Essay Writing Skills

Writing is a good way of sharing your ideas. Essay writing is a key skill, which allows an individual to express his or her thoughts and views freely to others. Several schools and colleges evaluate the writing skills of students through essay writing. They even determine the original thinking ability and literary skills of students with the help of their writing skills. Many students possess inbuilt literary skills, which enable them to express their thoughts in a concise manner, whereas some students struggle a lot with essay writing. Here, some important steps are discussed, which will help you in improving your essay writing skills.

• Select a Topic: A good topic makes a good essay. Search for a topic that interests you the most or relevant to you. Write about the topic, which you can explain well. It is ideal to choose a fresh topic that will stimulate the interest of the readers.

• Read Books and Newspapers: Writing skills can be developed through reading. The more you will read articles and stories; the better will be your thinking ability as well as writing skill. Read the stories and articles, written by famous writers and learn the art of writing. With regular reading of books and newspapers, you will be able learn to express your thoughts and views in a clear and concise manner.

• Provide Sufficient Evidences: You can convince your readers in your writing with the help of proper evidences and proofs. The proofs and evidences help you in justifying your point or argument that you had discussed in your essay.

•  Improve Vocabulary Skills: With good vocabulary skills, you can maintain a correct tone and flow in your essay. Express your views and thoughts in a step-by-step manner and persuade the readers with the help of proper facts and evidences.

• Focus on Introductory and Closing Paragraph: When writing an essay, make sure that the introduction paragraph should state the main idea or topic. Besides, the closing paragraph should summarize the entire topic with the help of supporting facts.

Difference between Formal and Informal Letters

Letter writing is one of the modes of communication. A letter is written to communicate something important or to mark a special occasion. Sometimes, a letter is written to draw attention of the concerned authority towards an issue or to congratulate someone on his or her special day like marriage, birthday or naming ceremony of a new born baby. Letter writing is broadly categorized into two different forms one is the formal letter writing and another is informal letter writing. A formal letter is written to those whom we do not know on a personal level, such as professional head or business head. However, an informal letter is written to near and dear ones like friends, cousins or relatives. Let us understand the difference between formal and informal letters in detail.

Formal Letter versus Informal Letter 

•    In formal letters, official communication is done in a professional manner. On the other hand, informal letters are written in a causal manner.

•    Formal letters are written for various purposes. For instance, to ask for some specific information, to apply for a job, to request for leave, to make a complaint or to send an apology, etc. On the other hand, informal letters are mainly written to friends and family for sharing joys and sorrow, asking about their whereabouts or expressing emotions.

•    Formal letters are written in a clear and concise manner. In formal writing, the language is short, simple and to the point, whereas informal letters are written like a spoken conversation as these are addressed to near and dear ones. Longer sentences are normally used in informal letter writing.

•    In a formal letter and an informal letter, the address of the sender is usually written on the top right hand side of the page. However, the salutation starts with the title or surname of the recipient in a formal letter. On the other hand, salutation always begins with the recipient’s name in an informal letter.  

•    In a formal letter, the main paragraph includes the exact purpose of writing, for instance, to make a complaint, to enquire or to request something. In an informal letter, the sender asks the whereabouts of his or her friend or family.

•    In a formal letter, sender’s expectation in terms of promises or actions is usually mentioned in the last paragraph. However, in an informal letter, a sender sign off by conveying best regards to his or her near and dear ones.

Advantages of Learning English Grammar

All languages have their set of rules that helps in constructing meaningful sentences. In this way, English grammar is a kind of rule that governs the linguistic behavior of people. It is an essential aspect of the English language. With a sound knowledge of English grammar, an individual can speak and write the language correctly.  Grammar includes syntax, morphology, phonology, which is usually complemented by semantics, phonetics and pragmatics.

It has been seen that people are generally judged by others based on their communication skills. If an individual is not able to speak properly, then he or she is considered an uneducated or illiterate person. Nowadays, speaking English language is a matter of pride. The person who speaks and writes grammatically correct language is respected and admired by his or her peers. Hence, a thorough knowledge of grammar is important for everyone. Let us understand the benefits of learning English grammar in detail.

•    A person can express his or her thoughts and ideas clearly to others with the help of proper grammar knowledge.

•    A good English grammar skill opens doors for dynamic avenues for an individual. It may allow a person to build professional connection with people from other countries.

•    A person can easily comprehend the contents of important documents with the help of good grammar skills. In simple words, they can improve their text interpretation abilities.

•    Students are able to qualify their college and university entrance exams if their grammar is good. Many colleges and universities evaluate the language skills of students through exams. Hence, students who have sound knowledge of grammar can easily score well in the exam.

•    With good grammar knowledge, students can become analytical and receptive readers.

•    Last but not the least; if a person has a strong grammar skills, then he or she can articulate the words properly and can speak English language flawlessly. Consequently, the person will be considered more mature and professional.