I can't speak English. I just can't. I have read examples of "bad grammar" on the Internet, but the first time I read them, I didn't think they were "bad grammar." Hell, even after reading the reasons because of which they were labeled bad grammar, I still didn't understand why they were grammatically wrong! And I was an A+ student in high school?! Help! Someone please tell me what I should do to write correctly? PS. I have also been accused of speaking broken English? Please, I really need help.
Your post looks ok to me, I don't think there isn't much of broken english in your post at all. I myself don't care much about grammer
What does this have to do with copywriting? I think all your problem is about choosing the right section not language
Is this a joke or something? Now, this would be bad grammar: OK so, maybe that was terrible but seriously, I don't see any flaws in your grammar or spelling or punctutation or anything... are you trying for some shock value or something?
Have more confidence in yourself, post more often check for your spelling and grammer before hitting the submit button (hehe these are advice I myself don' follow)
What is it that we are supposed to tell you? You seem to be under the impression that you can't write worth a crap, but you expect us to give you some magical formula to turn you into a top-notch writer? Are you insane? Look, it's all well and good that you want to improve your English skills. Actually, that's fantastic! (Seriously, no sarcasm there.) But in order to do that, you're going to have to invest a bit of effort into improving your writing skills, rather than whine on a forum that you can't speak English. Unfortunately, there's no magic wand I can wave that's going to help you.
Here's a great formula for starting out: 1. Read articles from professionals (no, not Joe Sixpack who is writing for $2 an article). The NY Times is an excellent place to start. Spread your time around. Read some travel, sports, current events, style and whatever else you can. Get a feel for different styles and how information is being presented. 2. Go buy a grammar book (and people, it's F-in grammAR not grammER). SF Writer (Scott Foresman) is a great one to start with. Used 3rd versions can be had for about $15 on Amazon. And the book talks about other topics too, such as writing arguments, presentation, etc. 3. Pick up "Elements of Style" from Amazon. It's just under $11 new. It's on pretty much every pro's bookshelf. 4. Spend some quiet time studying these items and then practice. While I've spent 14 years working on my communication skills, I can tell you that it's possible to see dramatic results from where you are now if you do the right things. And as any writer will tell you, it's always a learning process. Writing is an art. BTW, having an A+ in high school means very little when applied to actual writing ability or knowledge of the English language. Today, it means even less. The job of high school (English, etc) is to get you ready to leave childhood and embark on learning a trade professionally. I'd be beside myself if I didn't recommend a college education. If that's not in the cards, at least try to take a couple English courses (to learn the basics) and then see if you can take some writing-based courses. Finally, having a solid dictionary and thesaurus is a plus. Good luck.
Here is a tip. Learn the difference between your and you're; there, their, and they're; and then and than. If you are serious, check with your local community college. See what types of English and writing courses they offer. If you are passionate, find some books by Theodore M. Bernstein.
Thanks to everyone, particularly market junction for the helpful advice. A member of DP accused of speaking in broken english and that was disheartening. But I guess I am not as bad as I thought. I do not want to become a professional or anything. I just want to be able to communicate properly. Thank you for your reassurances.
No problem. Being able to communicate is vital. Those who can't communicate well find themselves getting passed over for promotions in the work place or let go. How vital is being able to communicate? A survey of the 1,000 largest companies in the United States found that 96% of companies required employees to have good communication skills to get ahead. How can communicating, specifically writing, help you advance? Almost 80% of Fortune 400 companies identified "writing skills" as their greatest weakness. Learn to do it well and you'll be golden. And we should all know that not being able to write simple communications well (posts, emails, memos, etc) makes you look uneducated and unprofessional, which hampers your success (like it or not).
Nothing is perfect, Don Juan. I've read articles on the New York Times' website and I've seen grammatical errors, so there is no such thing as perfect. Regardless, what marketjunction says is true. Humans naturally are copy cats. We see something and we adapt to it. For instance, I play guitar. Since I like Eric Clapton, I immitate his style as best I can and that makes me, in a sense, a blues guitarist. The same goes for writing. If you find a particular style that you like, you'll find that you naturally try to write similarly. So, my biggest tip to developing a much better understanding to the English language would be to read. Read, read, read. And you will naturally develop a much broader vocabulary as well as an understanding of how different punctuations work. I never understood what the bloody hell a semi-colon was for. After reading a half a dozen novels with authors who went semi-colon crazy, I naturally learned. Read and you will find success. But, as marketjunction said: Take some college courses. You will be in for a big surprise when you get an A back for a paper in college. When you have your pHd as most professors do, you expect exceptional papers. So, take some classes and you'll learn even more. Best of luck.
Do you by any chance speak/write Spanish? Better yet, you know of any web sites that will translate English words into Spanish words? Ken Kowalsky
Some excellent advice and points here. I'll chime in and agree that reading professional writing is essential. I'll also add a couple of ideas. The first one is, I had a Chinese professor who spoke with a (not terrible) accent, but whose English was otherwise impeccable - meaning, better than most of the "native speakers" on campus (this opinion coming from somebody who scored better in language use than 97% of college students headed for Master's degrees & PhD's). I asked him how he had improved his English to near perfection. He told me how, in addition to lots of reading, he had practiced writing every day, then shown each day's output to someone (a professor, other experienced writer) to get it corrected. He did that for years. That was his whole secret. Wait, don't worry - some English teachers say that just writing 10 minutes a day for a month or two (without any correction) will do 70-80% of the same improvement. As long as you also keep reading really good writing, as already suggested. You'll do far better than that just putting together ebooks or articles! The second idea: do for yourself what you do well and what gives you a big return-on-effort income-wise. Whatever you don't do well, outsource! Read Timothy Ferriss's book The 4-Hour Work-Week for inspiration. Hope that helps!
Hello, Uniqueasitis. Instead of replying you here, I decided to write a blog post on how to improve your english in my blog. Be sure to read it for my tips and advices and then reply with what do you think, please. Thank you and regards, MR-Gee