4 Easy Tips to Be a Better Writer

Writing effective sentences is an art and a discipline. People often ask me how they can become better writers. When you play a sport, you become better the more you practice. The same is true about writing. However, just as a coach can give you give you tips on how to practice, a writing teacher can fill you in on the hints about writing effective sentences. Here are a few quick hints. If you memorize them and use these ideas as you write, you too can soon be writing effectively!

Rule #1 Write sentences that have different lengths.

Typically English sentences are 15-25 words (10-40 words are the extremes. If you have many sentences with more than 30 words you need to revise in order to break some of those sentences up into two sentences. A more common problem with writers is having many sentences with 15 words or less (sentences less than one line of type). In order to fix this problem, you need to combine your sentences.

Rule #2 Start every sentence in a paragraph with a different word.

Ineffective writers often start several sentences in a paragraph with the same word. That is how we talk in English but putting what we say into writing makes us sound like poor writers. Your writing will sound much more professional if you pay attention to the first word in each sentence. No sentence in the same paragraph should start with the same word. Correct this by going through your writing and circling the first word in every sentence. If you find two words that are the same in a paragraph, change one of them. Using my list of transition words can help.

Rule #3 Use Questions and Commands

While you do not want to overuse questions or commands, these types of sentences can occasionally be used to great effect. Questions can often be used to start a paragraph and introduce the idea that your paragraph will answer.

• Do you understand how to write effective sentences now?

Commands are a great way to conclude your writing and tell your reader what you want them to do!

• Be sure to practice these rules in your writing!

Rule #4 Use Appositives and Adjective phrases to pack information into a sentence

Appositives are when you have two interchangeable names for one person (example: Douglas, my brother, is a lawyer.). Commas set off the second “name.” Appositives which are adjective phrases are an easy way to include a lot of information in a short space

• Bernard, my youngest and most stylish brother, is a lawyer.

In those twelve words, I tell you his name, his relationship to me, his age (relative to me), a personality trait and his occupation. Since I’ve only used twelve words so far, I could easily add more information:

• Bernard, my youngest and most stylish brother, is a lawyer in Los Angeles, California, where all the girls are blondes and all their mothers are on Prozac.

The bottom line is that every writer can write effective sentences. You’ll be surprised at how much better your sentences are when you re-write them following these four simple rules. Try them and see!