Over my many years of being an English tutor, I’ve noticed that many high school students have trouble with essay writing.

Some don’t understand the format, some don’t know how to start it, some are frightened by it, and some are just confused by the entire thing.

I’ve given a lot of advice and recently thought that they could be helpful to others as well.

So, here are some tips and tricks for how to write essays:

Always Plan and Organize

Prior to writing your essay, you should plan it out and organize your thoughts.

This is commonsense, but there are so many students who don’t do it. They just jump right into writing because they think it’s a waste of time to brainstorm and plan.

But in reality, planning your essay out will save you time.

You’ll have all the info you want to use laid out so you won’t have to waste time thinking about your argument or figuring out the support for it.

In addition to that, if you thoroughly organize and format your essay beforehand, all you’ll have to do when writing is put your points into complete sentences and connect them.

So, plan out your essay.

Write FBR

I have this one student who keeps fixating on the intro paragraph.

He keeps saying that it’s not good enough and wastes a bunch of time trying to make it better rather than working to complete his essay.

So, I keep reminding him to finish writing the essay first, then try to make it better after.

This method that I’m telling him to use is called Write FBR.

Write FBR is a writing method that encourages people to write fast and bad, and then review it.

It’s meant to get people to get their ideas down first and to not worry about the quality.

The reason why is that they have to proofread and edit their writing after anyway, so there’s no point fixing it as they write.

If you want to learn more about this method, click here.

Write the Essay One Paragraph at a Time

I’ve noticed that some students get nervous with essay writing because they believe it’s this huge assignment.

But it really isn’t, especially if you break it up.

Instead of thinking of it as one big writing, see it as 5 paragraphs that you have to write.

Break the essay up into manageable tasks and write one paragraph at a time.

For instance, write the intro paragraph fast and bad (and with minimal review) and then go on to the first body paragraph once you’re done.

(P.S. if you’re curious about the essay format, read this blog post.)

Continue this process until you finish the essay. Then proofread and edit it as best as you can.

This will take a load of pressure off of you because you’ll start to view the big essay as a few small paragraphs.

Final Thoughts

Essay writing can be intimidating.

Many times, it’s a big assignment that’s worth a lot of marks.

But essays aren’t that scary… if you do the things that I suggested above.

Thus, plan out your essay; break it up into smaller pieces of work; then write it fast and bad, and review it.

I once had a student write me a paragraph telling me what they did over spring break.

About 30 minutes after I gave her the assignment, she handed it back to me. I looked at and it was only two sentences.

I read it and it said:

“Spring break was boring. I didn’t do much and didn’t have fun.”

I handed it back to her and asked her why she wrote so little. I told her there must have been something else that she could’ve added.

She said that’s all she did. She didn’t have anything else to write.

So, I asked her to think and to try to be more descriptive and detailed. Maybe talk about an actual event that happened.

She told that she didn’t know how to make her paragraph better.

I stood there and pondered.

“What can she do to make this longer?”

Then, it hit me. I told her to answer these questions to make her writing longer:

• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How

I also gave her these specific questions as examples:

• Why was spring break boring?
• Where did you want to go but didn’t?
• What did you want to do but didn’t get to do?

She said okay and got to writing.

After about 15 minutes, she handed the writing back to me.

I read it through and it was much better than the original (however, I will add she didn’t come up with her own questions. But the important thing is that she actually tried and did her work).

She added all these details and it increased the length of her paragraph. But, more importantly, it made the writing more descriptive.

Here’s what she wrote:

“Spring break was boring. I didn’t do much and didn’t have fun. I wanted to go to the rec centre, but I wasn’t allowed. My mom said she didn’t have time to take me. I also wanted to watch a movie. But my mom was busy with work.”

She could’ve added more to it, but this is not bad at all.

How You Can Use This Method

If you have trouble meeting word requirements or have problems with putting enough detail into your writing, try this method.

Be a journalist and ask yourself variations of those questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how), and try to see if you can fit the answers into your writing.

You will have to be creative with it and it will take time to inquire.

But that extra little bit of time will make your writing much better. It’ll make your piece longer and more compelling.

Additionally, this method will help make your story more elaborate, convincing, and informational, which will be more beneficial to the reader (which can get you better grades).

Final Thoughts

Writing descriptive content with loads of information is valuable.

It’ll help you paint a vivid picture that’ll influence the reader.

So, if you have trouble making your essay, for instance, longer and more detailed, use this method.

Punctuation marks can be confusing.

There are so many and some marks have multiple uses. It can be become difficult to remember all of the rules.

I remember in college, I took an English literature class and had to write a mid-term essay. A couple of weeks before the essay was due, the professor had taught us about comma splices.

I had never learned about this error before.

So, as I was writing my essay, I kept second-guessing myself. I didn’t know if the comma I was placing was actually going to turn out to be a comma splice or not.

And what made matters worse was that I was only allowed to make like, 5 grammar mistakes in my essay before I got an automatic F.

It was intense.

But had I known my punctuation rules better, I wouldn’t have felt that anxiety.

I’m sure many of you aren’t feeling as much pressure as I did to get a hold on how to use punctuation marks.

But you are reading this article for a reason. And I’m pretty sure it’s because you want to get a better understanding of them and how to use them correctly.

So, here’s a guide on how to use punctuation marks:

How to Use Punctuation Marks

How to Use Commas

Commas (,) are used to:

• Break up list items (ex. I have paper, pencils, and erasers.)
• For separating appositives (ex. Ted, the manager, is gone for the day.)
• For separating interrupting expression (ex. Sara, in fact, has a new laptop.)
• After an introductory phrase (ex. When I arrive, I will give you a call.)
• After introductory words (ex. Hi, I’m here to help you.)
• Before or after a quote (ex. Tracy said, “I have to go.” / “But I don’t want to go,” Arnold said.

How to Use Apostrophes

Apostrophes (‘) are used to show possession or used to write contractions.

Here are some examples:

• It’s
• The lawyer’s briefcase.

How to Use Semi-Colon

Semi-colons (;) are used to connect clauses or to separate long list items.

Here’s an example of how it’s used to connect clauses:

• I went to the store the other day; I couldn’t find my favourite BBQ sauce.

Semi-colons can also be used to fix run-on sentences.

How to Use Hyphens

Hyphens (–) are longer dashes. They are used to:

• Indicate a word spelled out letter by letter (ex. N-O)
• Connect multiple words to create a compound adjective (ex. Super-duper-great player)
• Avoid connecting awkward vowels (ex. Semi-Finals)
• Join certain prefixes (ex. un-Canadian)
• Connect compound numbers (ex. twenty-four)

How to Use Dashes and Brackets

Dashes (-) and brackets [()] are most often used when other punctuation marks may make the sentence awkward.

Here’s an example of how (and when) to use dashes and brackets.

That’s your example.

You can also swap out the brackets for dashes. I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think dashes come off as more formal whereas brackets don’t.

However, again, I’m not sure.

Additionally, dashes are also used to amplify a statement.

Example:

He was known for things that he regrets -being selfish and being greedy.

P.S. that dash can also be switched with a colon, which I will talk about next.

How to Use Colons

Colons (:) are used to:

• To join sentences (ex. I never wanted to break my principles: lying to get what I want and pitting people against one another.)
• To introduce a list (ex. I need you to get: pencils, erasers, and rulers.)

Final Thoughts

Punctuation marks are important because it’s used to clarify your message.

It’s also a big part of writing, regardless of the writing’s purpose.

So, learn how to use punctuation marks and become good at it.

Have you ever heard anyone say “I ain’t no snitch!” or “I ain’t never been there.”?

Well, these (along with the use of the word “ain’t”) are grammatical errors.

These are called double negatives and they happen more often than you might think.

What are Double Negatives?

Double negatives are sentences that have too many words that mean no in them.

Example: I don’t have no time for all these shenanigans!

Dangling modifiers are modifiers that do not do their job, like that one guy who only has one job assigned to him, but he never does it correctly (don’t you just hate that guy?).

Dangling modifiers are kind of like that.

These types of errors occur when the word that is supposed to be modified is not present in the sentence, leaving the modifier to not have anything to modify.

Example: Tired from the workout, it felt good to just relax in front of the T.V.

This sentence may sound okay and grammatically correct, but let me tell you something, it is not. It’s actually a dangling modifier. I know, crazy right?

The reason why is because it doesn’t state who was tired from the workout, which is the word that’s supposed to be modified.

To fix this, add a word, phrase, or clause for the modifier to modify (man, that was borderline a tongue twister).

Fixed example: Tired from the workout, Jimmy felt good relaxing in front of the T.V.

Dangling modifiers are a pretty common mistake that people make not just when writing, but also when they speak.

And it may seem confusing right now, but if you read more (like, books and articles, and that kind of stuff), noticing these errors will be as easy as scooping soft serve ice cream.

So read. Anything you want. And do it often.

If you want to practice your grammar skills, check out my workbook series, Grammar Better. These workbooks are easy to use, full of clear examples and have a variety of question types to challenge you. Click here to buy.

Modifiers are words that add more meaning to a sentence.

They usually modify people, places, or things or actions stated in the sentence.

Example: The big football player charged aggressively at the quarterback.

In the sentence above, the underlined words are the modifiers, while the italicized words are the ones being modified. These underlined words are also adjectives and adverbs, respectively.

This may seem pretty simple so far, but errors in regards to modifiers do happen (and they happen pretty often).

One common error is called the misplaced modifier (not to be mistaken with a dangling modifier).

This happens when a modifier is placed in a wrong spot in a sentence (i.e. not near the word it is supposed to modify) and causes it to not modify anything.

Example of a misplaced modifier: After school, the coach gave me a key for us to enter the gym.

This sentence may seem okay, but it is not. The modifier (after school) is not currently modifying anything in the sentence.

To fix this error, all you have to do is move the modifier to a spot where it can modify something.

Fixed Example: The coach gave me a key for us to enter the gym after school.

There, doesn’t this sentence sound so much better?

And all I had to do was move the modifier to the end of the sentence so that it can clearly modify the word “enter.”

Here’s another example of how this specific error can be fixed: After school, we can enter the gym with a key that the coach gave me.

With this solution, I moved and added some words so that the modifier is near the word (enter) it is modifying.

Misplaced modifiers may seem confusing right now, but there is an easy way to prevent yourself from making these mistakes (most of the time, that is).

And that solution is reading.

Reading will help you recognize these types of errors by constantly showing you how correct (and well-written) sentences should look and sound like.

So, read, read, and read (you can learn how to so effectively here).

P.S. If you want to practice your grammar skills, check out my workbook series, Grammar Better. These workbooks are easy to use, full of clear examples and have a variety of question types to challenge you. Click here to learn more.

In writing, there are two types of quotations.

The first, probably the one that you know of, is the direct quote.

How To Use Direct Quotes

The direct quote is the exact words/sentence that someone says. It is also the one where you use quotations marks to open and close.

So if you were to repeat something that your coach said, for instance, and you use his/her exact words, then this would be a direct quote.

• Example: “I want to play video games all day today,” Bruce said.
• Or: The great martial artist Bruce Lee instructs us to “be like water making its way through cracks.”

How To Use Indirect Quotes

The indirect quote, on the other hand, is a summary of what other people say; it isn’t the exact words or sentences.

Rather, it is just a paraphrased version of what was said.

• Example: At school, Theo told me that he wanted to play video games all day.
• Or: Bruce Lee believes that we are our best selves when we are flexible like water.

Understand everything so far? Good, let’s keep it going.

Recap

So here’s a quick recap (plus some additional stuff) of everything on quotations:

• Always use quotation marks to open and close quotations. Additionally, if you are going to continue the sentence after the quote is over, you need to place a comma in front of the closing quotation mark. This rule applies to periods (or any closing punctuation) as well.
• If the direct quote is offset by a phrase or clause, there needs to be a comma in front of the opening quotation mark. Ex: At the restaurant, Bruce said, “I want a hot cup of coffee.” (Pay attention to the punctuation above.)
• Indirect quotes do not need any quotation marks because it is not the exact thing that is said.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to use the right kind of quotation is really important. You’ll need to know how when you write a news article or an essay.

So, study them and try to master them.

Using incorrect words can be embarrassing. You use one word, but what you were supposed to use was another word that sounds very similar to the one that you did use.

Sometimes, the person you are talking to or writing to may not notice. Other times, they do notice. And when they do notice the incorrect use, they silently mock you.

So, to prevent you from getting mocked by a snobby grammar jerk, here are six (or three pairs) of the most common problematic words and how to properly use them in their various verb tenses (if the words are verbs):

How To Use Who/Whom

These two words are pronouns, and like the majority of pronoun pairs, there is one that is a subject and one that is an object.

To refresh your memory, subjects are words that come before the very first verb in a sentence. Objects are words that come after the verb in a sentence.

In the case of who and whom, “who” is the subject and “whom” is the object.

Example:

• Who attended the fantasy league draft?
• Wait! You drafted whom?
• From whom did you get that player?

For the third example, the word “whom” is being used because it is an object of a preposition (the word from is a preposition). The other two are just examples of the words being used as a subject and an object.

How To Use Lay/Lie

These two words are verbs. “Lay” means to place something down or put something somewhere. It always has a direct object (the word that receives the action).

Example:

• The basketball player lay his championship trophy on his shelf. (Side Example: In this sentence, the word trophy is the direct object because it is receiving the action, or is being “lay” down.)
• He also laid down his championship ring.
• Last season, he had laid down his MVP trophy on that very same shelf.

The word “lie” means to recline or rest. Unlike the word “lay,” it never takes an object.

Have you ever had dreams of being a journalist?

Or, here’s the more likely scenario, do you have to know how to write a newspaper article for school? If so, you are at the right spot!

First off, a newspaper article is an article that reports the news. This could be an article that informs the reader of a social or political issue or the events of a sports game.

News articles can also tell gossip or celebrity news stories.

Now that we got what a newspaper article is out of the way, let’s talk about how to write one.

A newspaper article has 5 components and is written in an inverted pyramid style.

The first component is the title or headline. This is where you tell people what the topic of the story is going to be.

Ex. Lou Williams now NBA bench leader in points

The second component is the lead (or leed). This is where you summarize the important facts of the story. Also, this is usually 1-2 sentences.

Ex. The Los Angeles Clippers’ Lou Williams has become the NBA’s career leader in points off the bench as the team beat the Boston Celtics on Monday.

The third component is the story itself. For this part, you want to write the most important information first and then follow it with the least important information.

Ex. Williams scored 34 points on Monday night to pass Dell Curry, who had 11,147 points when not starting, as the leading scorer. With tonight’s win, Williams has a total of 11,154 points as a reserve.

Obviously, this part of the story would be much longer. This part should also include quotes if there are any that would make it more informational.

Fourth is additional information. This is usually extra information that’s not important and can be taken out of the article. You normally would only add this part if you need your news article to be longer.

Ex. Williams is currently averaging 20 points on 42 percent field goal average this season.

Fifth is the conclusion. This part is used to close the article and people tend to re-write the leading statement for this part. You can also use the additional information to close out the article.

Ex. With about 20 more games to go this season, Williams will remain as the leading reserve scorer for a while as he continues to tally points for the Clippers, who are on a playoff run.

Additionally, the news article should be about 250-400 words. And while writing your article, try to be as unbiased as possible and only give the facts. Use quotes as resources to back up your findings.

Source everything, too. Oh, and also keep it simple.

Make sure it’s easy to read and assume readers know nothing about the story, so give all the information (this is also something you should do when writing essays).

And that’s how you write a news article. If you want to practice news writing, read lots of newspapers and write it as much as possible.

I suggest you start a news blog and post something once a week (or day), then ask your community and peers for feedback.

So here’s a quick recap of the order of a newspaper article:

1. Headline or title
2. The lead (leed)
3. The story
4. Additional information
5. Conclusion

I’ve been tutoring English for a while now and a lot of my students don’t know how to write paragraphs properly.

They know what a paragraph is and can write a group of sentences that technically make a paragraph, but they don’t know how to order the sentences correctly.

I set out to find some worksheets that I could use to help them with it. While going through the books, I noticed that writing good paragraphs isn’t as easy as I once thought.

There are many components that go into it and you have to order the sentences right or else it will be confusing for the reader to read.

So, since writing paragraphs is more confusing than I once believed, I decided to write this post to help you learn the components of the paragraph.

There seem to be a lot of people out there who don’t know how and I think this article will help.

First off, there are 3 components (or sentences) to a paragraph (kind of like in an essay): the topic sentence, the supporting sentences, and the concluding sentence.

The topic sentence is the main idea of the paragraph or what the paragraph is about.

Example:

• California is a great place to visit if you want to try a variety of foods.

The supporting sentences are sentences that support the main idea or topic. There is usually more than one supporting sentence in each paragraph and these should be organized either chronologically or by importance.

Example:

• It has a range of cuisines from Asian to Mexican.
• One of its best restaurants, in my opinion, is In N’ Out.
• In N’ Out is a hamburger restaurant that only uses fresh ingredients in its meals.

The concluding sentence is a sentence that closes out the paragraph and leads to the next paragraph.

Example

• If you are a foodie, you need to add a trip to California to your bucket list.

Okay, now that you know how to write a paragraph, I’m going to give you a couple of topic sentences.

Use them to write a paragraph and then share your completed work with a friend or teacher or sibling (if you want).

And please share this article with someone who needs help with this topic.

Practice:

1. Canadian maple syrup is the best type of syrup you can buy.
2. If you are a fan of fantasy fiction, you should read the Harry Potter novels.

Oh, and if you want to learn how to lengthen your paragraphs, read this post.