ESL. Writing

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart, Nelson Mandela.

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did, Sarah Caldwell.

English is the official universal language. It is, by far, the language of international trade, finance, diplomacy, etc. It is used not only in English spoken countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and The United Kingdom but worldwide. Learning to write English correctly will help you for the rest of your life. It is quite difficult and challenging for many people.

It takes practice and patience because writing is a craft that can take years to learn. Even native English speakers often do not write well! Here are some tips to improve your English writing.

• Try to read something in English every day. Reading is a prerequisite for writing.
• Use spelling and grammar checking tools while writing and revising.

If you want to make sure your writing is clear, coherent, and error-free, you need to check your spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style. Even though spelling and grammar checking tools are useful and increasingly advanced, they still make mistakes.

Some examples are: Grammarly, LanguageTool (Language Tool Grammar and Spell Checker extension), Hemingway App, Scribens, ReversoTranslation, After the deadline, SpellCheckPlus, spellcheck24.net, PaperRater, and SpellChecker.net. These are freemium spelling and grammar checkers that find typos, spelling errors, and grammar mistakes. These services are free, but a premium is charged for additional features that expand the functionality of the free tier.

• Modern word processors automatically check the spelling and grammar in your documents. For instance, if you use Microsoft Office, click the Review tab on the ribbon, then Spelling or Spelling & Grammar.

If you use OpenOffice or LibreOffice, go to the Tools menu, and select Options. From the left side menu, select Languages under the Language Settings section. Choose your appropriate language under Default Languages for Documents, Western: Default - English (USA). Go to Writing Aids and under Options enable the following checkboxes: Check spelling as you type and Check grammar as you type.

It is also available under Tools, Spelling… or just press the F7 key on your keyboard.

If you are using Sublime Text, there are two settings that affect the spell checking in Preferences.sublime-settings (Preferences, Settings):

  "spell_check": true,  
  "dictionary": "Packages/Language - English/en_US.dic"

• Spelling. Learning to spell is a gradual and never-ending process. Mastering English spelling system can be a daunting task and it could take quite some time.

A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell words. It is a fun-to-play word-game for all ages and encourages students to improve their spelling and broaden their vocabulary. Visit Spelling Bee or Learn English - Online ESL Games, Spelling Bee.

• Increase your vocabulary by reading, listening, and playing word games, and then memorizing new words.
• Whatever you write, keep it genuine, short, and simple.
• Be concise, be wary of the amount of text you have per page, don’t say the same thing multiple times, avoid name calling (how many times did you say a person’s name in the middle of a conversation?), filler words, and repeating some words and phrases - cut it to the bone! Keep the reader’s interest in mind.