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英语作文范文
IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS
Perhaps
you
have
dreams
of
becoming
the
next
Great
Novelist. Or maybe you just want to be
able to better express
your thoughts
and ideas more clearly. Whether you want to
improve your writing skills as a
creative writer or simply
perfect your
skills for schoolwork, you can take some steps
to learn how to be a better writer.
Becoming a great writer
—
or
even
a
good
writer
—
takes
practice
and
knowledge,
but
with
enough hard work
perhaps someday somebody will aspire to be
the next
you!
Writing Help
Sample Writing
Exercises
Sample Freewrite About a Name
Common Grammar Mistakes Cheat Sheet
Method1
Improving the Basics
1
Use active instead of
passive voice.
One of the most
common
manifestations
of
bad
writing
is
overuse
of
the
passive
voice.
In
English,
the
most
basic
sentence
structure
is
S-V-O:
Subject-Verb-Object.
“
The
zombie
bit
the
man
”
is
an
example
of
this
sentence
structure.
The
passive
voice
can
cause
confusion by putting
the object first:
“
The man
was bitten
by the
zombie.
”
It usually requires
more words and use of a
“
to
be
”
verb form, which can
suck the energy out of your
writing.
Learn to avoid these constructions as much as you
can.[1]
Using the passive
voice isn
’
t always bad.
Sometimes
there
is
no
clear
way
to
make
a
statement
active,
or
sometimes
you
want the
lighter touch a passive
construction allows. But
learn to
follow this rule
before you start
making exceptions.
The main exception
to this is science writing, which
conventionally uses the passive voice
to put the emphasis on
the results,
rather than the researchers (although this is
changing,
so
check
the
guidelines
before
you
write).
For
example,
“
puppies
fed spicy dog food were
found
to have more
upset
stomachs
”
puts
the
emphasis
on
the
finding
rather
than
the
person doing the finding.[2]
2
Use
strong
words.
Good
writing,
whether
it
’
s
in
a
novel
or a scholarly essay, is precise,
evocative and spiced with
the
unexpected. Finding the right verb or adjective
can turn
an
uninspired
sentence
into
one
people
will
remember
and
quote
for years to come.
Look for words that are as specific as
possible.
Try
not
to
repeat
the
same
word
over
and
over
unless
you are trying to build a rhythm with
it.
One exception to this is the words
used to describe
dialogue.
Bad
writing
is
filled
with
“
he
commented
”
and
“
she
opined.
”
A well-
placed
“
sputtered
”
can work wonders, but
most
of
the
time
a
simple
“
said
”
will
do.
It
may
feel
awkward
to use the word
“
said
”
over and over, but changing it up
unnecessarily
makes
it
harder
for
your
readers
to
get
into
the
back-and-forth
flow
of
the
conversation.
“
He
said/she
said
”
becomes
nearly
invisible
to
your
readers
after
a
while,
allowing them to stay
focused on the characters
’
voices.[3]
Strong
doesn
’
t
mean
obscure,
or
more
complicated.
Don
’
t
say
“
utilize
”
when
you
could
say
“
use.
”
“
He
sprinted
”
is not
necessarily better than
“
he
ran.
”
If you
have
a really good opportunity to use
“
ameliorate,
”
go for
it
—
unless
“
ease
”
is just as good there.
Thesauruses can
be handy, but use them with caution.
Consider the predicament Joey from
Friends
gets into when
he
uses
a
thesaurus
without
also
consulting
a
dictionary:
“
They
’
re
warm,
nice
people
with
big
hearts
”
becomes <
/p>
“
They
’
r
e humid, prepossessing homo sapiens with full-
sized aortic
pumps.
”
[4]
If you
’
re going
to use a thesaurus to spice up
your
vocabulary, look up your new words in the
dictionary to
determine their precise
meaning.
3
Cut
the
chaff.
Good
writing
is
simple,
clear
and
direct.
You
don
’
t
get
points
for
saying
in
50
words
what
could
be
said
in
20,
or
for
using
multi-syllable
words
when
a
short
one
does
just
as
well.
Good
writing
is
about
using
the
right
words,
not
filling up the page. It might feel good
at first to pack a lot
of ideas and
details into a single sentence, but chances are
that sentence is just going to be hard
to read. If a phrase
doesn
’
t add
anything valuable, just cut it.[5]
Adverbs
are
the
classic
crutch
of
mediocre
writing,
and
they often serve only to
clutter up a sentence. A well-placed
adverb can be delightful, but much of
the time the adverbs we
use are already
implied by the verb or
adjective
—
or would be
if
we
had
chosen
a
more
evocative
word.
Don
’
t
write
“
screamed
fearfully
”
--
“
scream
”
already
suggests
fear.
If
you
notice
that
your writing is filled with
“
-ly
”
words, it might be
time
to
take
a
deep
breath
and
give
your
writing
more
focus.[6]
Sometimes cutting
the chaff is best done at the editing
stage.
You
don
’
t
have
to
obsess
about
finding
the
most
concise
way
to phrase every sentence; get your ideas down on
paper
however you can and then go
through to edit out unnecessary
stuff.
Your writing
doesn
’
t just exist in a vacu
um
—
it
’
s
experienced
in
conjunction
with
the
reader
’
s
imagination.
You
don
’
t need to
describe every detail if a few good ones can
spur
the
reader
’
s
mind
to
fill
in
the
rest.
Lay
down
well-
placed dots and let the reader connect them.
4
Show,
don
’
t
tell.
Don
’
t
tell
your
readers
anything
that could be shown
instead. Instead of just sitting your
readers down for a long exposition
explaining a character
’
s
background or a plot-
point
’
s significance, try to
let the
readers discover the same ideas
through the words, feelings
and
actions
of
your
characters.
Especially
in
fiction,
putting
this classic piece
of writing advice into practice is one of
the most powerful lessons a writer can
learn.[7]
For
example,
“
Sydney
was
angry
after
reading
the
letter
”
tells the reader that Sydney felt
angry, but doesn
’
t give us
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