Where to start improving my English writing

[Callisto]

Hi,

I'm originally from Mexico.

When I lived in Mexico I did not get to go to school much and missed out on the grammar lessons in school. When I came to the USA I was enrolled in 9th grade. I felt that I also missed out on the grammar lessons in America.
For the past 16years I have been able to get by with my writing skills, but I'm always feeling insecure and second questioning my writing ability. Sometimes people e.g. my boss will point out that I need to improve my grammar.

I acquired a BA in Business five years ago. My writing was not great but again I got buy.

One day I hope to go to law school but I feel that I have a lot of work to do before I apply to law school, mainly on my writing.

Where should I start, every time I pickup a grammar book I get over whelmed with all of the different elements of grammar.

I did stop by my local community college and they said that I did not belong in one of their writing classes; that I was to advance for that, that I should take more of technical writing classes. When I was in college I managed to get an A- in writing but that still did not make me feel confident about my writing.

While acquiring my BA, one of my last writing assignments was a term paper for a project management class and I totally bombed it.

I really… really…. want to go to law school but will not even try applying until I improve my writing. Then there is the LSAT’s and that’s a whole different ball of wax.

Please advice.

Thanks

[RM4521]

This is a good question for the English teachers. The person wants to improve his writing skills. I presumed he already knows the basic grammar and also the mechanics. So what advice can you give him?

[somomo]

reading , reading and reading can solve the problem with the long.

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

Originally Posted by RM4521

This is a good question for the English teachers. The person wants to improve his writing skills. I presumed he already knows the basic grammar and also the mechanics. So what advice can you give him?

Do one of the Cambridge courses: FCE, CAE or CPE . You usually start on the sentence level before moving to the text level. There are a lot of excercises in books which help you with the preparation. Leo Jones books might be of help. You need the teachers book to check your answers. writing requires signposting your texts correctly as far as academic papers are concerned.

[ohmyrichard]

I never thought someone who lives in an English-speaking country would also find it so hard to solve his writing problem. I find it even harder to solve my writing problem.

[vexx095]

Like many of the other suggestions, I recommend you start reading. I would add that if you have a writer whose style you admire, you should read as many of his or her work first - learn the ins and outs of that writer. Learning how to writer well from a writer's perspective will help you understand how to communicate - as you start recognizing them in your writing. Once you understand why you put certain words together - you will better understand the changes that your own writing needs.

Before you select a writer, think about the goals you have when writing, your audience and your purpose. Then make sure that the writer you're selecting fits with your purpose/goal.

Writing as always been a challenge for me and I'm always looking for ways to improve it. For this reason, I purchased "Write like the Master: Emulating the Best of Hemingway, Faulkner, Sakinger, and Others." I purchased it for $19.99 at Borders ( but I'm sure other book stores carry it) and it's a great way to understand their work, their style, and their purpose. Also, it's a great way to gain exposure to authors you may not have read or don't remember.

I don't know if you applied or have been admitted to a law school - whatever it is you're planning on doing, writing well is important for a professional life. Good luck to you!