Even if your spoken English is close to perfection, writer’s challenges never stop testing your skills. Today, spelling and grammar present no difficulty: the tools like MS Word automatically correct the typos and insert the missing commas. But are there universal rules to follow with all the different works: from business case studies and dissertations to fiction and poems? After all, they have entirely different styles and requirements! You might be surprised to find out all these writings have commonalities, but it’s true. Making text readable, immersive, and compelling is about the tiny details you might not notice. Here are some essential tips.

• George Orwell, one of the best writers of the twentieth century, used to say, “if you can cut the word out, always do it.” Everyone knows the feeling when the text is ready, word count is sufficient, and all that’s left is proofreading. Nobody wants to write more. But deleting redundant material is vital if you want to sound interesting. No matter the genre, it works without failure.
• Tautology is the ultimate evil: destroy it! Even the formulations like “I love American apples. These apples give me strength” aren’t allowed. Think of synonyms (use dictionaries) or reformulate the thought until the repetition disappears. Replace the word “apples” with “these fruits” and it no longer feels like you’re talking about the same thing over and again. However, removing tautology can spawn an entirely different issue.
• Beware orphaned pronouns. When you write: “Lewis Carroll created Alice in Wonderland and a mathematics dissertation. It changed the way we see the world forever,” the sense is crystal clear to you. Still, the readers will wonder whether “it” refers to the fiction novel or the scientific work. Use the definitions like “this novel” wherever possible to avoid vagueness.
• Watch the grammatical niceties. The sequence of tenses, reported speech, and similar constructions are a pain. Many English speakers will fail to notice the mistake in the sentence “The researchers found that bats are not dangerous,” but a skilled writer should see it instantly. Try reviewing the basic rules once a month and checking all the sentences for the proper verb forms (by the way, the correct version is: “The researchers found that bats were not dangerous”).

Remember: creativity is natural, correctness comes through hard work; but together, they guarantee excellent results!

Vocabulary: Learning and using the right words

Nobody knows every single word in their language: it’s impossible to embrace this infinite variety! Nevertheless, you have to learn new vocabulary every day for several reasons. Firstly, no writer understands every single word in the instructions without defining the key terms. If those are familiar, specific formulations, phrases, or professional jargon create trouble instead. Still, just defining the new terms to understand the task and then forgetting them is unproductive. Memorizing these items instead economizes your time later when you see them again. As a result, meeting the deadline becomes easier, and your self-esteem improves. Still, don’t rush to cram all the clever and beautiful vocabulary you’ve got into your text!

Many people think that the more long words they say, the smarter they look, but writers know better. Good text creators use terms sparingly when no simpler options are available or when the research demands it. Why so? Because words like “olfactory perception” have special significance. They identify what you’re going to describe and let you avoid long phrases similar to this: “the information that people receive after inhaling scented air.” Nevertheless, you can just write “smells” after outlining the scientific angle, so the readers can get what you mean without straining themselves. Ideally, you’ll strike a balance between the necessary complexity and the desirable simplicity if you don’t “overload” your text.

Do “heavy” elements only include terms? That’s not right! Even if your work has perfect style and grammar, the right vocabulary can save you from two feared curses: wordiness and blandness. Here are two sentences stating the same thing:

• The most important meal of the day is breakfast because it is a key to great energy during the morning and afternoon.
• Breakfast is essential as it generates the most energy throughout the day.

Let’s see how the words relate to the sense here. “Essential” replaces both “the most important” and “is a key,” significantly shortening a sentence. Why mention “morning and afternoon” if you can just state “throughout the day”? People will understand that it doesn’t include evening. That’s the power of rich vocabulary that all the writers want! Read scientific literature and fiction in your spare time and memorize the right substitutes for taboo phrases to write like this on the first try!

Rhetorical situation: Think about your work’s message

A Rhetorical situation is essentially the setting and circumstances for your written work. It includes three vital components. So, what are they?

• Context reveals your text’s domain. Scientific and strict or creative and free? Whatever the answer, there are far more complex settings. For instance, you need to write a creative speech about molecular biology. A successful paper will combine the terms and discoveries from this field with colorful metaphors, comparisons, and a call to action (if needed). Take a moment to think about these details if you want a perfect formulation every time!
• Analyzing your audience always results in a considerable advantage. Who will read the text? What will they expect? What will they reject, and how will the combination of structural elements influence them? Don’t hesitate to ask these questions before starting to work! They’ll make your text effective because you’ll subconsciously make it fit the answers to those questions. Bonus point: the readers will see your words as likable and give you more credit if they receive the appropriate style.
• The purpose is as simple to define as hard it is to achieve. To know your goal, ask yourself why you’re writing the text. Do you want to entertain people? Persuade them that something is good or bad? Maybe, you’re motivating your readers? Once again, these and other aims can combine, and your work will be more versatile if they do. However, building everything you write around one comprehensive goal gives you strong structure, focused arguments, and clarity. Who could refuse that?

The algorithm that you can follow using these tips is: analyze the rhetorical situation, avoid vagueness and mistakes, and utilize the most suitable vocabulary. Proofread your text more than once, looking for one different problem each time, and, soon enough, you’ll be surprised by how your writing has improved.