How to Improve Your Writing Skills: Tools and Tips
Whether you like it or not, heading for graduate school will require you to do a lot of writing during the application stage, and even more so during your studies. Applicants need to write essays for admissions’ tests such as the GRE, GMAT, TOEFL and IELTS, as well as motivation letters and statements of purpose. And as a student, your writing ability in English will be mercilessly tested throughout your studies. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of useful tools to help you improve your writing skills.
Luckily, many web tools are currently at our disposal to help us write texts characterized by clarity, brevity, and coherence. From Grammarly’s comprehensive grammar checking to Hemingway’s focus on concision and clarity, the tools for assessment of writing skills listed below can significantly enhance your English writing skills.
Check out: How Important Is English Grammar for Your GMAT and GRE Scores?
Assessment Tools for Writing Skills
Listed below is a selection of some of the best online tools designed to improve your writing skills:
Grammarly
Grammarly is a free writing assistant that automatically detects grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and stylistic mistakes in your writing. You can copy and paste any English text into Grammarly’s Editor, or install Grammarly’s free browser extension.
As one of the most popular tools to improve writing skills, Grammarly uses algorithms that flag potential errors in the text and suggest context-specific corrections for grammar, spelling, wordiness, style, and punctuation. There is also a plagiarism check tool. One of Grammarly’s most useful features is the reasoning provided for each suggested change, so you can make an informed decision about whether, and how, to correct a problem.
Hemingway
Named after novelist Ernest Hemingway, who was known for his short, succinct, simplistic style, this tool is designed to tighten up your prose by highlighting “wordy sentences, adverbs, passive voices, and other lexical atrocities as you type”. The creators of the Hemingway Editor claim that the tool “makes your writing bold and clear”.
The Hemingway Editor cuts any superfluous content from your writing by highlighting long-winded sentences in yellow and more blatant ones in red.
Readability Score
Readability Score, as the name suggests, is a computer-calculated index which can tell you the level of education someone will require to read a piece of text easily. The tool uses tried and tested readability algorithms, as well as its own proprietary scoring systems, to analyze the readability of a website or text, and recommend ways to improve it.
To ensure your content is readable by 85% of the general public, you should aim for a readability score of Grade 8 or better.
Cliché Finder
The Cliché Finder tool underlines overused words, phrases, and expressions, making it ideal for people looking to strengthen their writing skills by eliminating tired expressions. The cliché checker uses a unique algorithm and overused phrases dictionary to find results. In addition to clichés and hackneyed phrases, the tool also flags possible spelling mistakes. It also offers replacement options for some words.
The Economist Style Guide
For those focused on how to improve writing skills in English in professional contexts, try The Economist Style Guide. This guide is not an online tool per se; but you can buy the book on Amazon or the Economist’s online store if you like. Luckily, it is available online in PDF format. It would be useful for anyone wanting to communicate with the clarity, style, and precision for which The Economist is famous. It offers all kinds of advice, including on the use of punctuation, abbreviations, and capital letters, identifies common errors and clichés, and contains a wide range of reference material. The creators of the guide make a point of clarifying that this is not just a dull book full of writing rules: “This is no ordinary guide to English usage. It has a wit, verve, and flair which make it much more than a simple work of reference.”
Grammar Girl
Mignon Fogarty, former chair of media entrepreneurship in the Reynolds School of Journalism (US), is the Grammar Girl. The website provides short tips to improve your writing. If you don’t want to read long explanations about grammar rules, Grammar Girl is the tool you need. Ms. Fogarty makes complex grammar questions simple with memory tricks to help you recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules.
Check out: How Important Is English Grammar for Your TOEFL and IELTS Scores?<H3> WordCounter
WordCounter is a practical writing analysis tool that helps you improve your writing by providing detailed text statistics and readability metrics. It goes beyond simple word counting to offer insights into sentence length, reading time, speaking time, and keyword density. What makes WordCounter particularly valuable for academic and professional writing is its ability to identify frequently used words, helping writers recognize and reduce repetition.
How to Use Tools for Style and Grammar
Are you wondering how these tools can help you refine your writing style for university applications? Here are two specific practical scenarios that demonstrate how to improve your writing skills and grammar.
Crafting a Statement of Purpose for University Applications
When writing an important document like a statement of purpose for your MBA or graduate school application, a multi-tool approach works best:
First draft: Write your complete statement focusing on content rather than grammar.
Grammar check: Run your draft through Grammarly to catch basic errors and improve clarity.
Style refinement: Use Hemingway Editor to identify overly complex sentences and passive voice – admissions committees value clear, direct communication.
Originality check: Employ Cliché Finder to eliminate overused phrases that might make your statement blend in rather than stand out.
Readability assessment: Use Readability Score to ensure your writing is accessible – aim for a score that matches academic expectations without being unnecessarily complex.
Final polish: Don’t forget to go through the final text yourself to make sure it still sounds authentic and maintains coherence.
Improving Professional Emails in English
For non-native speakers looking to strengthen their writing skills in professional contexts, the following approach can be useful:
- Template creation: Start with a well-structured email template for common communications.
- Grammar foundation: Use Grammarly to catch errors that might undermine your professional credibility.
- Simplification: Run important emails through Hemingway to ensure clarity and directness – particularly valuable when improving writing skills in English is a priority.
- Style guidance: Consult The Economist Style Guide for principles of clear business communication.
- Quick tips: Follow Grammar Girl for bite-sized advice on common English usage questions that arise in professional settings.
Why Writing Style Matters
The impact of refining writing style extends far beyond simply avoiding grammatical errors. For university applicants, strong writing skills can be the differentiating factor in competitive admissions. A well-crafted personal statement demonstrates not only your command of language but also your ability to present arguments and communicate effectively.
Once enrolled, your ability to strengthen writing skills becomes even more critical. Academic assignments and research papers all demand sophisticated writing abilities. Students who can articulate complex ideas clearly tend to perform better academically and receive more favorable feedback from professors.
These writing enhancement tools serve multiple purposes in your academic journey:
- Building confidence: As you refine your grammar and style, you’ll develop greater confidence in expressing your ideas.
- Improving comprehension: The process of clarifying your writing often leads to deeper understanding of the subject matter itself.
- Developing transferable skills: The ability to communicate effectively in writing translates directly to professional settings after graduation.
Whether you’re drafting admission essays or completing course assignments, investing time in improving your English writing skills using these tools will yield benefits throughout your academic and professional life.
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