On Writing Better English
For PR and Communication Practitioners
1. Read more good English. Every story or article you read teaches you new words and ways of expressing yourself, making you more comfortable with the language.
2. Read on a higher level. Read a slightly higher level of material. If you continue just reading what you have always read, your English cannot improve. Switch from the average South African popular family and student magazines to Time and other magazines of quality. Read National Geographic. Read the novels of Orange and Booker prize winning authors.
3. Listen to English speakers. Listen to English speakers when they speak and imitate their pronunciation and vocabulary. Listen to good English presenters on radio and TV.
4. Write more. Fall in love with writing and with the English language. Dabble in poetry. Write humorous pieces on your social media sites. Write in all possible styles, including blog posts, letters, humorous pieces, poetry, interviews, articles, media releases and just fun bits. Get as much practice as you can.
5. Ask good English-speaking friends to constructively criticize your work; both your speaking and your writing Two important conditions apply:
(a) Choose people who use good English themselves and who will be honest with you, and
(b) do not argue when they correct you. Learn from the corrections.
6. Think in English when you write in English. You may just find yourself eventually dreaming in English!
7. Read the work of your colleagues critically. Pretend you were editing and proof reading their work.
8. Study spelling, grammar and punctuation. Do PRISA's Creative Media Writing course or search the web for useful grammar teaching sites. There are hundreds of them.
2. Read on a higher level. Read a slightly higher level of material. If you continue just reading what you have always read, your English cannot improve. Switch from the average South African popular family and student magazines to Time and other magazines of quality. Read National Geographic. Read the novels of Orange and Booker prize winning authors.
3. Listen to English speakers. Listen to English speakers when they speak and imitate their pronunciation and vocabulary. Listen to good English presenters on radio and TV.
4. Write more. Fall in love with writing and with the English language. Dabble in poetry. Write humorous pieces on your social media sites. Write in all possible styles, including blog posts, letters, humorous pieces, poetry, interviews, articles, media releases and just fun bits. Get as much practice as you can.
5. Ask good English-speaking friends to constructively criticize your work; both your speaking and your writing Two important conditions apply:
(a) Choose people who use good English themselves and who will be honest with you, and
(b) do not argue when they correct you. Learn from the corrections.
6. Think in English when you write in English. You may just find yourself eventually dreaming in English!
7. Read the work of your colleagues critically. Pretend you were editing and proof reading their work.
8. Study spelling, grammar and punctuation. Do PRISA's Creative Media Writing course or search the web for useful grammar teaching sites. There are hundreds of them.