Writing Strategies

1. Use what you know. Use familiar words, phrases, and sentence patterns you have learnt or seen in target language texts.

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/

2. Avoid excessive reliance on the dictionary.If you have to look up a half-dozen words to write a ten-word sentence, there is a high  possibility  that the sentence will not be comprehensive.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

3. Check your grammar. Sometimes grammar mistakes can make your writing difficult to understand, for example, if you use past tense instead of future.

http://www.englishpage.com/

4. Learn punctuation rules and apply them.

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation_rules.asp

5. Plan, revise and have someone else look at your writing. Writing does not begin or end with one draft. Revise at all levels.

6. Imitate. Imitate native speakers’ writing. For instance, in writing a response to a personal note, look at the format, the way in which the writer of the note addressed you, how he started and ended the note, etc.


Adapted from: Rubin & Thompson (1994). How to be a more successful language learner. Boston:  Heinle & Heinle.