Ten Ways to Improve Your Writing

Source: Davies, Richard, Kirkland, Glen: Canadian Writers Hanbook Toronto: Gage Learning Corporation. 2000.

1. Do your assigned homework reading.
Read all handouts carefully, and write down all information put on the board by your teacher. Ask questions to clarify any uncertainties about your assignments.

2. Make use of available study guides and critical studies of works discussed in class. This is especially important in literature classes.

3. Listen carefully and thoughtfully.
Always have a pen in hand, taking notes during discussions; note selection titles,
author, character names, key plot/conflict details, information about character, symbol, and theme. Review and study these notes for quizzes, test essays, and exams.

4. Ask questions about anything you don’t understand discussed in class. Look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary. It’s difficult to do well if you don’t know the words you are reading, or can’t paraphrase correctly what the author is communicating.

5. Ask questions about instructions for assignments. Make sure you’re answering the question asked or are responding to key words and all parts of an essay topic. If unsure, discuss the topic with your teacher before you start to write.

6. Develop a plan before you write your good copy. Do as many drafts as you can before writing the final copy.

7. Before submitting an assignment, have several people read it over. Ask your reader to check the following:
· Content: “Do I have enough ideas and examples? What can be added or deleted?” It may be necessary for your reader to know the selection to get good feedback on content.
· Organization: “Have I got a thesis, topic sentence, introduction, conclusion, a title?
Is my material in the best order? Have I organized by selection? Character? Idea? Main events?
· Sentences: “Are they clear and complete? (Remember: Simpler is better) Are the
verb tenses in agreement? Is there anything that sounds awkward?
· Word Choice: “Is my word choice clear and specific? Have I maintained an
appropriate formal tone? Have I avoided using ‘they’, ‘you’, ‘I’, and slang?
· Spelling: “Is my spelling accurate?”
· Legibility: “Is my work legible/readable?”

8. Read over teacher comments, not just the marks. What are you doing well? What do you need to change or improve? Your main writing problems will usually be obvious after one　 to two pieces of writing.

9. For spelling errors, get a scribbler and divide each page into two columns. Write the error on one　 side, and the correction on the other. Review this list of misspelled words before every test and before you turn in assignments.

10. Do all the rewrites and ask for/suggest relevant extra work. Never underestimate the power of practice in English.