You may be an adequate writer or struggle to get words on the page. Whatever your level of writing, these top 5 tips to improving your writing are a surefire way to help you advance your writing and literacy skills, so let’s dive right in!
1. Write regularly
The biggest advice I can give to anyone who feels like they want to improve their writing is to write as often as possible. A diary is a great way to advance your writing skills. Write about anything and everything, it doesn’t matter what you write because this is purely for you and nobody else. Over time you will see your writing improve because you have practised.
2. Use a thesaurus
Try using an online or physical thesaurus to advance your vocabulary. Replace words you use commonly for synonyms to expand your vocab. This will help you to use new words.
3. Consider your purpose and audience
When you’re writing, it’s important to be aware of your purpose for writing as well as your audience. A letter to the Queen would sound very different to a letter to a friend. When writing, consider who you’re writing to and what your purpose is such as:
- To inform – straight to the point, clear, and concise.
- To persuade (academic) – use of facts, statistics, evidence
- To entertain – fun, intriguing language, interesting structure and tone
4. Use a grammar checker
Don’t be afraid to check your grammar with third-party software. Be sure to take notes on what keeps coming up for you, is there a particular word you keep spelling wrong? Try practising the spelling so you don’t keep making the same mistake.
5. Get feedback
Feedback is a really great way to learn more about how your writing is received by others. Ask friends, family or classmates to read you work and give you feedback so you know how to improve.
