Hi!

Luke Palder here, Founder of

ProofreadingServices.com. Thanks so much
for downloading this guide for ESL writers.
As the founder and CEO of the world's
largest proofreading service for ESL writers,
!'ve learned a lot about what it takes to
produce great writing when English isn't
your hrst language.
!n this guide, you'll hnd 23 of my top
tips for ESL writers-some for beginners,
some for advanced students-based on
my experiences working with thousands of
ESL writers across the world. Once you've
mastered these tips, you'll be well on your
way to writing like a native English speaker.
As you're reading this, if you have any
questions, please reach out to me and my
team or comment on our blog, The ESL
!nquirer. !'d love to hear from you. Also, feel
free to share this guide with your friends
and family members who are ESL writers.
The more the merrier, as we say in English!
All the best,
Founder of ProofreadingServices.com,
The world's leading proofreading service for
ESL writers
Contents
1 Capitalize proper nounsbut not common nouns 4
2 Learn count and non-count nouns 5
4 Identify stative verbs 7
3 Beware unclear pronoun references 6
6 Make sure each sentence contains a complete, independent thought 9
5 Maintain a consistent verb tense 8
7 Modify the right word 10
8 Avoid over-nominalization 11
9 Know SVOPT 12
10 Tell us whos doing what 13
11 Learn the four main sentence types 14
12 Learn more advanced sentence types 15
13 Dont start multiple sentences with the same word or phrase 16
14 Avoid faulty parallelism 17
15 Avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing 18
16 Avoid plagiarism by quoting 19
17 Get to know idioms 20
18 Learn commonly confused terms 21
19 Read your written words aloud 22
20 Shorter is better 23
21 Select the right dictionary for your audience 24
22 Search for examples on Google 25
23 Expand your writing horizons 26
BONUS TIP: Double-check your spelling and grammar checker 27
You made it! 28
Capitalize
proper nounsbut not common nouns
A common ESL writing error is overcapitalization, particularly with
nouns. Lets clearly go over what needs to be capitalized:
A proper noun names a specific, often one-of-a-kind item. Proper
nouns include the names of people, states, cities, streets, rivers,
oceans, countries, companies, and institutions.
Below are a few examples to help you understand the difference:
One common mistake that people make is capitalizing business
titles, such as chief executive officer or vice president. These
terms may seem like proper nouns, but theyre actually common
nouns and should be written in lowercase. Why? Because many
people can hold these positions at various companies.
The first letter of a new sentence
The word I
Weekdays, holidays, and months of the year
Proper nouns
So what exactly is the difference between a proper noun and a common noun?
Proper Nouns Common Nouns
Charles Dickens writer
Texas state
Taco Bell restaurant
Brazil country
Google company
Best Buy store
1
4
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Learn
count and non-count nouns
For example, you can easily tell me
exactly how many trees you see,
apples youve eaten, or pencils youre
holding.
But how easy is it to count things like
water or progress? Not very. For that
reason, these terms are considered
one undividable whole. Non-count
nouns such as these often include
abstract ideas or substances in liquid
or mass form, and theyre always
written in the singular formnever
plural.
Practice is the key to mastering this tip,
and its important to note that there
are regional differences in how count
and non-count nouns are approached.
Check out the count/non-count
grammar exercise in this ESL Inquirer
blog post to test yourself on a few
common words.
Typically, count nouns are things
that are easy to count
2
5
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Beware
unclear pronoun references
Pronouns help to prevent repetition in writing, but they
have to be used carefully. When using pronouns in writing,
you should make sure each has a clear antecedent, which
is just a fancy way of saying that it should be clear what
the pronoun refers to.
You can ensure this clarity by always identifying a person
or object before using a pronoun. Heres an example of
what not to do:
His leg hurt because George fell down while running.
The sentence is confusing because its not clear whether
the leg belongs to George or to someone else! This would
be much clearer if it were rewritten in one of the following
ways:
Georges leg hurt because he fell down while running.
George fell down while running, so his leg hurt.
Generally, people will assume that a pronoun refers to the closest
noun or other pronoun, but this can still lead to confusion, particularly
if there are several nouns or pronouns in close proximity.
Heres another example of pronoun confusion:
Fred told his friend that his car was broken.
Whose car is broken, Freds or his friends? Fix the issue by rewriting
the sentence like so:
Fred told his friend, Your car is broken.
The above right table contains a list of pronouns that are commonly
problematic. Use this as a reference when evaluating your work.
3
Watch Out for
These Pronouns
it
they
them
this
that
these
those
which
she
he
her
6
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Identify
stative verbs
4
You need to master two main categories of verbs: stative and action.
Confusing the two types can lead to errors in your writing since action
verbs can be used in the continuous tenses, while stative verbs cannot.
CORRECT: The boy is walking the dog right now. [action verb: walk]
INCORRECT: She is believing in true love. [stative verb: believe]
CORRECT: She believes in true love.
So whats the difference?
There are four main categories for stative verbs:
Check out this grammar exercise you can use to master stative verbs.
Action verbs describe actions or things that occur, whereas stative verbs
describe a status, which is an objects appearance or someones state of being
Thought/Opinion Possession Sense Emotion
believe belong hear hate
know have feel love
think own see need
understand possess taste want
7
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Maintain
a consistent verb tense
5
Many writers bounce back and forth between tenses, which is not only
incorrect but confusing.
So what tense should you choose? Scholarly work in MLA or APA style
usually requires the past tense, while business writing is usually in the
present tense, and the tense used in creative writing varies widely. In
short, verb tense is tough to keep track of.
If youre submitting your writing to a specific publication, check the
tense of their published articles. For a school assignment, you can
always confirm your professors preference.
Worried you might be jumping back and forth? Circle every verb in your
paper, and check each one. Most should follow the same format. For
example, each may have -ed written at the end, so if you run across
one that ends in -ing, read the sentence that contains the word. Be
aware that the verb still may be correct, though, since it may be part
of a dependent clause.
8
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Make sure each sentence
contains a complete, independent thought 6
If it doesnt, then its not a sentence, its a sentence fragment.
For a sentence to be complete, it needs to contain three things:
So how might your sentence be missing one of the three?
The boy liked sweets. For example, raspberry donuts.
In this example, the second sentence is actually a fragment since it
doesnt contain a verb.
And jumped up and down in excitement.
This fragment doesnt contain a subject. Who or what jumped?
After she went to the recital.
This fragment contains a subject and a verb, but its not a
complete thought. What did she do after the recital?
Sentence fragments are easy to fix once youve identified the
issue. Figure out which of the three elements is missing from your
sentence, and add it in.
A subject
A verb
A complete thought
9
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Modify
the right word 7
A modifier is a word or group of words that provides description.
Its an optional element, which means that if you remove it, the
sentence or phrase will still retain its meaning.
The brown horse ran a race.
(Brown is a modifer describing the horse.)
The horse ran quickly.
(Quickly is a modifer describing how the horse ran.)
The horse wearing the blue saddle ran.
(The phrase wearing the blue saddle is a modifer describing the horse.)
When a modifier is misplaced, the subject of the modifier is
unclear, and this can change the meaning of the sentence. Look at
these two examples:
The horse almost won every race.
The horse won almost every race.
Did the horse come close to winning every race, or did the horse
win all but a few races? When advanced ESL writers make this
type of mistake, you can usually figure out what they intended, but
it impacts the rhythm of the writing, making the reader stop and
think for a moment to figure it out.
While enjoying some hay, the owner brushed the horse.
The writer intended to say that the horse was enjoying the hay,
but because the modifier is closer to the owner, the sentence is
confusing. This can be fixed in several ways:
The horse enjoyed some hay while being brushed by its owner.
The owner brushed the horse, which was enjoying some hay.
Here are multiple examples of misplaced modifiers to help you
master this concept.
10
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Avoid
over-nominalization 8
In an effort to sound more academic, many writers use a
technique called nominalization. Put simply, it means using a noun
thats created from a verb or adjective.
While nominalization is common in academic writing, and may be
expected, overuse tends to make writing clunky and difficult to
understand. If you have several instances in a single sentence, find
ways to eliminate some.
Heres an example:
Sentence with nominalization:
An evaluation of the water quality was undertaken.
Revised sentence:
We evaluated the water quality.
You can read more about how to master nominalization in this
ESL Inquirer article.
Example of Nominalizations
inhuence transformation
clarity expectation
receptivity destabilization
evaluation investigation
understanding impression
arbitration regulation
11
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Know
SVOPT 9
This is the typical structure for sentences in English. If someone
tells you that a sentence is confusing or doesnt sound natural,
go back and check to see whether it follows this order. Often, this
simple fix can make a big difference.
In fact, you can use SVOPT as a game to improve your grammar.
In any completed piece of writing, go back and write S, V, O, P, or
T over each word. Then fix any sentences that arent in the right
order.
SVOPT stands for subject, verb, object, place, time
12
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Tell us
whos doing what 10
Many ESL writers go out of their way to avoid the first-person
point of view, particularly in academic writing. As a result, its
unclear who is doing what.
Lets look at one example:
This paper will discuss the results of the study.
The problem is that the paper cannot discuss anything. Its an
inanimate object.
Instead, use the third person plural:
In this paper, we will examine the results of the study.
Go through your writing and look for instances where it may be
unclear whos taking a particular action. However, dont make the
mistake of overusing the word one. For example,
Ones culture shapes ones identity.
In English writing, even professional and academic writing, its much
more common to use the general and impersonal you.
Your culture shapes your identity.
When in doubt, choose the option that makes the sentence
clearer.
13
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Learn
the four main sentence types 11
Most writing is made up of declarative sentences, but not including any
other sentence types can leave you with dry, boring text. Add variety by
including different sentence types when they fit. This will liven up your work!
Declarative Sentence
This is the most common sentence type. It makes a statement and is
punctuated by a period.
Examples: Its a nice day out. I took the dog for a walk.
Interrogative Sentence
If a sentence poses a question, its an interrogative sentence. These
sentences are easy to spot since they always end in a question mark.
Examples: Do you want to drive? Is it raining?
Exclamatory Sentence
Not surprisingly, these types of sentences always end in an exclamation
point. They express excitement or heightened emotion.
Examples: The house is on fire! The party will be great!
Imperative Sentence
This is a command or request, and it can end in either a period or an
exclamation point. Imperative sentences often start with a verb and may
contain the word please.
Examples: Close the door! Please be quiet.
Its a good exercise to go through a piece of writing and identify each
sentence type. On just this page, all four of the sentence types are used.
Can you spot them all? Give it a try!
Note: It may seem like imperative sentences dont contain a subject, but they actually all
have the same one: you. This is called an understood subject. Even though the word you
doesnt appear in the sentence, the reader understands that he or she is being addressed, so
the sentence is complete.
14
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Learn
more advanced sentence types 12
Once youve mastered the four basic sentence types, take your writing a step
further by including more advanced sentence types. Lets look at how you can
combine these two simple sentences to form a more advanced sentence.
The girl wanted to eat ice cream. She had to fnish her dinner frst.
Compound Sentences
The following sentences combine the previous two sentences using
A coordinating conjunction, such as and, but, or, yet, or so
A semicolon and a conjunctive adverb, such as however or therefore
Or just a semicolon.
The girl wanted to eat ice cream, but she had to fnish her dinner frst.
The girl wanted to eat ice cream; however, she had to fnish her dinner frst.
The girl wanted to eat ice cream; she had to fnish her dinner frst.
Complex Sentences
These sentences use one dependent clause and one independent clause. Here
are a few punctuation patterns that can be used:
Dependent clause, independent clause
Independent clause, dependent clause
First part of an independent clause, nonessential dependent clause, second part
of the independent clause
First part of an independent clause, essential dependent clause, second part of
the independent clause
Although the girl wanted to eat ice cream, she had to fnish her dinner frst.
Compound-Complex Sentences
These sentences are a combination of compound and complex sentences. They
have two independent clauses as well as one or more dependent clauses, and
they must follow the rules of both sentence types.
Although the girl, who loved sweets, wanted to eat ice cream, she had to fnish her dinner frst.
Again, its a good exercise to identify these sentence types in your own and others
writing. Looking for more advice on how to move to more advanced levels of
English? Check out these tips.
15
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Dont start multiple
sentences with the same word or phrase 13
You should strive to avoid repetition in your writing. In particular,
you want to stay away from writing multiple sentences that
begin with the same word. Ideally, you want every sentence in a
paragraph to start differently.
Luckily, this tip is fairly simple to implement. Write down the first
word of each sentence in a paragraph youve written. See any
duplicates? Focus on trying to begin those sentences differently.
Can you change the sentence structure to move the word
elsewhere? Is there a good synonym for the word? At the very
least, you should try to move the contents of the paragraph
around so that the two sentences starting with the same word
are farther apart.
16
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Avoid
faulty parallelism 14
When writing two or more matching ideas or items in a series,
make sure each is parallel or grammatically equal. This means
the ideas or items must be constructed similarly. Lets look at an
example of faulty parallelism:
The dog liked to play fetch and eating treats.
This series includes two items that are not grammatically similar,
play fetch and eating treats. The sentence can be corrected in
a number of ways:
The dog liked playing fetch and eating treats.
The dog liked to play fetch and eat treats.
The dog liked to play fetch and to eat treats.
Sometimes a parallel isnt incorrect but can still make your writing
feel clunky. Lets look at another example:
She drove slowly and with care.
While this sentence is not grammatically incorrect, you can
improve it by making the elements more strictly parallel:
She drove slowly and carefully.
This general principle of consistency should be applied across
your entire document. Make sure you follow the same conventions
throughout your work with headings, spelling choices, paragraph
formatting, spacing, and other style choices.
17
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Avoid
plagiarism by paraphrasing 15
Particularly in academic writing, its common (and often
necessary) to incorporate information from published sources into
your own work, but you have to be careful not to plagiarize, which
means to steal anothers work and pass it off as your own.
So how do you walk this fine line? There are two main methods
you can use to refer to someone elses work. The first is to
paraphrase or put their writing in your own words. Here are a few
guidelines that can help:
Dont take notes as you read: Instead, focus on understanding
what is written. Read it over several times if necessary.
Be selective: You dont need to paraphrase everything youve
read, only the points that are relevant to what youre writing.
Explain it to someone: If youre having trouble putting information
into your own words in written form, try doing it verbally first.
Share the information with a friend or family member.
Dont refer to the source as you write. When youre ready to start
paraphrasing, put the source work away and just go from your
own memory.
18
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Avoid
plagiarism by quoting 16
Sometimes its difficult to paraphrase, or perhaps you want to
include a very specific argument or piece of information in your
work. In these cases, quoting your source is a good idea.
When you add a quotation, make sure you explain why its there.
Readers should be able to understand how the quoted text
connects to the rest of the piece. Generally, you want to include a
signal and an assertion.
A signal lets readers know that a quotation is coming, and it usually
includes a reference to the author and/or the work. The assertion
lays out the relationship between the quote and your work.
The proper use of quotation marks is crucial when referring to sources
[assertion]. Writing Tutorial Services for Indiana University notes [signal],
Using another persons phrases or sentences without putting quotation marks
around them is considered plagiarism even if the writer cites in her own text
the source of the phrases or sentences she has quoted
(http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml).
When writing for an American audience, make sure you put
everything that comes directly from the source work in double
quotation marks (), not single ().
19
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Get to know
idioms 17
Many ESL writers make the mistake of focusing solely on
expanding their vocabulary, but improving your knowledge of
idioms is just as important, particularly at more advanced levels.
Watch for outdated or foreign idioms
What makes idioms so tough is that theyre constantly evolving.
They grow stale and are often tied to a specific location. An
idiom that is very popular in England may be totally unfamiliar to
an American English speaker. Make sure the resources you use
have recently been updated and are written for your intended
audience.
Read the newspaper
The newspaper is local and very current. In it, youll find frequent
use of colloquial language, which means more idioms. If you run
across a phrase or word you dont know, take note and look it up.
20
Idiom Site
TheFreeDictionary.coms Idiom Dictionary
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Ask
Native speakers are the absolute best source for idioms, but you
wont learn if you dont take the time to ask. When someone uses
a phrase thats unfamiliar to you, ask him or her to explain it and
use it in another context. Write it down so you can refer to it later.
Here are two great resources for studying idioms:
Learn
commonly confused terms 18
Many words in the English language have similar spellings, sound
alike, or have very close definitions. As a result, these words are
commonly misused, particularly by ESL writers. As with idioms,
it pays to add them to your efforts to expand your vocabulary.
Learn commonly confused terms in pairs, and practice using both
terms correctly.
Here are a few examples to get you started:
Effect vs. Affect
This isnt always true, but effect is most often a noun (as in the
effect), while affect is a verb. By keeping that simple rule in
mind, youll be correct in most instances. Heres a more detailed
explanation.
Lead vs. Led
Lead is a present-tense verb as well as a noun in many
instances (such as the lead on a project), while led is a past-
tense verb and is never used as a noun. Click here for more info.
Accept vs. Except
These two words sound very similar, especially to ESL speakers, so
its no surprise that theyre often confused in writing. Accept is a
verb that means to consent or receive. Except is a preposition
that means excluding or apart from. Heres a great list of
example sentences using accept and except.
That vs. Which
Both words are pronouns and are used in similar situations,
but heres the difference: When writing in American English,
that is used before restrictive clauses, and which is used
before nonrestrictive clauses. A restrictive clause cannot be
removed from a sentence without changing its meaning, while a
nonrestrictive clause can. Learn more about how to correctly use
that and which here.
21
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Read
your written words aloud 19
Good writing has a natural rhythm. Often, its easier to tell if your
writing flows well when you hear it out loud. If you find yourself
tripping over a sentence, its likely your readers will, too. Does a
paragraph seem to drag on forever? Find ways to cut it down.
Youll get a sense of how your writing works overall.
Reading aloud can also help you pinpoint problems you might
not notice on the page. You may read a paper a dozen times
and still fail to notice that youve left out a key term or made
a grammatical error. This is because your brain is too efficient,
reading what should be there instead of what is. Luckily, this kind
of autocorrecting doesnt happen as much when you read your
words aloud.
You can also improve your writing by reading others professional
work out loud. What does it sound like? How does it feel as you
read it? This will give you a better reference point for assessing
your own writing.
Check out these additional tips on how to read to improve your
writing.
22
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Shorter
is better 20
Your goal is to be clear and concise. The longer the sentence,
the more likely it will confuse your readers or have subject/verb
agreement problems. Sentences with many equally weighted
phrases and clauses are difficult to understand.
In most cases, you want to keep each sentence to three lines or
less. If you write a sentence that is more than four lines, look for a
way to break it into two sentences.
The same is true for paragraphs. On average, you want four to six
sentences per paragraph for academic writing, and you can use
very short paragraphs of one to two sentences to draw attention
to something. Remember, paragraphs are designed to organize
your writing for readers, making it easier for them to tell where a
point begins and ends.
If you start a new idea, start a new paragraph.
23
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Select
the right dictionary for your audience 21
There are regional spelling differences between English-speaking countries. For
example, the word thats spelled labour in the UK and Canada is spelled labor in the
US.
So how do you keep up with all these minor differences? Easy! Just change the
dictionary your spellchecker uses.
In Microsoft Word, you can set one language as your permanent preference. First,
select the File tab. Then click Options. A pop-up box will appear, and in the left
column, select Language. Here youll find the option to choose editing languages. You
can select the language you need and then hit the Set as Default button. Microsoft
Word is updated often, so search set Microsoft Word language preference on Google
if these instructions do not appear to match your version of Microsoft Word.
24
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Its even easier to change the language for a single document or even just a paragraph.
First, open the document, and then select the text youd like to check. Then look at the
very bottom bar. Next to the page and word count, youll see the language. Click on it,
and youll be given the option to select a language. Hit OK and youre good to go!
Search
for examples on Google 22
With so many variations and exceptions to the rule in the English
language, its hard to master them all. Unfortunately, theres also
not always a resource available for the specific question you have
in mind. So how do you figure out whats correct?
Use Google to your advantage
With just a quick
search, you can find
hundreds, thousands,
or even millions of
examples about the
specific use of terms
and phrases. Do a
search for an exact
match for the phrase
(or phrases) youre
considering, and then
read through the
results to determine
whether your wording
is correct. To do this,
put quotation marks
around the phrase to
ensure Google only shows you exact matches.
For example, lets say youre wondering whether you should write
at Purdue University or in Purdue University. Do a search for
both phrases.
The first thing youll notice is that Google returns over 23.7 million
results for at and only 1.5 million for in, so you already have
a good indicator that at is the correct choice. If youre still not
certain, you can click on the results to read multiple examples that
may guide you to the right choice
25
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Expand
your writing horizons 23
Most ESL writers focus on mastering the rules and conventions of
one particular type of writing, often academic writing, but learning
and practicing other forms of writing can arm you with new
strengths and tools that you wouldnt have developed otherwise.
So what types of writing should you try? Here are just a few ideas:
Research has found that language learning is affected by your
attitude and feelings. If youre feeling anxious, stressed, or
discouraged about your abilities, you may actually be inhibiting
your growth as an ESL writer. Finding a way to make writing fun
again can help you get back on track, so find a format that youre
excited about and get started!
Check out these fun prompts for essay writing for more ideas.
Letters
Business proposals
Reports
Short stories
Articles
Presentations
Essays
Music lyrics
Poetry
Screenplays
Blog posts
Jokes
Childrens books
Memoirs
Journal entries
Love letters
26
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
Double-check
your spelling and grammar checker
BONUS TIP
Dont rely solely on the guidance of your word processors spelling
and grammar checker. It canand willlead you to make mistakes.
When you misspell a word, the spellchecker will offer suggestions,
but sometimes it doesnt know what word you intended to use.
As a result, it can offer close but
incorrect recommendations. The
Internet is full of funny autocorrects
from texts and emails. Dont
let your writing fall prey to this
phenomenon.
Also, your spellchecker may
overlook a mistake if the word is
spelled right but used incorrectly.
For example, you may have written
interesting when you meant
interested or accept when
except was correct.
Grammar is very complex and
often subjective, which makes
it difficult for computers to correctly assess your writing. To
make matters more complicated, there are regional variations
and other differences depending on what style you follow. At
ProofreadingServices.com, we know this all too well. As the worlds
leading professional proofreading company for ESL writers, we
help people correct their grammar in important documents all the
time. If youre interested in learning more about what we can do
for you, click here.
27
2014 ProofreadingServices.com
You made it!
Congratulations! Youre on your way to better ESL writing
This guide is based on hands-on research into which tips and
techniques are helpful to ESL writers, and I hope youve found it to
be a useful and valuable tool. Theres a lot more to learn, but if you
read this guide and come back to it every now and again, youre
off to a great start.
Whats next?
Most of these tips arent easy to master in a single study session,
so dive into them more deeply one at a time. I also encourage you
to regularly visit my ESL blog, The ESL Inquirer, for more helpful
tips, exercises, and information that can help you become a better
ESL writer. Theres an email signup box on the blog if youd like to
receive regular updates when I publish something new.
Need more help?
Contact me at ProofreadingServices.com to find out more about
the editing services we offer to ESL writers just like you. (Or just
contact me to say hi! Id love to hear from you.)
Before you go . . .
Do you know people who might benefit from reading this guide? If
you have friends or family who are struggling to improve their ESL
writing skills, why not send this to them? Theyll appreciate that
youve taken the time to think about their needs and help them
improve.
Id like to thank you ahead of time for spreading this free ESL
resource. I hope it will benefit you and other ESL writers!
Follow Us
28
2014 ProofreadingServices.com