Many people want to write better, but they seldom take any action to really improve their language skills.
1. Use a thesaurus to learn synonyms (other words that mean the same thing) for words that you are tired of using - to show a variety of quality vocabulary.
Many people feel unsatisfied with their writing. They know they always use the same phrases and vocabulary. As a result, their writing looks boring to the reader and make them less persuasive.
This is a good reason to collect good, appropriate and interesting vocabulary - especially if English is your second language. If your writing looks more professional and appropriate, you will enhance your image and your reader will have a better impression of you.
However, you need to choose synonyms carefully. Some synonyms will be old fashioned or not appropriate for your situation. If you are writing business emails, look for synonyms that you recognise or have seen in other similar emails.
2. Proofread your work after you have written it and before you submit it to someone else to read or publish it on the internet.
Try to reduce and avoid grammar errors if possible. But also check that your documents are factually correct. For example, check that the following are correct: email address, dates, currencies and amounts.
Some people make the same mistakes every day - in spelling and grammar. But they do not know what the mistakes are and they do not try to find out what the mistakes are. Therefore, they should use a spelling and grammar checker. They can also do a Diagnostic Grammar Test - this test will diagnose what type of grammar mistakes someone might be making. After knowing their mistakes, they should try to practise that grammar to fix their mistakes.
3. Write in short sentences and paragraphs. Sentences can have an average of 15 words for each sentence. Also, if possible, you should limit most sentences to one idea. Your readers will then follow and understand what you have written about more easily. However, if you tend to write long sentences of 40 - 60 words for each sentence, your writing will be much more difficult to read and remember! This is because longer sentences will have more details that need to be held together as a whole idea. This can result in too many details needing to be retained and analysed together. So the reader has to re-read the sentence …
Short paragraphs can also be easier to read. They can also look more inviting to read than having many long paragraphs. With long paragraphs, readers might get lost in so many ideas, lose their place in the paragraph or just lose interest. (Many academic papers and textbooks have long paragraphs and so they look difficult to digest and look less inviting to the reader.
4.Get advice from a friend, colleague or writing coach. If they have good writing skills, they can suggest ideas to improve your writing and find any mistakes you might have missed. Many people repeat the same grammar / language / writing mistakes every day and never know!