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Join online forums. This is a great way to practice some writing skills. It might not be the most formal style, but you will definately pick up on your vocabulary. Look at me. English is my second language, but I'm picking it up as I go along. Happy reading
As a literacy and English teacher, I agree with many of the points here. Reading and writing progress together, so the more you read, the more you write, the more your skills develop. I would add a few points:
1. Take some time to read others' (good) writing out loud. This will help you hear the rhythm and cadence of appropriate language structure and flow, grammar conventions, voice, and logic.
2. Read your own writing out loud to yourself. This performs the same function as Point 1, and helps you listen to the words you have used to capture the thoughts you are trying to express. It will help you discover whether your words actually say what you mean and help you self-correct.
3. Revise over and over until you think you have it right.
4. Get a native English language speaker and good writer to review what you have written. First consideration: does it say what you meant it to say? Go for content first. Find someone who can get into the detail of the structure and logic to determine what makes sense and whether you said what you meant. TALK through the entire piece with them. Writing is thought put into the written word; it is not the same as our everyday spoken language, which is usually less formal.
5. Welcome feedback and be humble toward your learning process. Writing is a very personal act, and letting feelings get in the way of accepting constructive criticism will get in the way of listening, learning, and improving.
6. Once you think you have it right, ALWAYS have a second pair of eyes (again, someone with excellent English skills) review it for grammar, punctuation, word use, structure, etc. Don't necessarily rely on word processing programs to correct everything for you - they often don't work and allow mistakes. Revise, publish, and release.
7. Move on to the next piece. It's a progression, and you will improve with time.
Okay, that was more than a few points.Just so you know, I had to edit this more than once, so I still have to go through the process on what I write.
Cheers!
of course i m also poor in english. there are many way to increase your article writing skill. most are posted above by other. i would like to suggest, read english news paper, when your reading news paper you speak also. i mean read news paper with sound. not only inside.
With the help of technology, hiring an online tutor across English speaking countries is a convenient and already a wide practice nowadays. To express yourself better, my practical tip is the use of Thesaurus. You can enhance your choice of words through it. I always use it with MS Word by clicking Shift+F7. Try this magic.
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Last edited by SpacePhoenix; Jul 13, 2010 at 03:40. Reason: removed fake signature
Using a thesaurus can be great for broadening your vocabulary, finding better and different words to say what you mean and avoid clumsy repetition. It can also lead to you using totally inappropriate words in completely the wrong context!Originally Posted by amethyst7
For example, I've just looked up "context" in the MS Word thesaurus, and it's given me the following options: background, circumstance, situation, framework, milieu, perspective, environment. If I was looking to replace the final word in my first paragraph, there's only one of those seven that really fits. So always be careful about using alternatives from the thesaurus if you're not sure how they are used within the natural language - beware of words you don't know, and particularly beware if English (or whatever language you are writing in!) is not your first language, because there are often nuances and subtleties that dictionaries, thesauruses and translators don't manage very well.
write awesome articles is easier than you think
and from your expression here,i think your english is very good now.so just write more and more articles and refer to other articles you think is awesome,just enough to improve your english writing level.
If you want to excel in any field, you have to learn and practice a lot. The capability could not attain within few days. Continuous efforts will bring one to the utmost end point.
English is not my first language also, I`m doing my best
Anyway, read as much as you can. I would not recommend forums and blogs because you may find everything there. I'll recommend some nice bookThat will help you improve your English for sure
Aniket, I don’t believe that you can’t write awesome article. You have created this thread and you had to write this description and from that I got noticed that you will be able to write quality article too.
You should read some great bloggers blog to get idea how a quality article could be.
It doesn’t necessary to be 100% accurate. Just ensure that you are able to tell what you want to tell. Try to read lots of quality blog. It will help like rocket. Thanks
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You seem to have a good handle on English already... if you can tighten up the sentence structure a little you can make up for the rest with a good thesaurus.
The the best blogs.
Gain knowledge on wide variety of topics.
As every one said, read the pulitzer prize winning books.
write, write and write more!
I read so many threads from different forums that people ask for tips for writing the quality content. There are many good tips, but every one of them needs time. That's you should spend time in improving your grammar, collecting more points about the exact topics you would like to talk about, and the most important, you should own your own ideas, do not just copy and combine others' viewpoints.
But how many people would spend so much time? Then they are asking for free wrtiters or even article writing software, etc. Coz most of them need quality content for SEO.
I think you have to go on more reading some articles over the net. It can enhance your writing skills and techniques. Also, your grammar will be improved a lot based on your reading activities.
I also have some problem with content writing for my website, confusion is regarding the scope of site and its content.
Practice, practice, practice
You will be later on be a Professional Article writer. Try to check it with other people. Some errors can be seen by others.
A plan helps you keep a clear focus and helps you avoid repetition. Just mention the points you want to make and order them into logical paragraphs. Remember that paragraphs shouldn't be too long.
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Last edited by SpacePhoenix; Sep 14, 2010 at 23:24. Reason: removed fake signature, please be patient, you need to wait 90 days to use a signature
Find native speakers to hang out with and talk to. Show them your writing and have them correct it. Think in English, sing in English. Find every opportunity to use English that you can. Languages come ultimately from living, not from memorizing. So try to live English. This can work even on a basic level.
Of course study grammar, read, write and speak all you can in parallel. No one said it was easy.
Ed Womack
Get Milked
Get a hold of E.B. White's classic essay, "The Elements of Style." It remains the shortest, clearest and best tutorial for effective writing. I'm sure it's available online, or any librarian would be happy to guide you to a copy.
The best way is to go back to the basics. Information would be useless if you cannot package it in an understandable manner. It's best to cover the fundamentals of the English language first. I agree that reading Pulitzer books would help. Also, it's best to read books that tackle the rules of the English language. That way, you would be more wary of the structure and how a good interplay of words can bring out the best in your article.
You might also want to take the extra mile by enrolling to English refresher and advance courses. That is available in the academe or conveniently placed on some sites in the internet.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
One great tip I was told in a university writing class was to focus on organization. I think this is key if you are writing SEO type articles. Some ideas for you here:
Make sure that your article is well organized by
- Use bullets, bolding and italics when it will help.
- Re-read your article backwards sentence by sentence (not word by word). Each sentence should connect somehow to the one before it.
Reading is the best way. Everyone learns differently, but I think it's pretty widespread that most people learn easier by seeing actual examples, what better way to learn to write than seeing professional authors write and the styles of writing they use.
c ankint7 i would like to tell u vocabulary cannot be the reason because when any article read by any one the moto is that he/she should understand and should get the point perfectly. No matter where u belongs to. Be enthusiastic while writing any article.
Hats off to you - not many writers with English as their mother tongue would dare to write content in another language. Even holding a degree in another language does not provide you with the skills to write idiomatic copy.
I'm impressed that you are trying. I like ewomack's idea of hanging out with native English speakers.
Good luck to you with your writing.
Michele
Hi, one of the best advices I can give is for you to read more English material. One way to generate interest is to read those stuff that really interest you.
I really love reading ever since I was a kid and I still do. It opens up a world of possibilities for me. I know you will love reading too.
I hope Ive helped
I think nine months is enough time to dole out advice, and since the answers are repeating themselves, I think this thread has run it's course.
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