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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage

A structured Approach to Improving Written English?

Hi,
I am a native English speaker, however as of late I have realised how little I know about actually writing in English, especially in a formal context. Hence I have been attempting to improve my written English on three fronts, mainly
(A) Vocabulary - Especially with respect to writing formal or scientific documents, such as research papers.
(B) Constructs - Where to use commas? Where to use apostrophes? Where to use colons? Where to use semi-colons etc.
Also how to construct correct sentences, for example is it "I used techniques A, B, and C."
or
"I used techniques A, B and C."
(C) Grammer - Verbs, Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Possessive Pronouns etc.
I guess for (A) the main way to improve here is more reading right? I also read somewhere that learning words by association is more benificial (something to do with the way in which the brain stores\retrieves information) , i.e. learn words within a certain topic helps, instead of randomly flicking through the dictionary each day.
So could anyone point me towards a good book (or books) that would help me improve my english in the areas of (B) and (C), or websites. Even general comments on a structured approach to improving\learning in this area would be helpful.
P.S. im sure theres plenty mistakes in my post! But i gotta start somewhere..
Regards,
pat
  

Top answer

[nq:1]Hi, I am a native English speaker, however as of late I have realised how little I know about actually ... in this area would be helpful. S.

— Usenet

  • [nq:1]Hi, I am a native English speaker, however as of late I have realised how little I know about actually ...
  • in this area would be helpful.
  • S.
  • im sure theres plenty mistakes in my post!
  • [/nq] You can improve your vocabulary by reading.
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102 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi, I am a native English speaker, however as of late I have realised how little I know about actually ... in this area would be helpful. P.S. im sure theres plenty mistakes in my post! But i gotta start somewhere..[/nq]
You can improve your vocabulary by reading. You can only improve your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage through practice, and by having your writing edited by so
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[nq:1]You can improve your vocabulary by reading. You can only improve your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage through practice, and by having your writing edited by someone who knows what they're doing.[/nq]
Thanks for your reply,
Maybe I did not make it clear, but I was mainly looking for references to good books which people found useful.
Grammer and punctuation can be learnt
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[nq:2]You can improve your vocabulary by reading. You can only ... your writing edited by someone who knows what they're doing.[/nq]
[nq:1]Thanks for your reply, Maybe I did not make it clear, but I was mainly looking for references to good ... qualities, they are deterministic, governed by linguistics rules based on syntax and semantics, which are surely available in books right?[/nq]
You
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[nq:1](snip) So could anyone point me towards a good book (or books) that would help me improve my english in the areas of (B) and (C), or websites. Even general comments on a structured approach to improving\learning in this area would be helpful.[/nq]
On this page at the AUE Website, you'll find this section on books:

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[nq:1]You also have to read carefully and try to remember how words are spelled. You keep writing "grammer", although the ... spelled it "grammar". You, apparently, didn't notice that. It is such inattention that prevents one form being a good speller.[/nq]
Yes, but my original question did not refer to spelling (which can be easily checked with a spell checker
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[nq:2](snip) So could anyone point me towards a good book ... structured approach to improving\learning in this area would be helpful.[/nq]
[nq:1]On this page at the AUE Website, you'll find this section on books: http://alt-usage-english.org/fast faq.shtml recommended books * di
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[nq:2]You can improve your vocabulary by reading. You can only ... your writing edited by someone who knows what they're doing.[/nq]
[nq:1]Thanks for your reply, Maybe I did not make it clear, but I was mainly looking for references to good books which people found useful.[/nq]
Your statement that "(e)ven general comments on a structured approach to improving\learning in this area would be
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[nq:2]You also have to read carefully and try to remember ... such inattention that prevents one form being a good speller.[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, but my original question did not refer to spelling (which can be easily checked with a spell checker
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[nq:1]Your statement that "(e)ven general comments on a structured approach to improving\learning in this area would be helpful" seemed pretty ... agree that my suggestion is a good one, but your claim that it was unresponsive to your request is bogus.[/nq]
Michael, thank you for your reply. Firstly, may I iterate, incase it is unclear, that I do welcome and appreciate your comments. Also it i
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[nq:1]Thus, I do not understand your assumption that improving upon these skills neccessitates ones work to be read someone more learned.[/nq]
Can't hurt. Having someone else read one's work might provide hints to improve one's writing.
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