Improve Your Writing
English used to be my worst subject in high school. But I made a conscious effort to improve and in college I found my writing style. I started churning out essays became a piece of cake. There were a couple practices I used to improve my writing that you could also utilize and see if there is an improvement in your own style. Read on for practical tips on how to improve your writing.
Having formidable writing skills will help you in any field. It sets you apart, gives you a voice, helps you command respect. And, perhaps more importantly for high school students, it is necessary to cultivate a college essay that universities will love.
It doesn’t matter how old you are, try out these exercises to improve your writing.
exercise #1 to Improve your writing: keep a journal
You might have heard this before, but the best way to become a better writer is to keep writing. You have to practice your craft. Michael Jordan became one of the greatest Basketball players of all time because he kept practicing. Therefore, in order to become one of the greatest writers in your high school, you need to write more. Just describe your day, the events that occurred, and how you felt about them.
This also increases self-awareness. You have to be in tune with yourself to stand out in the college admissions process. Writing every day gives you an outlet to record the events that you may want to include in a college essay and rereading your entries may give you a new perspective on the growth you experienced in high school.
exercise #2 (daily practice): Edit
Take out the time to read other people’s writing. When you analyze and revise someone else’s writing, you get new ideas about what your evaluators are looking for when they read your essays. Be diligent and give feedback. Not only does it help the writer but it also helps you understand the laws of English and makes it more likely that you will adopt them in your own writing.
EXERCISE #3 (DAILY PRACTICE): Proofread
One mistake I made in high school was never reading over my essays before submitting them. In fact, you should read your essay out loud in order to find the problem areas. Reading an essay out loud forces you to listen to what you have written and pick out the problem areas. It puts you in the reader’s seat and helps you understand what parts of the essay do and do not work.
EXERCISE #4 TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING: Read
Reading is a great way to understand how you should be writing. Reading academic articles in college gave me an idea of what my writing needed to sound like. Your writing emulates the type of literature you read most. So if you read subpar writing, you are more likely to imitate that. Challenge yourself to find well-written pieces of work and spend a little time each week reading them and utilizing them to help you find your voice.
There are countless other ways to improve your writing but these four have really helped me. Use these strategies to get a better grade in English, increase your SAT score, write a stellar college essay, or prepare yourself for your field of choice. If you’d like to talk to someone about their journey, or get more advice, be sure to book a consult with us today.
