Strategies for writing

• Have someone else look at your writing. Many people do not see their own mistakes.
• Use what you know. Use familiar words, phrases, and sentence patterns you have learnt or seen in target language texts. They are more likely to be understood.
• Avoid excessive reliance on the dictionary. If you have to look up a half-dozen words to write a ten-word sentence, there is a high possibility that the sentence will not be comprehensive. Every time you look up a word in a dictionary, you run the risk of picking the wrong one.
• Imitate. Imitate native speakers’ writing. For instance, in writing a response to a personal note, look at the format, the way in which the writer of the note addressed you, how he started and ended the note, etc.
• Plan before writing. A successful text is one in which sentences build meaning in relation to each other and the overall topic. Therefore, you should consider the function of each sentence in light of its relation to the main topic in order to provide readers with a clear sense of purpose.
• Revise. Writing does not begin or end with one draft. Revise at all levels.
• Check your grammar. Sometimes grammar mistakes can make your writing difficult to understand, for example, if you use past tense instead of future. Review what you have written for grammatical accuracy. Check with someone if you are not sure.
• Enlist your teacher’s cooperation. Establish a channel of communication with your teacher regarding writing and teacher’s comments by asking for feedback on grammar and other errors.
• Look for regular patterns in spelling. Look for regular sound-letter correspondences. If there is a rule, remember it and apply it when in doubt. If there is no good rule, check the spelling of the word in a dictionary each time you write, until you remember the correct spelling.
• Avoid misspelling the same word over and over again. Most people find that they misspell the same words all the time. This can be avoided by making a list of such a words to refer to or by developing other techniques to help you remember the correct spelling.
• Find out similarities and differences in punctuation between your own and the foreign language.
• Learn punctuation rules and apply them.

Adapted from: Rubin & Thompson (1994). How to be a more successful language learner. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.