How to Write Better: Life Hacks for EN300 (and Beyond)

People have a reason to say that the pen is more powerful than the sword. From Abraham Lincoln’s eloquent orations to William Shakespeare’s timeless plays, writing has been instrumental to the expansion and evolution of the social sphere. Some call writing an art. Others deem it as propaganda. At its most fundamental level, however, writing is a conversation. Entering that conversation is easy. Just follow the tips and tricks discussed below.

Before you even think about the quality of your writing, make sure your writing is understandable. Grammar can aid you in this pursuit. Indeed, writing is one of those things where you have to learn all the rules before you get to break them. Grammar, for the most part, is fairly straightforward. It’s common knowledge that all sentences should consist of at least one independent clause. What trips people up are the finer details of Grammar.

Here’s one that’s deceptively trivial: always put commas before and after nonessential phrases. Anybody can do this once the nonessential phrase is spotted. Determining which phrase is nonessential is the tricky bit. What you may consider as nonessential may actually play a decisive role in the reader’s understanding. For example, commas make the difference between “My brother Patrick” and “My brother, Patrick.” The former says that Patrick is the only brother while the latter suggests that Patrick is one of multiple.

Likewise, what you may think is essential might actually be extra information, something you need to fix with commas or something your writing can do without. In the diagram below, since there is only one song called “Sketches by Winkle,” it is already known that Ween created it. Commas should be inserted before and after “by Ween” if that nonessential phrase were to be added for clarification. On the other hand, the writer could eliminate “by Ween” to fix the mistake.

This leads into our discussion of writing quality. From the pages of Will Strunk’s Elements of Style, omit needless words. Furthermore, Will Strunk tells us to “make every word tell.” In other words, your writing is not evaluated on word count, but how much every word counts. Your diction should precisely convey your point. The sentences in the annotated image do not achieve that.

In the first example, “unacceptable” is too extreme a word for the scenario it’s describing.

“Concerning” may be a better choice. The second sentence uses the word “survive” inappropriately—humans can physically survive without happiness. What they can’t do is live comfortably. The last example seems to say that humans should celebrate their poetic heritage, but the word “unique” may carry negative connotations. Sometimes, the best way to convey a point is to change the sentence entirely. “It makes human beings unique species on earth” could turn into “Humans should celebrate their ability to write poetry.” If you hone your diction and reduce grammar mistakes, your writing will improve. It’s only a matter of time and practice before you find a literary voice that’s uniquely yours.