Writing is a crucial skill that all students need to varying extents. So, you mustn’t neglect to learn it. Being in college means you’ll have to battle a constant inflow of assignments that involves essay writing. It’s possible that you can afford to pay a writer from a dissertation writing service to handle your dissertation and essay writing needs. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that you need to learn how to write properly. 

Different writing styles include incorporating simple words, direct language and short sentences to engage the readers. While it’s important to hone and preserve your unique tone as an author, there is a deliberate choice you can make with usage and structure that improves the way you write. 

In this article, we discuss a few tips for improving your writing style.

1. Be direct

The best writers are usually very concise and clear in their writing. Directness is a crucial writing skill you need to learn to become a better writer. You must be able to say so much in very few words rather than using many words to say very little. The constant use of filler words, such as prepositional phrases and unnecessary adverbs, points out the improvement you should make in your writing. Too many words reduce your sentences’ weight, make them less meaningful, and take up too much space. It’s important that you can say what you mean in the most direct way possible. 

2. Pick your words carefully.

Words are a writer’s power, so you must pick them carefully. The truth is, there are many ways you can write a sentence, and you can convey one idea in multiple ways. You must choose the simplest way to convey your idea. The English language has many lofty words, but you can choose to avoid them and use simple words. Using everyday words makes your writing more meaningful because it’s easier for everyone to understand. There’s always an easier way to write that sentence. 

3. Use short sentences always.

Your story will lose steam if it’s too wordy. There’s more retentive power in short sentences than in long sentences. They’re capable of grabbing the reader’s attention and making them read the next sentence repeatedly. Also, readers appreciate them more because they’re easier to comprehend. Each sentence should contain an idea. So, don’t try to put too many things in one line. 

4. Use short paragraphs

Similar to short sentences, ensure that your paragraphs are short and manageable. There’s nothing more discouraging for a reader than a large block of text. Each one of your paragraphs should have a couple of short sentences supporting a central idea. This makes it easy to understand and digest for the reader. It also makes the page layout more visually appealing to the readers than a chunk of text. 

However, academic writing may use lengthier paragraphs because of the need to support each point with lots of information. However, it’s best to use short paragraphs for less formal writing. 

5. Use active voice always.

Your sentence is structured in the subject-verb-object format, but you should always use the active voice. It helps you to be more direct in making your point. The active voice ensures the subject of the sentence is doing something, which sounds more exciting than using the passive voice. Although using passive voice is grammatically correct, this doesn’t make it appropriate. To improve as a writer, you must learn that a grammatically correct sentence doesn’t mean it’s appropriate. Passive voice presents your information weakly and creates unnecessarily long and complex sentences. 

6. Review your writing

Editing and proofreading are part of your overall writing process. Reviewing your writing and editing/proofreading helps you pick out stylistic, grammatical and spelling errors that may be hiding within it. You may still give others to proofread for you, including professional editors and proofreaders, but tidying up your writing, checking your voice, tone, sentence structure, choice of words, etc., is part of your job as a writer. It’s also a way of learning from yourself. 

7. Be conversational.

Every writer has a unique voice that defines their writing style. Ensure that you’re writing from your comfort zone. Don’t stress it too much. There’s no need to impress with buzzwords and a large vocabulary. Write like you’re conversing with a friend. Be natural with it. Avoid clichés. Make sure your original voice and thoughts shape your ideas. The way you write should reflect your personality. 

8. Read other authors

There are several famous and non-famous authors that you can learn from by committing yourself to read their works. Reading other writers helps you to grow as a writer as well. You can learn about word usage, personal voice and tone, signature style and the likes by reading several authors. This will help you develop your writing skill.

Conclusion 

You can improve your writing as a student and beyond in several ways. These are some basic tips that you should note to improve as an author.