So many students are ashamed to show me their writing. They turn red while I read what they write. I can feel their pain and understand the embarrassment. I want to point out some mistakes that are really common with students I've seen. 1. Using the phrase "just so so". For some reason this phrase is taught to students but I NEVER hear native speakers use it in speaking or writing. I highly recommend never using it. Instead, it's better to write, "It's ok" or "It's not bad". They mean the same thing but look native. 2. Writing really long sentences. Native writers make sentences short.
"Our company policy promises a bright future for each of our employees who show the willingness and competence to rise above all challenges and meet the needs of our loyal customers". There is nothing really "Wrong" with that sentence, but it is clearly not written by a native speaker. There are too many needless words. It is "redundant". Redundant basically means saying the same thing more than once in a different way. A better sentence would be: "Our company gives good financial compensation to our top employees". 3. Direct translation from their own language. NEVER translate from your own language. You need to read a lot of English written by native speakers if you want any chance of writing well. Direct translation is a mess. The more you read, the better you will write. Just make sure you pay attention to new ways of writing. Make sure you use what you learn. If you want to learn more about real native English for both speaking and writing, go to Real Native English Lessons These are great for both students and ESL teachers to use in the classroom.
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