How do I improve my writing?

This week’s advice column features a question that focuses on an inevitable part of your college experience: How can I improve my writing?

Our advice column may target international students, but this question may apply to many of the students on campus, and it seems only fair to even out the playing field by revealing the methods and solutions some students are already utilizing.

There are, of course, both short-term and long-term aspects that factor into this, so let’s consider the long-term solutions first.

Read More!
The most obvious way to improve your writing would be to start by improving your reading. When you expose yourself to a variety of texts, you are more likely to learn new words, pick up new phrases, and broaden your scope of the English language to more than what you read in your classes.

Try reading a novel in a genre you are interested in. Ask your friends for recommendations. Try picking up a magazine or newspaper. Try reading those articles your friends share on Facebook. If you have a favorite book written in your native language, try looking for an English translation to read. Your reading doesn’t have to be limited to your class assignments; go out and find an enjoyable way to add more reading into your life.

If you need a little help looking for books to read, here are some sites that offer recommendations. These two sites provides lists of popular books:

http://www.yournextread.com/us/

http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/highly-recommended

This cool site allows you to input a book you have already read, and links you to related books you might enjoy: http://whatshouldireadnext.com/

That’s not all! If you’d like to read more books, but perhaps feeling hesitant to spend your money, you’ve got the entire Stony Brook library to look through! Go to this link: http://library.stonybrook.edu/ and try looking for books, articles, or journals you can get your hands on for free here on campus!

For more specific searches, go to this link: http://guides.library.stonybrook.edu/c.php?g=35428&p=225063

Click on of the categories you would like to search through. They range from books, to newspapers and magazines, to accessing other libraries! Stony Brook University is practically begging you guys to start reading.

Write More!
Here’s another obvious piece of advice: practice writing! One tip I have received from many of my teachers and professors is: “WRITE EVERY DAY.”

Study the Art of Writing!
Another way to improve your writing is to patch up any holes you have in your understanding of English by studying topics like grammar. You may be tempted to say, “I already went through grammar and punctuation in class! I already know what nouns, adjectives, and verbs are!” but not everyone has a complete and solid understanding of certain parts of grammar or certain types of words, and its especially important to ask yourself which of those you might need more help with.

That’s not to say you need to go back to learning what an adjective is, but try to sit down and think about some instances where a sentence has confused you, or maybe a professor’s comment didn’t make sense to you. There may be a small gap in the understanding of the fundamentals, so there’s nothing wrong with going back to the basics!

Here are some links to websites that explain some of the technical details of writing, such as grammar, punctuation, among other necessary topics:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
(A website with detailed explanations for aspects of English grammar and writing!)

http://www.englishgrammar.org/
(A site that posts explanations and examples about English grammar!)

http://www.infoplease.com/homework/writingskills1.html
(A “Homework Center” page outlining necessary “Writing Skills.”)

These two sites are online versions of two very helpful grammar books, so if you prefer to have the words on a page, you can look up the originals and purchase them from your nearest bookstore:

http://www.bartleby.com/141/ (The Elements of Style)

http://www.bartleby.com/116/ (The King’s English)

These are two more books you might want to pick up, as they also have a lot of information to offer about writing. The good news is that these can both be found at the main library!

Writing: A guide for college and beyond, by Lester Faigley.

Thoughtful writing : misunderstanding and its remedies, by Gene Hammond.

Now, you might be thinking, “I don’t have time for this, my paper is due like, tomorrow!” in which case you should be writing your paper, but it could be helpful to read through these short-term suggestions.

If you’re having a hard time starting your paper, once you have gotten past procrastinating and decide to actually start doing some work, you can try one of the following methods:

Brainstorming
How do you start writing if you have nothing to write about? If this is an obstacle for you, brainstorming, or  might be a good exercise to try. There are many ways you can brainstorm ideas, but one you can try is writing down word associations, which involves starting with one word and thinking of other words that you associate with it. This might help you, for instance, figure out what other aspects of a particular topic to study.

Group sessions may also be helpful for brainstorming, as you may inspire ideas in each other. Next time you have trouble starting a writing assignment, try talking to a friend, or meeting with a group of classmates, or even discussing it with the TA or the professor, and it might help you come up with ideas you might not have had when you worked alone.

Freewriting
Freewriting is picking up your pen and writing everything and anything that comes to mind about the desired topic, without even thinking about spelling, punctuation, or grammar. Imagine the process of creating a sculpture, regardless of what its made of, instead of taking the time to find pieces and put them together, sometimes it’s easier and quicker to start with a large mound of everything you can get your hands on, and then slowly shape the material into your desired product.

Nowadays, you can type on your computer and not have to worry about looking at a page of scribbles when you’re done. Your freewriting product can vary based on what you need, but it serves the main purpose of collecting ideas and putting what you have in mind into actual writing. Once you have enough to work with, start editing!

Research
Sometimes, you’re required to write about a certain topic you’re completely unfamiliar with, and you don’t even have any quick associations or experiences to use to relate. In this case, a helpful, and probably obvious, activity to carry out is research! Look up the topic in more detail, and read more about it. Familiarize yourself with the information, so that you will be able to write about it. For example, if you’re trying to write a book you recently read in class, finding information about the author, the time period, the historical significance, among other things, may help you gather more ideas to include in your assignment. Very important – make sure to check that your sources are reliable!

Phew! Just finding and putting together the information you needed took a lot of work! Now, you have to edit your work, and that can be difficult when you’re not sure yourself whether what you’ve written is properly done. If you worry you’ll miss the obvious errors in your paper, or that you might not pick up on strangely worded sentences, here are some suggestions for editing your work:

Peer Editing
Find a peer and ask them to help you edit! Peer editing basically involves asking your peer, who could be a fellow classmate or even a friend, to look through your work for you. They might pick up mistakes you overlooked, or offer an opinion about the phrasing of your ideas, or just give you an honest opinion about your work as a whole.

Meeting with Professor
Don’t be afraid to send an email to your professor when you need help! They are the ones who know most about the material you are studying and who know the best way for you to succeed in their class. When they have office hours, stop by and ask them to help you with your writing assignment. If you have a busy schedule, or you want to guarantee no one else will be taking their time, you can send them an email. Remember to do this early to give yourself plenty of time to work.

You might have thought, “I’ve tried all of these things, and they’re not enough!” so you scrolled past all the suggestions, but if you really feel that way, here’s one resource you definitely want to remember:

The Writing Center
We have a Writing Center on campus in Room 2009 of the Humanities Building. Their telephone number is (631) 632-7405. Here is the link to their main page:

http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/writrhet/index.html

and this is a list of their hours:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/writrhet/writing_center/hours.html

Make an appointment and ask for help! Keep in mind, however, before you attend your appointment, it is more productive to go to the Writing Center prepared! Show up with some of your ideas, one of your drafts, or even just with questions and details about your assignment.

If you’re still not sure how to prepare, check out this page:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/writrhet/writing_center/appointment.html

Let’s say you’ve finished your paper, and you lean back in your chair to finally relax, but wait! You suddenly remember your professor required a bibliography! Don’t worry! These two websites are useful for this situation:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
(This website shows you how to properly cite your work. It has been often recommended by teachers.)

http://easybib.com/
(This is a site I found that make the work even easier for you. Just type in the necessary information, and it forms the citation for you!)

Thank you for reading this week’s Advice Column. We answer any question an International student might have as related to college life, ranging from academics to social life. If you have a question  you’d like us to answer, please comment below or drop a comment on the ISO facebook page! We consider all suggestions we get, so your question might be next to be answered!