LESSON 7: LEARNING HOW TO WRITE

Good afternoon, English Learners!!!

This is the last lesson and it's about writing. Writing is a productive skill where you show your ability to use different registers, styles and  the vocabulary you know. Written English and spoken English are very different. When you write, you can prepare what you want to say, it is more formal. Mistakes are more important in written than in spoken English, because you have written that and cannot say it again. In speaking you can correct yourself immediately. Speaking is more spontaneous and more informal, too. 

We use writing as speaking when we write a note, send a text message to a friend, write a diary, etc. . There are two types of writing: communication and personal.

When you write a text, you have to take into account the reader. The reader has to understand your message, so you  have to use one register or another  depending on who you address. If you are writing to someone you don't know, for example, you will use formal connectors and will greet in a different way than if you are writing to your mother. 

Every writing has its layout. It's much better that you know them so that you can identify what type of writing it is. You have to define your purpose. What do you want to tell in your writing? Do you want to entertain, to interest the reader or to justify your opinion? Depending on what your reasons are, you will use one type of writing or another. 

A composition has to be well structured and organised.It has to contain paragraphs to divide your information. A paragraph is a group of sentences that introduces an idea to the text. The number of paragraphs indicates the number of ideas. A paragraph usually has a topic sentence, that is to say, a statement at the beginning of the paragraph that tells you what the paragraph is going to be about.

Punctuation marks are important in a writing. You have to avoid writing too long sentences that will make the reader miss part of the information. Use linking words to connect different ideas.

The steps you have to follow to do a good writing are:

1-- Plan what you want to say and define your main ideas. Do not write full sentences, just key words.

2-- Write a first draft. It's not the final writing, you can correct it later. You have to think in English. Do not make literal translations. You have to use all the vocabulary and grammar structures you know.

3-- Then, check your first draft. Now you can correct whatever you want, cross things out or add new information. 

4-- After checking it, you can write the final version. Once you have finished your composition, read it to check everything is correct.

However, the best strategy to improve your writing is to write a little bit every day. You can combine writing with an activity you like. You can give your opinion in blogs, write a diary about your travelling experience, read books in English to see which structures are used in writing, etc. There are many ways to improve your writing, you only have to find out the one that suits you the most. 

Here I end my lessons on strategies to learn English. I hope you find all of them useful and above all, that you put them in practice. 

If you have any doubts or you want to ask for something on English strategies, please let me know in the comments' section. 

Remain curious and keep learning English!!!