Five Actionable Tips to Sharpen Your Writing Skills as a Non-Native English Speaker
“Write the way you speak,” probably won’t work for you.
Do you have any writing tips for non-native English speakers? I want to improve my writing, but I feel like these tips are not designed for me as a non-native writer.
Every time I read an article on writing, I see at least two of the above comments on the page. In a nutshell, the article author — typically a native English speaker — responds:
“Well, reader, I think these tips apply to anyone who wants to improve their writing, regardless of their background.”
This is true. The author usually provides great writing tips, and you should put them to practice. The issue is, those tips don’t offer enough depth or align with the difficulties non-native English writers face. For example, you’ll often come across the golden tip:
Write the way you speak.
Most people writing in English maintain an intermediate to advanced level of language proficiency. However, coming from another culture (and living in it) has its drawbacks. One of the main is not using the language in all of its forms— like speaking and listening. Another one is using the language the way you have been taught instead of the way natives do.
Personally, I never speak English at home. Or with my friends and family. The only time I actually speak English is with potential clients looking to hire a writer. It’s not usual for me to forget certain words. I need to prepare for my interviews beforehand, so I don’t forget what to say and how to say it.
If we don’t take the “write the way you speak” advice to its literal meaning, what it suggests is that you should write conversationally.
Writing conversationally allows your readers to connect with you.
It doesn’t mean you should transcribe interviews and insert the spoken language directly into your writing. Spoken language is full of unfinished sentences, expressions unsuitable for the written form, and grammar mistakes.
Writing conversationally, in a nutshell, means writing that flows naturally. That’s it. This is a skill that native English speakers also need to develop. But, their advantage comes from their authenticity.
So, to close this gap, you should become a student of the language through the culture and its nuances.
Develop Common Sense
Create an environment where you feel surrounded by native English speakers at least half the day. Whether it be through podcasts, YouTube videos, Reddit, music, social media, Netflix, interviews, etc. You should consume a lot of content produced by native English speakers. Pay attention to the way they speak, their subjects of interest, what they care about, etc.
Coming from another country means you are close to a particular culture. Things just operate differently. Despite the advantages of globalization, the language barrier exists because you are not directly immersed in the culture. You are not experiencing first hand how natives use the language in their day-to-day lives and how the language evolves.
Keep in mind that being a student of the language through the culture and its nuances is necessary (at least for me). But it won’t help you improve your writing. Only practicing writing — after identifying areas you need to improve — will help you improve your writing.
Five Tips to Help You Improve Your Writing
There are no shortcuts. You need to work twice as hard. Here are some tips to help you out:
1. Read and Analyze Great Writing
To become a great writer, you need to be an avid reader. Reading helps you improve your writing, consider different perspectives, and keeps you stacked on fresh ideas.
You should read every day for at least one hour. You will immediately improve your writing because you are more likely to feel confident in your ability to convey your ideas in a clear and engaging manner.
But don’t stop there. Reading helps you improve your writing to an extent. Take reading to the next level — study and analyze excellent writing. Learn to become self-sufficient while performing this process. For me, this is a three-step process:
- Identify areas that you need to improve (for example, writing descriptively)
- Actively practice improving those areas
- Measure your progress
Learning new words separately for the sake of building your vocabulary doesn’t lead anywhere. You are likely to forget the words or their use quickly. Instead, study the word choice, sentence structure, style, and voice as a whole.
While it’s difficult to consider every detail, analyzing the writing flow and sentence structure is far more beneficial than studying the grammar and learning new words.
2. Research is Your Best Friend
Research ties into the first point because it eliminates writer’s block and gives you inspiration. If you don’t know what to write about or how to approach the topic, you probably haven’t done enough research. Here are two steps you can take to become more efficient when researching:
Create a list of related words and their meaning
Research a topic thoroughly. While you are at it, write the best active verbs, idioms, exciting phrases, cultural references, industry jokes, etc., that you might end up using throughout your writing.
Even if you don’t end up using all of them, just sprinkling in some punchy words and phrases and metaphors makes a world of difference. It takes away the worries of whether or not you sound authentic or convey the topic in an interesting way.
For example, you are writing a product description for a new makeup brush for the first time. Do your research by reading product descriptions, articles, YouTube videos, and customer reviews. Then, you create your list with words that stand out to you the most, for example:
- Does not shed or leave brush strokes
- Leaves an even finish, not cakey
- Multi-purpose fluffy bristles
- Makes skin polished and flawless
- Ergonomic design
- Petal-shaped grip
You can do this with creative writing, copywriting, and content writing. When you have a list of the words that fit right into your writing, it makes things so much easier.
“Steal” sentence fragments and then tweak or rewrite them
Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting you should plagiarize people’s work. Don’t do that, ever. But, when you see a metaphor or a sentence fragment that you like, steal it. Then tweak it a little bit to suit what you are saying. Make it your own. Coming from a different culture allows you to add a unique perspective to the language.
3. Don’t Rely Exclusively on Google Translate
We’ve all been there. You don’t understand a certain word or phrase, and you need it translated. Or, you find yourself putting words on the page in your native language and later looking for a filler. That’s normal. But, direct translation using Google Translate could go very, very wrong. While it’s quick and easy, these tools translate words literally, which can hurt your writing outcome.
To avoid that, after you have a potential word or a sentence in place, look up its meaning. Look up the definition, how to use the word in a sentence, synonyms, and the differences between them. Before you put unfamiliar words in your writing, you need to know their meaning and uses. This drains your time and energy, but better be sure than sorry.
4. Dip Your Toes in Different Forms of Literature
Specializing in one thing is a wonderful idea. But, if you are serious about honing your writing skills, you should dive into different literary forms. From poetry to short stories, copywriting and content writing, the best way to improve your writing skills is to write more using different styles. You don’t have to publish it or charge for it. But, practicing will help you rewire your brain and hone your writing skills.
I have a separate notebook where I write poetry. It’s really bad. I am definitely far, far from being the next Emily Dickinson and I feel she would be offended by me even thinking about it. But I won’t back down until I improve. Stay tuned for my poetry book release in 2030.
5. Work with a Native English Editor
My writing improved tremendously when I worked at a company that had an editor. She was ruthless at times, but I learned so much within a short time. She would dissect my writing and provide feedback, which helped me grow.
If you can hire an editor to check your work, do it. It is worth it. Having an editor to fall back to takes the burden off of you. If you are all alone in this, question everything (like I did with this article and probably made lots of mistakes I can’t identify, but it’s fine). Double-check your writing to make sure you are on the right track.
A Few Words on Grammar
Forget about fixing the grammar when writing the first draft. Focus on getting your thoughts on the page.
You may come across the tip: “Don’t drink coffee with your English teacher.”
That’s because teachers teach grammar and vocabulary, not writing. And you should focus on analyzing great writing and all that it entails. But, as a non-native English speaker, take this advice with a grain of salt. Before you break the rules, you need to learn them. While your focus should be on reading and analyzing excellent writing, you should visit grammar once in a while.
Align these three things, and you will see improvement in tone, voice, readability, and engagement:
Use of active voice.
Use of action verbs.
Short, clear sentences.
Grammarly Premium has been a game-changer for me because it gives me more confidence. This tool won’t catch all of your mistakes, so you need to be careful and use your best judgment.
Final Thoughts
Writing in a language that’s not your native is difficult. You might often get stuck in an endless game of comparison and self-doubt. When you do, remember that:
Writing is a good idea expressed on a page.
The words you use to convey the idea are the building bricks. They are your weapon in making the idea stand out. But, that doesn’t mean that working with what you have and using simple, clear, yet engaging language makes you less of a writer.
Give yourself time.
There is no shortcut to writing well. More importantly, there is no shortcut to writing well in another language. But, please don’t forget that you have an advantage. You are bringing your unique perspective to the topics you convey.
How do you approach the process of writing as a non-native English speaker? Let me know what works for you.
