How to Make Your Writing More Interesting, By Myriah Strivelli

Do you feel like your writing could use a make-over? Keep reading to learn a few tips about how you can make your writing more exciting. 

To avoid monotony in your writing, include various types of sentences to spice things up. Short sentences can be powerful, concise, and to the point. Yet if you include too many short sentences, this could cause the work to sound choppy. To make short sentences longer, consider combining two sentences with a coordinating conjunction or linking two sentences with subordination. Long sentences can be used to incorporate a lot of information. Yet if you include too many long sentences, the work could become hard to follow. To add rhythm, include a balance of short and long sentences in your work (Weber and Brizee). 

When you find too much repetition in your writing, consider using synonyms. Word document programs have a thesaurus feature, which can be helpful. You may also use a traditional thesaurus or an online thesaurus. This is also a wonderful way to learn new words! Before you use a new word, make sure that you understand the meaning of the word and that it is used appropriately.

If too many sentences in your writing start with the same words, then you might want to explore different ways to craft a sentence. Too much repetition can make your writing become tedious and bland. Experiment by varying the words you begin each sentence with. For example, try beginning a sentence with an adverb, a dependent clause, a gerund, a preposition, or an adjective (Weber and Brizee).

Lastly, always read your work out loud to make sure that it makes sense to the reader. This will help you find errors and ways that you can make the writing flow better. Alternately, you may also want to try reading it aloud to someone else or ask someone else to read it aloud to you.

Remember, the more you practice writing, the more your writing will improve. I hope this article has given you new ideas for how to jazz up your next paper.

Works Cited

Weber, Ryan and Allen Brizee. “Strategies for Variation.” The Writing Lab and the OWL at Purdue and Purdue University, 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.

Hartsook, Fred. “Mary Pickford Writing at a Desk.” From http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMary_Pickford-desk.jpg [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 1918. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.