James, how comes you have good English yet you are not a native English speaker? We don't have such eloquent writers in Kenya...I have been getting such questions of late and so I decided to share a few simple tips on how you can improve your command of the queens language.
Having good English writing skills is really important in every walk of life. For instance, they can help you to get a job, perform better at the workplace. Moreover, you can create a better impression of yourself and improve your relationships with others. But how do you improve English writing skills? Keep reading to find out.
Good writers read voraciously
Reading books written by excellent writers (preferably native English speakers, I should add), is like learning hands-on. It is similar to watching an expert sculptor work and learning to sculpt from him or her. It is about learning how he converts his ideas and raw imagination to reality.
You can gain a lot from studying different narrative styles used by top-notch writers. You may want to join book clubs to meet other like-minded individuals who might help you improve English writing skills. Most of all you should enjoy reading even when alone at home or in the train.
Take advantage of social media and blogs
Don’t limit your learning to books and huge novels alone. If you want to improve your English writing skills, there are a number of online platforms that you can take advantage of.
You can use social media to share, chat and comment in English. Besides that, you can create your own blog and start writing, publishing and sharing your thoughts through articles. English is a beautiful language. Have fun learning to pen it down!
Look for an intuitive learning website
The social media world may provide you with valuable lessons but you might need more practice and correction to acquire the right skills.
That being said, you should link up with a resourceful website that offers all the important learning tools. Some must-have tools include: learning dictionary, grammar checkers and readability tools among others. Keep in mind that good writing skills are not easy to obtain. You have to learn from the best if you want to be the best.
Look for a human tutor
For a native English speaker who expects to read content that is worthy of their time, poor grammar and sentence structure can be an instant turn-off.
To prevent that from happening, you can look for a human tutor who will help you bring your bits of writing to perfection before presenting them to the audience. It is advisable to look for a trained and competent trainer who is ready to spend time mentoring you. Thanks to modern technology, you can meet up with your dream tutor via Skype, Google hangout or email.
Practice is what will make you perfect
There are only three words when it comes to perfecting your English writing skills – practice, practice and more practice.
There is not shortcut to acquiring better writing skills without actually beginning to write on your own. Your may have great learning resources or the best tutor in the world but without practice, all effort put to learning might easily go down the drain. Tip: Take time off your busy schedule to think on your own and to write down what you feel.
As you embark on an introspective journey as a writer, we hope that you are going to keep pressing on – recognizing positive criticism and improve English writing skills in Kenya accordingly. Remember, the “best” is always yet to be.
