I will illustrate my problems by given you 2 short examples: Excerpt from an article I've written: Same excerpt, but edited by a professional writer: Hopefully you see the difference and agree that the second excerpt is better. I know there's nothing wrong with my excerpt (hopefully) but the second one it's just better. I really don't know why or how to to be able to write like that. I would appreciate it if anyone can put their finger and tell me exactly what is different between the 2 excerpts, and maybe give me some tips on how I could improve my communication skills. I own 2 websites and I pay freelancers to write the content. My goal is to be able to write my own content and to be able to communicate with other webmasters in my niche, like a Native English speaker would, in a friendly and professional manner. I would also like to mention that I have been started doing some serious reading in the past 2 years. Not a day goes by when I don't spend at least 90 minutes reading (marketing articles, fishing, fitness, fantasy etc..). The problem is that I see little or no improvement in my writing. Thank you in advance.
I think it will be hard to really get a firm grasp on phrasing like a native english speaker. Other than experience I don't know that there will be any real tools to help. Reading books would help I suppose. Don't go off how people write on forums like these. Derek
Like you say, there's not much technically wrong with the English in your first example, it’s just that the writer has improved the style and flow of the text, and so made the message of what you are trying to convey clearer. The main difference is that the writer has made it clear right up front why the reader needs this article. In your version you’ve got “Yes, you do need to create some content especially if you have a new forum.†This is just a statement, with nothing to back it up. Why do I need to create content? Whereas, your writer has “If your forum is relatively new or is not attracting a lot of interest, you are the one who needs to be generating contentâ€. This explains why this article is relevant to me, and how it is going to solve my problem. It's about clearly explaining the issue, and how you are going to solve it. You don’t have any conditional clauses in your version – ie. “if this, then thatâ€. So, you aren’t allowing your reader to identify with a situation, and with its solution.
Both examples have multiple mistakes grammatically, so I wouldn't say one is better than the other at all in that general sense. As Emily said, the real difference is the addition of the motivation for reading more - the "why." Your own style is already relatively conversational - it looks like you really just needed to proofread or bounce it off of someone else. Keep doing that, and keep reading other conversational-style pieces, and you'll get used to the kinds of information you're currently missing. When you know what to look for, you'll be able to catch more of it on your own.
What kind of publications are you reading? I know some non-English speakers who say that reading a range of English language newspapers is the best way to improve. You know the English will be well written at least. I'm a native English speaker and I'm sure that frequently reading papers and magazines improves my style. Here are some (mostly British as that's where I am!) papers. If you want to perfect American English obviously American papers would be better. Broadsheet papers (more in depth articles and features) The Times The Guardian The New York Times Tabloid papers (more sensationalist and celebrity focused, but a great way of getting to grips with informal and colloquial British English.) The Sun The Daily Mirror The Daily Mail
Thanks jhmattern and Emily for the feedback. I am currently reading Where's your WOW (marketing) and Stone of Tears (fantasy). I don't read newspapers because I rarely find something that arouses my interest.
The way I see it, both variations are painfully boring. Now I've stopped writing content a long time ago, but just for the sake of argument here is my variation: There are probably a few mistakes in there, but that's the general idea of how I'd write it. Hope this helps. Regards, George
It must be very frustrating for you, since you sound as though your ideas are clear, but the translation is lacking. This a tough one to solve. My only suggestion is to keep your writing simple and direct, and maybe use a grammar checking software to help you improve.
Being a non-native English writer like you, the ONE real suggestion I would like to give you is - Don't phrase the article as if you were speaking in your native language.You know, English follows ans SVO (Subject, Verb, Order) phrasing pattern, and it doesn't match most other language phrasing techniques. Just keep an eye on that, otherwise, I rather found YOUR piece of writing better (apart from some typical grammatical mistakes) because of the reason that it was shorter and crispier than the one written "PROFESSIONALLY".
Even those non-natives living in usa for more than 20 years can never perfect native language ( can improve but never perfect). Even canadians are no good at it either though very close neighbors. So don't bother so much about it unless you have purely american readers.
Well, in the second excerpt, the writer as explained his stance on the subject clearly. Instead of writing short sentences, which may confuse the readers, he has written more on the topic in order to explain the context clearly. So to improve your writing skills, you should: 1) Not write big sentences. 2) Not try to sum an entire paragraph into one or two sentences, using a lot of commas and separators. Instead: 1) you should explain the meaning as clearly as possible, it doesnt matter if its a bit long. 2) Avoid confusing people by adding a lot of commas, separators and conjunctions in the same sentence.
You may want to take up reading at least one paper. Emily's given you some great resources. The reason I think this is important is because most newspapers are governed by something called the "AP Stylebook" which the editors and writers use to create copy that's understood across a wide audience of people. Most books don't adhere to one particular style across the board.
I also am not a native english speaker, althought been speaking it forever. If possible, try *not* speaking or writing in your native langauge whatsoever for like..er... years if possible. That was the key for me. Even when you write say a shopping list or something, write it in english. Getting the basics down isn't the task, you obviously have that, it's getting the natural flow down. Forums helped me tons, like what you are doing now. Reading obviously, and not just techie stuff but more general writing, like many people's blogs here to get the natural flow. Also, don't panic too much, not perfect, but your english is really good from what I see. Just keep working at it, you will do great. Best of luck.