to have in order to succeed in the Anglo-Saxon system of education.
All the major tasks are done in writing, and assessed in writing. You cannot proceed if you are not good at writing essays. It may be annoying, especially if you are an ESL student choosing not a creative specialty. It may be rather surprising for students from Asia and post USSR bloc to have to write about everything even in disciplines that are fully based on calculus or programming. Don’t hope, it won’t change. Don’t panic, you can improve your essay writing skills enough to receive good scores and follow the deadlines.
How to Improve Your Written English
Just a brief warning before we start — there is no way any of these tips work if you don’t actually implement them. We also know that you cannot implement all the tips at the same time. It is impossible to follow all the rules, especially if those rules are new and you are not even sure you do what you already know right. Still, it is a good idea not to give up and try out at least some of the offered tips. Pick one or two and if you can implement them, only then move forward.
Check the Basics
It is absolutely normal to make basic mistakes in writing, such as silly grammar and style mistakes and technical omissions. All the great writers you love so much make mistakes, all books you read, without exception, were edited by professional correctors and editors. A person writing creatively is not obligated to write with zero mistakes. It is human to err, as you know. So, first of all, don’t stress out too much with another assignment. Second, repeat some basic grammar rules now and then to keep your mind focused on them.
Start a Blog
Sometimes stress comes with the importance of what you do. If you only use the English language to write academic papers, then everything you write is supposed to be flawless and it cannot be. Also, in such a situation, there is no room for you to have fun using English, and you can do it. Having fun can teach you more than textbooks, that is why we offer you to start a blog. It can be a blog about your hobby, or about your education, or even struggles you have writing papers in English, it doesn’t really matter what you are writing about, it only matters that you like the topic and keep writing regularly.
Red More, Read Better
You can read more, and you can read more efficiently. Just scrolling through some articles is also a good idea, it is helpful and it is fun, but you can do something more productive. First of all, subscribe to accounts and newsletters that cover your major disciplines. This way you will always have something interesting to read in the sphere you need. Second, read simple books but try to see and maybe even not find interesting vocabulary from them. If you read too complex books, you will get too tired, too fast, it won’t do you any good.
How to Write Better Essays in English Language
Let’s move close to writing essays. It may sound like a stretch, but improving your English writing skills doesn’t always mean writing better essays. Also, to write better essays sometimes you need something else, not just improving writing skills. Here are some useful hints on what it can be.
Use Google Scholar Search Instead of Just Google
We are all used to google stuff we need before writing. For academic essays we strongly recommend using Google Scholar instead of just Google. This way you will directly receive access to credible sources you can cite right away. Being a student, you have access to libraries with which your college has a contract. Ask for those online sources at your library or any other information place on campus.
Always Write an Outline
This will help you structure your thoughts. Even if you are not asked for the outline by your professor, write it for yourself. This way, you will never get lost, the logic of your essay will be straight and precise. It is completely normal to lose a thread of thought when writing an essay, and an outline is there to help straighten things up.
Use Online Services
There are many online services that can help you write better essays faster. You can use Grammarly, Hemingway or Ginger for proofreading. You can use citation generators to help you format the citations and do it fast. You can address a reliable English essay writing service if you feel overwhelmed with your assignments. Professional academic writers with a solid background in your discipline will prepare a quality custom paper for you. The only thing you need to do is to share your instructions and recommendations to this order and later approve it to receive an editable version. This paper can also be a great practical sample that will help improve your own writing skills.
There is absolutely more to English essay writing than this article, but we believe in minimalism. If you want some more tips — here are two brief pieces of advice. First, use Pomodoro technique to write productively, without much distraction and without getting too tired. Plan your day in Pomodoros and soon you will see a difference in your productivity.
Second, don’t dive too deep into research. Many students miss deadlines because they spend too much time procrastinating over extra research. It is better to write an average paper faster and than polish it if you have time, than to have only half of an insanely good paper and miss the deadline anyway.
