TIPS TO LEARN ENGLISH
| Tip | Example |
|---|---|
| 1. Use short sentences | Instead of: The man who was tired because he worked all day went to bed. The man was tired. He went to bed. |
| 2. Avoid run-on sentences | Wrong: I went to the store I bought milk. Correct: I went to the store, and I bought milk. |
| 3. Use active voice | Passive: The cake was eaten by John. Active: John ate the cake. |
| 4. Avoid wordiness | Wordy: Due to the fact that... * Better: Because |
| 5. Use precise words | Weak;She wa very sad. + Strong: She wag devastated. |
| 6. Keep subject and verb close | Bad: Theur, along with its passengers, were noisy: Correct: The car, along with its passengers, was noisy. |
| 7. Avoid double negatives | Wrong: I don't know nothing. Correct: I don't know anything. |
| 8. Vary sentence length | Mix: She cried. Nobody came. Hours passed before help arrived. |
| 9. Avoid clichs | Clich: Time will tell. + Better: We'll see the results soon. |
| 10. Use transitions | However, therefore, in addition, on the other hand... |
| 11. Avoid repetition | Bad: The book was good. It was a good story. * Better: The book was engaging. The story was powerful. |
| 12. Choose strong verbs | Weak: She quickly ran. + Strong: She dashed. |
| 13. Watch subjectverb agreement | Wrong: The list of items are on the desk. + Correct: The list of items is on the desk. |
| 14. Use parallel structure | Wrong: He likes swimming, to run, and biking. *Correct: He likes swimming, running,and biking. |
| 15. Avoid overusing adverbs | Wordy: She whispered quietly. + Better: She whispere |
| 16. Use commas correctly | Wronr Let' eat Grandma! * Correct: Let's eat/Grandma! |
| 17. Avoid mixing tenses | Wrong: She goes to school and played football. Correct: She goes to school and plays football. |
| 18. Use apostrophes correctly | Its tail (belonging to it), It's raining (it is raining). |
| 19. Don't overuse "very" | Very big * Enormous |
| 20. Break up long paragraphs | A wall of text Shorter paragraphs for clarity. |
| 21. Use consistent point of view | Wrong: One should watch what you eat. Correct: You should watch what you eat. |
| 22. Avoid jargon with general readers | Utilize -5 Use |
| 23. Use specific examples | Instead of: She is talented. She plays the piano beautifully. |
| 24. Revise redundancies | Free gift * Gift |
| 25. Check homophones | Their/They are/There |
| 26. Use colons and semicolons sparingly | CorrectrHe as three hobbies: reading, hiking, and painting. |
| 27. Proofread aloud | Reading aloud helps catch mistakes like missing words. |
| 28. Avoid sentence fragments | Wrong: Because I was late. -5 Correct: I was late because of traffic. |
| 29. Use hyphens correctly | Well-known actor, not well known actor. |
| 30. Avoid all caps for emphasis | BAD: THIS IS IMPORTANT! -5 Better: This is important. |
| 31. Don't confuse plural & possessive | Students' books (belonging to students), Student's book (one student). |
| 32. Limit exclamation marks | Too many: Wow!!! Better: Wow! |
| 33. Use quotation marks properly | He said, "I'm tired." |
| 34. Avoid vague words | Stuff, things, nice * Replace with precise terms. |
| 35. Keep modifiers close | WrongShe almost drove her kids to school every day. * Correct: She drove he kids toschool almost every day. |
| 36. Avoid dangling modifiers | Wrong: Walkihg down the street, the trees looked beautiful. + Correct: Walking down the street,Tsaw beautiful trees. |
| 37. Use consistent formatting | Don't mix fonts, sizes, or inconsistent spacing. |
| 38. Don't overuse parentheses | Instead of (too many brackets), try commas. |
| 39. Use ellipses sparingly | Don't trail off too much... unless necessary. |
| 40. Avoid overusing "etc." | Better: such as apples, bananas, and oranges. |
| 41. Be careful with "literally" | Wrong: I'm literally dying of laughter. |
| 42. Avoid starting too many sentences with | Instead of: I woke up. I went outside. I ate breakfast. * Better: After waking up, I went outside and had breakfast. |
| 43. Use consistent spelling (US/UK) | US: color / UK: colour |
| 44. Avoid slang in formal writing | Slang: That exam was lit. Formal: The exam was easya |
| 45. Don't misuse "less" vs. "fewer" | Less water / Fewer bottles |
| 46. Avoid filler words | Cut: actually, basically, really, kind of... |
| 47. Start with a strong hook | Weak: This essay will talk about pollution. Strong: Pollution chokes our cities every day |
| 48. End with impact | Weak: That's all. * Strong: Clear action is needed to save our future, |
| 49. Always edit twice | First for content, second for grammar. |
| 50. Read widely | Reading good writing improves your own. |