Improve Your Writing: Don't Translate

If you really want really to improve your writing, stop thinking in your own language and translating the words into English.

I know this seems like an impossible task, and if you are at the beginner or intermediate level, you will have a lot of problems doing this.

But, if you are at an advanced level, you absolutely MUST force yourself to think in English when you are speaking or writing -  even if the words and ideas seem too simple when you do.

I know that many of you don't believe me. You feel that that if you think in your own language and then translate your thoughts into English, your ideas will appear to be more sophisticated and thoughtful than if you only think in English.

Unfortunately, you are completely wrong.  Your method will never work. No matter how much you want this to be true, you are just fooling yourself.

The reality is that if you continue to think in your own language and translate into English, your writing will remain just as bad as it is now, no matter how long you practice. .

Translation doesn't work

Translation simply does not work. Many English words and expressions simply do not translate or even exist in your language, and many of your words and expressions cannot be translated into English. As well, the basic sentence structure, word order and even basic grammar is often completely different.

When you use the Russian, Korean, Chinese, Farsi or Spanish way of expressing yourself, the words themselves might be English, and the sentence structure may look English - especially if you see sentences that seem to have subjects and verbs, but the meaning will be either funny, confusing or both.

Sometimes, your ideas might make some sense if the reader really tries hard to understand what you are trying to say. But, they won't sound English.  They will read and sound like exactly like what they are: a group of awkward sentences that are " sort of" English, Chinglish, Spanglish, Koringlish, etc.

Unfortunately, most of the time your ideas will simply come across as English word salad. - a confusing group  of words that happen to be English.

How to Help Yourself Think in English

There are several ways you can learn to stop translating when you write. They all involve practice, and they all involve not giving up after the first few attempts.

• Practice rapid writing every single day.  By this I mean write about any topic that comes into your head for 10 solid minutes without stopping to lift your pencil off the paper. If you do this, you will not have time to stop and think in your own language and then translate.  If you continue doing this, you will eventually naturally start thinking in English. You will still make mistakes, but at least your sentences will be English sentences. 

• Speak out loud when you write in English. Start at the sentence level, especially if you are simply doing grammar exercises that require complete sentences. In this way, you are training your brain to hear and understand English phrasing. You are also subconsciously teaching yourself correct English sentence structure by using four parts of your body instead of two: your eyes, your hands, your ears, and your mouth.

• Then, start saying the words and sentences in your paragraphs essays out loud AS you write. As soon as you find yourself switching back to thinking in Chinese, or Spanish, Korean or Russian, stop yourself immediately.  Go back to the English. Listen to how your words sound. They won't sound perfect, but if you are at the advanced level, you will certainly know if your sentence sounds English or not - especially if doesn't make sense.

 

• If you are at home, you can speak as loudly as you want. If you are in class, mumble or whisper. The point is to prevent yourself from thinking in your language. When you speak the words and sentence structure in English, you will NOT be translating.  When you catch  

A Successful Method:  
 

I know this method sound crazy, but believe me, it works. I've been teaching students how to write in English for almost 20 years, and those who actually try this method and continue to use it improve dramatically.

The most important point to remember about this method is not to give up too soon. Accept that you WILL feel uncomfortable and even a little embarrassed at first. Most of us normally don't like to hear ourselves think. 

But, there IS a reward. Once you get used to the idea, it will seem quite natural.  The real pay off is that you will have found a way to stop yourself from translating.

As you become more comfortable thinking in English and using it automatically when you write, you will also notice a much greater degree of fluency emerging in  your speaking,  listening and even reading.  Why? This is because you will have finally accepted that your own language and  English are two separate things and should be used separately.

It's all about attitude:

Once you accept that it pays to think in English when you need to, you will find that your are improving more quickly than you thought you could.  You will have adopted the attitude that all good language learners require to truly enjoy and master the new language.

It's vs Its

I

If you are having problems with deciding whether to use it's  or its, you are not alone. Many people, including native speakers, get this one wrong. The answer is simple. 

It's

It's is a contraction for   "It is,"  and occasionally  "It has" in speaking.   

• We had a lovely time, but it's time to leave.
• I brought in some dry cleaning. Do you think it's ready?
• I read your article. It's very good .
• Where is my coffee cup? It's on your desk.
• It's wonderful to see you. It's been a long time.
• What time is it? It's ten o'clock

Its 
Its is the possessive pronoun for it.  It means something belongs to it. 

•  That's an interesting tool. What is its purpose?
• What a cute cat. What is its name?
• This car has its own built in telephone.
• My garden has lots some of its colour because it 's winter.
• The bird cleans its feathers. 

How  to use them correctly in your writing: 

If you practice, it's easy to see the difference. Here are a few tips to help you.

 It's 

• Active verbs never take the verb "to be" unless they are expressing an ongoing situation He is arriving. She has been working.  For example, you can never write it's arrives.  or it's works.  If you see that you have it's in front of an active verb, get rid of the apostrophe entirely. You only need the pronoun "it" 

        Example:
        My English is quite weak. It's needs a lot of work. It is needs a lot of work can't be
        right.  The verb "need" is an active verb. You can't use "be" in front of it. Change it's
        needs  to it needs.

• Try replacing the word it's with it is in your sentence. If the sentence obviously sounds wrong,  you probably meant to use "its". If  it is sounds right, keep it. 

          Examples:         
         1.   I love the car. I love it's design. This can't be right because  I love it is design is
                nonsense. It doesn't make sense.
         2.  It's not easy to speak  English fluently.  You CAN say It is not easy, so keep it's .

  Its

•  Try replacing your its with his or hers in the sentence. If it sounds correct, keep it.

          Example:
          Don't worry about the dishwasher. That's just its  way of making noise. The last
          sentence must be okay because ''That's just his way of making noise" makes sense
          grammatically
         In general, its as a possessive is like his. You wouldn't write hi's would you?


  Here's a last tip  for using its vs it's  . 
    Look for the word that follows its, or it's . If it's followed by a noun,use its (its house, its
    door). If it's followed by an adjective, or a passive verb use it's. This isn't 100% true, but
    applies most of the time.

 

Here's a practice to see if you understand 

 Its / It's or It 

1        (Its/ It's/It)   a pleasure to see you again sir. 

2.       The bird injured    (its/it's/it )   wing when it flew into the window. 

3.       Cassie says that    ( its/it's/it)    easy to jog five kilometres.

4.       (Its/It's/It)   too early to go home.

5.       I love the smell of the rose. (Its/It's/It)  scent is wonderful.

6.       I enjoy the smell of bread baking. (Its/It's/ It) makes the house smell great.

7.       I love that plant because    (its/ it's/it)    leaves are so bright and shiny. 

8.       Let's go inside. (its/It's/it)    time for dinner.

9.       The buffalo cares for    (its/it's/it)     young until they are about three years old. 

10.     I didn't know it was a ring because   (its/it's/ it)  came in a small package. 

11      Why don't you try water skiing. (Its/ It's/ It)   not as difficult as you think. 

12.     Don't make your decision too quickly. (Its/It's/It)  too important for that. 

13.     I parked my car in (its/it's/it)   regular parking spot. 

14.     Can you hand me that coat? (Its/it's/It)   belongs to me. 

15.     Don't take the green umbrella. (Its/It's/It)   mine. 

Answers and another practice exercise

Improve your Writing: Add Some Action

Put some action into your sentences

English is a verbing language. We like to put action into our sentences, and to say things as clearly and directly as we can. As a result we use use a lot of verbs to get our message across. 

If you want to improve your writing, stop using all those abstract nouns in your writing and replace them with the real verbs they often come from.  

Abstract nouns are words for things you can't touch or see such as discovery, agreement, observation, and development. They  come from verbs such as discover, agree, observe, and develop. When  you turn a verb into a noun, you nominalize it, creating nominalizations.

When you nominalize the action of a sentence, you reduce the clarity of the sentence because  hide the action in a noun instead of letting the action of the sentence remain in the verb.This creates sentences with a lot of unnecessary words. Most readers find it easier to understand clear sentences in which the subject is the "doer", and the verb conveys the action. They don't want to have to read the sentence several times in order to get the point.  

Consider these examples:  

 1  Little Red Riding Hood’s suggestion was that the wood chopper complete the killing 

     of the wolf with quickness.    

     Little Red Riding Hood suggested that wood chopper quickly kill the wolf.

  

 2.   We had a discussion on disciplinary actions parents should take on their children. 

       We discussed how parents should discipline their children.   

3.   There was agreement in our group.

      Our group agreed. 

 

Do you notice how in each example, the second sentence is much clearer and direct than the first? . 

Five Types of Nominalizations

Here are some ways in which nouns are overused. You may think you sound  more "academic." Unfortunately, the result is the opposite. You simply sound pompous  and wordy - without clearly communicating your meaning.  

1.   Nominalization follows verb 

      The police conducted an investigation into the matter.

     The police investigated the matter. 

2.  Nominalization follows "there is", "there are"

    There was  erosion of the land from the floods.  

    The floods eroded the land. 

3.   Nominalization is the subject of empty verb 

     Our discussion concerned a tax cut. 

     We discussed a tax cut.                                                                                                               

4.  Consecutive Nominalizations 

      There was a review of the growth of the women's movement. 

       We reviewed how  the women's movement grew.

5.   Linked nominalizations 

      The cessation of hostilities was because of their personnel losses.   

      They ceased hostilities because they lost personnel.  

 Correcting and Improving 

Iimproving your sentences is not difficult. Put the action back into your sentences. Here are two specific methods you can use. 

• Go  back to your writing. look for obvious nouns such as recommendation, observation, consultation, improvement, developmentt, and turn them into verbs. Then , find a real subject and rewrite the sentence with some action in it.

• Whenever you see general purpose verbs such as carry out, have, undertake, conduct, there is, there are " look for the noun that names the action. Then, turn the noun into an active verb and make the sentence more direct and easier to read  (Christopher Turk and Alfred John Kirkman, Effective Writing: Improving Scientific, Technical, and Business Communication, 2nd ed. Chapman & Hall, 1989)

More examples: 

Here are a few more examples of how you can turn abstract nouns into real action verbs, which will strengthen your writing and make it more readable.

Too many nouns  There was a  recommendation to change. There is an improvement in your work. There is rapid development in my city. My parents made a suggestion.  The government  made an announcement. Our group made a report. There has been a suggestion.   Overuse of the land has caused destruction.

Change the nouns to verbs We recommended a change. Your work is improving. My city is rapidly developing. My parents suggested.... The government announced.... Our group reported... The boss suggested..... Overused of the land has destroyed it.

What do you think about this?  Let me know.

Revision vs Editing

There is a big difference between revising and editing in the writing process.In fact, real writing doesn't even begin until a writer begins the revision process.

Revision  
Revising means improving the content, organization , vocabulary, sentence structure and clarity of your paper.  It means going back and revising every word you have written and looking for ways to make it better.

Editing
Editing involves two steps: proofreading for grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, spelling and capitalization mistakes. 
 

If you are writing out of class, the revision process comes first. Proofreading and editing are the final steps in the entire writing process.

However, if you are writing in class, the process is reversed. Because you are writing under pressure, you won't have much time to revise your content, other than to make a few quick changes. You must, however, make time to proofread and edit, or there is a strong chance you will fail the writing test.  Grammar and sentence structure matter.

Rewriting In-Class Paragraphs or Essays 


In most ESL writing classes, instructors return students' papers with symbols indicating grammar and structure errors AND with comments, or questions giving suggestions about  how the content and vocabulary should be revised.  We then expect the student to rewrite the paragraph or essay. The rewrite should include revisions to the content, organization and vocabulary as well as corrections of grammar mistakes.

How to Revise

When you revise a paper, you go back and look for ways to make it better. If you are revising a paper that has been handed back, you often get some guidance from an instructor. However, even if all you get are comments such as " too vague" " needs more details", weak vocabulary , " work on your organization,". you can still make changes by rereading your essay with those specific comments in mind.

Most new writers assume their readers know what they are trying to say because they know and understand the content so well themselves . Unfortunately that is not true for readers. They can't see, or read what is in your mind. Nor can they ask questions. Vague, general ideas or sentences leave them confused,  and unsatisfied.

One of the first questions you should ask when you are revising your writing is: " Am I writing for myself, or for someone who doesn't know anything about this topic? A second question should be: "Have I provided enough real detail for my reader to understand this, or would he/she have questions?"  Put yourself in the readers' shoes, and ask " if this was someone else's paper and I were reading it, what questions would I ask."  If you think the reader might have questions, ask what they are. Then, answer them in your revision.

Other things to do:

• Change general, vague information and ideas to more specific, detailed, meaningful ones. For example, don't say something like "The people in my hometown are very hospitable "  without providing some proof of ways in which they show this quality.

• Add extra or missing details so that your information is complete. For example, if you are writing about your hometown, make sure you tell to the reader its name, and where it is located. Don't just write about "my hometown"  as if the reader knows.

•  Get rid of sentences and even entire paragraphs that do not support your point. These details might be interesting, or great in another piece of writing, but they are irrelevant to the point you are making in this particular essay. 

• Get rid of sentences that simply repeat what you have already said. Repetition isn't support, nor is it  extra detail. Repeating your point might make your writing look longer, but it doesn't add information. 

• Add topic sentences, or thesis ( main idea) sentences  if they are missing, or improve them if they don't seem to mean anything. 

• Move sentences, and even paragraphs around so that they make better logical sense and flow naturally.

• Add transitions and other sentence connectors help connect ideas, and help the flow. 

• Replace weak verbs such as "is/are, have, get, do + noun. Use real verbs.  Find better words for overused words such as "nice, beautiful, interesting, sad, happy etc. 

• Try to add sentence variety so that all your sentences don't sound the same. Combine short, choppy sentences into sentences with adjective, adverb or noun clauses.  Shorten very long sentences with two many connectors and too many ideas. 

Good writing means both revising and rewriting, proofreading and editging - sometimes up to 30 or 40 times if you write novels.   

As ESL writers, no one expects you to write as many drafts of a paper as a professional writer. But, your instructors do expect you to rewrite at least once, or even twice or three times if they think you can benefit from the process.

When your instructor asks you to rewrite,  he or she  means pay attention to the comments  and questions on your paper, and do something about them. Revise. Improve the content, the organization, the vocabulary, or the sentence structure as needed. Then, edit  and correct the grammar, punctuation and  spelling mistakes.  

 If you go through the complete process rather than limiting yourself to grammar corrections, your writing will improve much more quickly.