Many students underestimate the importance of written expression. Although it’s easy to notice when you make an awkward expression, sometimes it’s hard to understand how you can improve it. Interesting and sophisticated ideas are a basis for a good essay, however, the way you design sentences and organize thoughts can make the difference between a good and outstanding essay. Sometimes, details matter. So let’s see how you can improve flow and expression in your essays with the help of this guide at college-writers.com.
1. Read out loud
Read your essay out loud. It will help you understand whether the flow in a particular sentence is good and whether your ideas follow each other logically. Simply put, you should make sure that your sentences actually make sense and are easy to read. Quite often, sentences don’t make sense because of a grammatically incorrect structure. For instance, if you use a subordinate clause, the sentence should also contain a main clause (a subject and a verb).
“John ate a cake” is a grammatically complete sentence, while “After John ate a cake” is incomplete. Some information is missing and this clause becomes subordinate. You should also pay your attention to spelling. For example, people often confuse such words as “their” and “they’re,” as well as “its” and “it’s.”
Another important factor is the length of your sentences. If your sentence is too long, try to break it into smaller ones, making sure that all your sentences have a clear subject. Don’t try to put too many ideas in one sentence.
Keep in mind that one spelling error is unlikely to lead to a bad mark, however, if you repeat it a few times, it will be a disaster.
2. Be subtle
Don’t be too casual. Your paper should look professional so we suggest that you avoid such phrases as “in my opinion,” “I believe,” “I think,” etc. These phrases not only make your essay too informal (you shouldn’t use the first person) but they are also unnecessary, not adding any meaning to what you say.
3. Connect your sentences to each other
If there is no clear connection between your ideas, it will be difficult for your readers to link your thoughts and to understand what is a reason and what is a consequence. Use such words as “therefore,” “thereby,” “in addition,” “consequently,” “hence,” “on the contrary,” “furthermore,” “subsequently,” “however,” “on the contrary,” etc. These words will help you create a smooth flow of thoughts.
4. Demonstrate your vocabulary
When you have a good vocabulary, you can express your thoughts more accurately, making sure that your readers understand exactly what you want to say. Use various synonyms. For example, the word “show” can be replaced with such words as “highlight,” “demonstrate,” “emphasize,” and “suggest.” An author or a character may be conveying, or they can also bolster, denigrate, glorify, remonstrate, or insinuate. Using a wide vocabulary, you can express your ideas with more precision.
However, don’t use a too sophisticated vocabulary. Make sure you use all the words in the correct context and make your text easy to read. If you’re not sure what a certain word actually means, don’t use it.
5. Read
We suggest reading sample essays, various reviews, and other texts from your field so that you can see what a proper sentence structure looks like, and how to properly use different writing styles.
Read as much as you can and don’t focus on your area of study only. You can also improve your writing if you read various newspapers and novels, learning different approaches.
6. Write
The more you write the better you get at it. In addition, don’t be afraid to rewrite your essay. You may need to do it a couple of times before you see that everything is easy to understand and logically correct.