Writing is an expression of views aimed at dissecting issues, people, or policies. You can impress your audience by articulating your aim and emphasizing your point. Select just one topic, and write about that topic alone. Stay focused. No sprawling, no sidetracking, no double-dipping. In short stay on topic. Like any other skill, you can improve your writing skills by being precise in selecting your sentences, preferring active voice over passive voice, and avoiding using pompous vocabulary.
Sentences are the foundation upon which paragraphs stand. In other words, paragraphs are composed of sentences irrespective of their variety. English has different types and kinds of sentences, some of which you must grasp from the get-go. Three kinds of sentences come to mind: Simple, compound, and complex. By putting the proper use of these sentences under control, you will have honed your writing skills and become adept at controlling the order of your sentences.
A simple sentence is a short sentence which conveys just one idea. Simple sentences are used to start off paragraphs; in other words, simple sentences construct good topic sentences (a topic sentence starts off a paragraph). Second to simple sentences are compound sentences. They express and string together two ideas. A complex sentence is another one that combines one complete thought and an incomplete one. Each one of these sentences calls for certain punctuation marks. Hence, you should also know which punctuation marks go with which sentence. That is a very imperative point.
When writing, you can interweave short and long sentences so that your piece of writing appeals to your audience. The catch is to hook your readers and make them linger on your writing. For example, you may start with a simple sentence and, after two short sentences, transition to longer ones. Your task is to enable readers to keep pace with your writing. You sometimes accelerate them, while other times slow them down, for they might need some respite. They need to catch their breath and relax for a bit. In a nutshell, understanding sentence structures and their proper usage will enable you to do that.
You also need to prefer using active voice over passive voice. What are they? Active and passive voices are two ways in which to construct sentences. Either one is fine to use, but the former one is preferable. Active voice: I ate the food. Passive voice: the food was eaten by me. Also, refrain from using pompous vocabularies that can restrain the reader’s comprehension. Although you can amass a lot of vocabulary, you only need to use palatable ones, or else your message might not be understood. Unless your writing is a subject-specific one, you ought to refrain from using difficult words that stand in the readers’ way to understand your piece of writing.
To improve your writing skills, you have to start somewhere. If you are in school, you are already writing. If you have a job that requires more paperwork, you have to write a lot to accomplish your task. All you need is to improve your writing skills by approaching them from different angles. Sharpening your writing ability depends on you and it requires effort. Got it?