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100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

by Joe Bunting | 50 comments

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Want to become a better writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing assignments , or maybe you'd like to start a popular blog .

If you want to write better, you need practice. But what does a writing practice actually look like? In this post, I'm going to give you everything you need to kick off your writing practice and become a better writer faster.

What Is Writing Practice?

Writing practice is a method of becoming a better writer that usually involves reading lessons about the writing process, using writing prompts, doing creative writing exercises , or finishing writing pieces, like essays, short stories , novels , or books . The best writing practice is deliberate, timed, and involves feedback.

How Do You Practice Writing?

This was the question I had when I first started The Write Practice in 2011. I knew how to practice a sport and how to practice playing an instrument. But for some reason, even after studying it in college, I wasn't sure how to practice writing.

I set out to create the best writing practice I could. The Write Practice is the result.

I found that the best writing practice has three aspects:

Deliberate . Writing whatever you feel like may be cathartic, but it's not an effective way to become a better writer or build your writing skills. You'll get better faster by practicing a specific technique or aspect of the writing process each time you sit down to write.

This is why we have a new lesson about the writing process each day on The Write Practice, followed by a practice prompt at the end so you can put what you learned to use immediately.

Timed . It's no secret writers struggle with focus. There are just too many interesting distractions—Facebook, email, Kim Kardashian's Instagram feed (just kidding about that last one, sort of)—and writing is just too hard sometimes.

Setting a timer, even for just fifteen minutes, is an easy and effective way to stay focused on what's important.

This is why in our writing practice prompt at the end of each post we have a time limit, usually with a link to an online tool egg timer , so you can focus on deliberate practice without getting distracted.

Feedback . Getting feedback is one of the requirements to deliberately practice writing or any other craft. Feedback can look like listening to the reactions of your readers or asking for constructive criticism from editors and other writers.

This is why we ask you to post your writing practice after each lesson, so that you can get feedback from other writers in The Write Practice community. It's also why we set up The Write Practice Pro community , to provide critique groups for writers to get feedback on each finished piece of writing.

Our 100+ Best Creative Writing Practice Exercises and Lessons

Now that you know how we practice writing at The Write Practice, here are our best writing practice lessons to jumpstart your writing skills with some daily writing exercises, for beginner writers to even the most expert writers:

All-Time, Top 10 Writing Lessons and Exercises

These ten posts are our most viewed articles to boost your writing practice:

1. What is Plot? The 6 Elements of Plot and How to Use Them . Great stories use similar elements in wildly different ways to build page-turning stories. Click here to read what they are and learn how to start using them !

2. Top 100 Short Story Ideas . Here are over a hundred writing prompts in a variety of genres. If you need ideas for your next story, check this out!

3. How To Use Neither, Nor, Or, and Nor Correctly . Even good writers struggle figuring out when to use neither/nor and either/or. In this post, our copy-queen Liz Bureman settles the confusion once and for all. Click to continue to the writing exercise

4. Ten Secrets To Write Better Stories . How does Pixar manage to create such great stories, year after year? And how do you write a good story? In this post, I distill everything I've learned about how to write a good story into ten tips. Click to continue to the writing exercise

5. 35 Questions To Ask Your Characters From Marcel Proust . To get to know my characters better, I use a list of questions known as the Proust Questionnaire, made famous by French author, Marcel Proust. Click to continue to the writing exercise

6. How a Scene List Can Change Your Novel-Writing Life . Creating a scene list changed my novel-writing life, and doing the same will change yours too. Includes examples of the scene lists from famous authors. Click to continue to the writing exercise

7. Why You Need to be Using the Oxford Comma . Most people I've met have no idea what the Oxford comma is, but it's probably something that you have used frequently in your writing. Click to continue to the writing exercise

8. Six Surprising Ways to Write Better Interview Questions.  The interview is the most-used tool in a journalist's bag. But that doesn't mean novelists, bloggers, and even students can't and don't interview people. Here's how to conduct a great interview. Click to continue to the writing exercise

9. Why You Should Try Writing in Second Person . You've probably used first person and third person point-of-view already. But what about second person? This post explains three reasons why you should try writing from this point-of-view. Click to continue to the writing exercise

10. The Secret to Show, Don't Tell . You've heard the classic writing rule, “Show. Don't Tell.” Every writing blog ever has talked about it, and for good reason. Showing, for some reason, is really difficult. Click to continue to the writing exercise.

12 Exercises and Lessons To Become a Better Writer

How do you become a better writer? These posts share our best advice:

• Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 7 Words
• What I Mean When I Say I Am A Writer
• How to Become a Writer: 3 Simple Steps
• 72% of Writers Struggle With THIS
• 7 Lies About Becoming a Writer That You Probably Believe
• 10 Questions to Find Your Unique Writing Voice
• The Best Writing Book I’ve Ever Read
• The Best Way to Become a Better Writer
• The Creative Writer’s Toolkit: 6 Tools You Can’t Write Without
• Should You Write More or Write Better: Quantity vs Quality
• How to Become a Better Writer in One, Simple Step
• 11 Writing Tips That Will Change Your Life

6 Lessons and Exercises from Great Writers

If you want to be a writer, learn from the great writers who have gone before you:

• 23 Essential Quotes from Ernest Hemingway About Writing
• 29 Quotes that Explain How to Become a Better Writer
• 10 Lessons Dr. Seuss Can Teach Writers
• 10 Writing Tips from Ursula Le Guin
• Once Upon a Time: Pixar Prompt
• All the Pretty Words: Writing In the Style of Cormac McCarthy

12 Genre and Format Specific Writing Lessons and Exercises

Here are our best writing lessons for specific types of writing, including essays, screenplays, memoir, short stories, children's books, and humor writing:

• Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips
• How To Write a Screenplay: The 5 Step Process
• How to Write a Great Memoir: a Complete Guide
• How to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish
• How to Write a Thriller Novel
• How to Write a Children's Book
• How to Write a Love Story
• How to Write a Coming of Age Story or Book
• How to Write an Adventure Book
• 5 Key Elements for Successful Short Stories
• 4 Tips to Write a Novel That Will Be Adapted Into a Movie
• Humor Writing for People Who Aren’t Funny

14 Characterization Lessons and Exercises

Good characters are the foundation of good fiction. Here are our best lessons to create better characters:

• Character Development: How to Create Characters Audiences Will Love
• Writing Villains: 9 Evil Examples of the Villain Archetype
• How NOT to Introduce a New Character
• The Strongest Form of Characterization
• The Most Important Character Archetype
• How Do You Build A Strong Character In Your Writing?
• 75+ Antihero Examples and How to Use Them
• How to Explore Your Characters’ Motivations
• 8 Tips for Naming Characters
• The Protagonist: How to Center Your Story
• Heroes vs. Anti-Heroes: Which Is Right For Your Story?
• The Weakest Form of Characterization
• How to Write With an Accent
• How To Create a Character Sketch Using Scrivener

15 Grammar Lessons and Exercises

I talk to so many writers, some of whom are published authors, who struggle with grammar. Here are our best writing lessons on grammar:

• Is It Okay To End A Sentence With A Preposition?
• Contractions List: When To Use and When To Avoid
• Good vs. Well
• Connotation vs. Denotation
• Per Se vs. Per Say
• When You SHOULD Use Passive Voice
• When Do You Use “Quotation Marks”
• Polysyndeton and Asyndeton: Definition and Examples
• The Case Against Twilight
• Affect Versus Effect
• Stop Saying “Literally”
• What Is a Comma Splice? And Why Do Editors Hate Them?
• Intra vs. Inter: Why No One Plays Intermural Sports
• Alright and Alot: Words That Are Not Words
• The Poor, Misunderstood Semicolon

4 Journalism Lessons and Exercises

Want to be a journalist? Or even use techniques from journalism to improve your novel, essay, or screenplay? Here are our best writing lessons on journalism:

• Six Ways to Ask Better Questions In Interviews
• How Should You Interview Someone? Over Email? In Person?
• What If They Don’t Want to Talk to You?
• Eleven Habits of a Highly Effective Interviewers

16 Plot and Structure Lessons and Exercises

Want to write a good story? Our top plot and structure lessons will help:

• The Ten Types of Story and How to Master Them
• Points of a Story: 6 Plot Points Every Story Needs
• How to Shape a Story: The 6 Arcs
• 7 Keys To Write the Perfect First Line of a Novel
• The Secret to Creating Conflict
• 4 Tips to Avoid Having Your Short Story Rejected by a Literary Magazine
• 7 Steps to Creating Suspense
• 5 Elements of Storytelling
• 3 Important Rules for Writing Endings
• A Writer’s Cheatsheet to Plot and Structure
• Overcoming the Monster
• How to Satisfy Your Reader With a Great Ending
• Pow! Boom! Ka-Pow! 5 Tips to Write Fight Scenes
• The Dramatic Question and Suspense in Fiction
• How to Write a Memorable Beginning and Ending
• How to Write the Perfect First Page

6 Lessons and Exercises to Beat Writer's Block

Writer's block is real, and it can completely derail your writing. Here are six lessons to get writing again:

• How To Write Whether You Feel Like it Or Not
• This Fun Creative Writing Exercise Will Change Your Life
• When You Should Be Writing But Can't…
• What to do When Your Word Count is Too Low
• 7 Tricks to Write More with Less Willpower
• When You Don’t Know What to Write, Write About Your Insecurities

7 Literary Technique Lessons and Exercises

These writing and storytelling techniques will teach you a few tricks of the trade you may not have discovered before:

• 3 Tips to “Show, Don’t Tell” Emotions and Moods
• 3 Reasons to Write Stream of Consciousness Narrative
• 16 Observations About Real Dialogue
• Intertextuality As A Literary Device
• Why You Should Use Symbolism In Your Writing
• 6 Ways to Evoke Emotion in Poetry and Prose
• 3 Tips To Write Modern Allegorical Novels
• Symbol vs. Motif: What’s the Difference

3 Inspirational Writing Lessons and Exercises

Need some inspiration? Here are three of our most inspiring posts:

• Why We Write: Four Reasons
• You Must Remember Every Scar
• 17 Reasons to Write Something NOW

3 Publishing Blogging Lessons and Exercises

If you want to get published, these three lessons will help:

• The Secret to Writing On Your Blog Every Day
• How to Publish Your Book and Sell Your First 1,000 Copies
• How to Get Published in Literary Magazines

11 Writing Prompts

Need inspiration or just a kick in the pants to write. Try one of our top writing prompts :

• Grandfathers [writing prompt]
• Out of Place [writing prompt]
• Sleepless [writing prompt]
• Longing [writing prompt]
• Write About Yourself [writing prompt]
• 3 Reasons You Should Write Ghost Stories
• Road Trip [writing prompt]
• Morning [writing prompt]
• The Beach [writing prompt]
• Fall [writing prompt]
• How to Use Six-Word Stories As Writing Prompts

Is It Time To Begin Your Writing Practice?

It's clear that if you want to become a writer, you need to practice writing. We've created a proven process to practice your writing at The Write Practice, but even if you don't join our community, I hope you'll start practicing in some way today.

Personally, I waited  far  too long to start practicing and it set my writing back years.

How about you? Do you think practicing writing is important?  Let me know in the comments section .

Choose one of the writing practice posts above. Then, read the lesson and participate in the writing exercise, posting your work in the Pro Practice Workshop . And if you post, please give feedback to your fellow writers who also posted their practices.

Have fun and happy practicing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

50 Comments

You have THE BEST content for writing on this blog!!

Thank you, Kristen. This made my morning. 🙂

Thanks Mitch. 🙂

I can’t remember when I started following this website. I have to look in my notebooks because that’s where I did these practices. I didn’t have access to a computer when I did them, so I wrote them out, setting the time limit. But even when I do get to a computer, I have my reservations about putting my practices on the page. even though it’s practice, I want them to be the best, almost perfect. But I know it won’t be. I’ve gotten feedback before that says so. It still gets to me that I didn’t put something together that not everyone liked. I need to get over it. After all, that is what these practices are about: to learn and improve on our craft.

I don’t know either, George, but it’s been several years. Perfectionism is something so many of us face, and it’s made worse when you don’t have a critique community as warm and encouraging as ours is. I hope you and everyone here are always willing to try something new, even if it comes out a little messed up, because you know we’ll support you and try to make you better.

What a great share! Thanks so much!

You’re so welcome, Elizabeth. Thank you for commenting.

when I ran writing classes I wrote. when I am “a member of writing classes” the teacher/leader/facilitator is NOT MY AUDIENCE and so I don’t write as well/as much. I don’t get the feedback I need from fellow students because most of them have never run their own writing projects/workshops. So many people expect you to write their story for them. I’ve actually got quite a few stories of me own. I have finally decided I like owning them. 😉

It sounds like you need a new critique group, Patience! Hope you can find a place where you get the feedback you need.

Wow! Terrific round-up of resources. 🙂

Thanks Stephanie. 🙂

Practice is necessary, period. It doesn’t matter what you want to learn. If you want to improve, practice is vital.

It’s odd. I’ve known and applied that principle for years on a variety of things. Painting. Drawing. Blogging. Gardening. Laundry.

But never writing.

Like you, I had the notion that just writing every day was all it took to improve. Why not the same level of dedication to writing?

Perhaps it’s time to change that!

I can relate, Carrie. It’s easy to confuse the craft of writing with journaling, thinking that you can just write whatever you feel like and you’ll get better, write something worth reading. The truth is that writing interesting things to read is a skill, but the good news is that you can get better at it with practice. Thanks for practicing with us! 🙂

I love these suggestions , and have set Writing Practice as my homepage so the first 15 minutes of my day is spent writing, whether its a practice or exercise here or another that is sprinkled through out this site, Thank you for all you do everyone here at The Write Practice

This is great Debra. I want to write the first 15 minutes of my day too!

I agree with Joe, Do it. Could be your to do list… ( that could lead to something else story wse later)

I love that, Debra. Such a good way to start your day.

Thanks Joe!

The best! Thank you so much for this.

You’re very welcome!

I simply LOVE all the tips and suggestions given on this blog. They are super helpful!

THANK you. We love sharing them with you. 🙂

Hi! You forgot the link to How to Write a Story a Week: A Day-by-Day Guide.

Thanks a lot for your work! This post is amazing.

It’s a great post Thiago. Definitely one of our most shared. Thanks for mentioning it! BTW here’s the link:

https://thewritepractice.com/a-story-a-week/

Wow!! There are so many exercises…. I just love it..! I am gonna really enjoy it..!

Awesome! Thank you for reading and practicing with us. 🙂

I only read halfway , My tootie is jumping all over me, and typing this is a struggle when a 3yr old wants his Toy Story movie on Youtube in this computer. Thank you for this article, will come back later to finish reading.

I know the feeling! Good luck!

Can’t wait to get stuck in with this! 🙂

Very helpful! Thank you!

I’ve just bookmarked this page. Thanks for this wonderful list.

This is awesome! So many helpful tips. I will be coming back to this often. Thanks for posting this!

Wow, so many goodies! Thank you for always providing such amazing content!!

I have enjoyed all these articles. Thank you for the help an inspiration to get my writing on its way. My creativity is boosting with confidence. Tootle loo.

Amazing contents for beginners like me Joe. I am highly inspired by your commitment. Thank you.

Hey, thanks!

Although I have only read half of thisc article, the practice exercises are excellent. Some of them are exactly what a beginning writer like myself needs. I am committing to at least try ALL of them. Thanks Joe!!

very helpful! thank you..

Amazing articles! Thanks so much for sharing!

My god this article made me love this site . You know it’s kinda hard for a beginner writer, who don’t know where to start and fixing goals, even samll ones give us a direction . A place to go , an aim for our creativity so thanks you , this community and this site. Love you all . At your pens ! 😉

Wow. This is great. I find all your posts informative, but this one is the best for me to use as a guide to get my self starting to write….Thank you.

I’m an old lady who wants to publish one more book before I die — have published several, all non-fiction, and done two under contract to a major publisher (reference books). So help me, the BIGGEST problem I have all along, is keeping track of the damned paper work and research that goes into a book!!! Yet I never ever see articles on something as simple as “How to file” — Oh I know, there’s wonderful software these days so probably I will never find a way to get paper organized — everybody will use software and do it on the computer. I’m too old for that — just one look at the learning curve for software, even putting the damned stuff into computer files is even MORE frustrating than paper!! Oh well, somehow I managed in the past to get books published, I may be able to do it one more time.

you enjoy writing more than anything else and you do indeed care to help others write. I love writing but translation from Arabic into English and English into Arabic is taking all of my time from the early hours of the morning till the evening. I will soon get all of your books in order to read them as soon as possible. One thing I am sure of. You know what you are doing very well. Hamzah

Excellent! Many useful tips. Many thanks!

Liz and Joe, I have only looked at a few exercises. Already, I am convinced that your site is one of the best sites out there. Thank your for sharing your wisdom.

Wow, these are the best lessons and exercises for writing. Actually i’m participating in a compitition this wendsday. so, i’m quite nervous and exited. this helped me a lot

Magnificent post ever I have read. This article will help me a lot to write a right way. Thank you.

i need your help to improve to become a better writer please. i think i usually commit moist of these errors and i don;t pay attention to many advices too.

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The best writing exercises bring out our latent creativity. Especially if you ever feel stuck or blocked, making creative writing exercises part of your daily writing practice can be a great way to both hone your skills and explore new frontiers in your writing. Whether you’re a poet, essayist, storyteller, or genre-bending author, these free writing exercises will jumpstart your creative juices and improve your writing abilities.

24 of the Best Free Writing Exercises to Try Out Today

The best creative writing exercises will push you out of your comfort zone and get you to experiment with words. Language is your sandbox, so let’s build some sand castles with these exercises and writing prompts.

Write With Limitations

The English language is huge, complicated, and — quite frankly — chaotic. Writing with self-imposed limitations can help you create novel and inventive pieces.

What does “limitations” mean in this context? Basically, force yourself not to use certain words, descriptions, or figures of speech. Some writing exercises using limitations include the following:

• Write without using adverbs or adjectives.
• Write without using the passive voice – no “being verbs” whatsoever. (Also called “E-Prime” writing.)
• Write a story without using a common letter –  just like Ernest Vincent Wright did .
• Write a poem where each line has six words.
• Write without using any pronouns.

Among exercises to improve writing skills, writing with limitations has the clearest benefits. This practice challenges your brain to think about language productively. Additionally, these limitations force you to use unconventional language – which, in turn, makes you write with lucidity, avidity, and invention.

Freewriting & Stream of Consciousness

What do you do when the words just don’t come out? How can you write better if you can’t seem to write at all? One of the best poetry exercises, as well as writing exercises in general, is to start your day by freewriting.

Freewriting, also known as “stream of consciousness writing,” involves writing your thoughts down the moment they come. There’s no filtering what you write, and no controlling what you think: topicality, style, and continuity are wholly unnecessary in the freewriting process. While the idea of freewriting seems easy, it’s much harder than you think – examining your thoughts without controlling them takes a while to master, and the impulse to control what you write isn’t easy to tame. Try these exercises to master the skill:

• Do a timed freewrite. Start with five minutes.
• Freewrite until you fill up the entirety of something – an envelope, a receipt, a postcard, etc.
• Freewrite after meditating.
• Freewrite off of the first word of today’s newspaper.

Among daily writing exercises, freewriting is one of the best writing exercises. Poets can use freewritten material as inspiration for their poetry. Prose writers can also find inspiration for future stories from the depths of their consciousnesses. Start your writing day with freewriting, and watch your creativity blossom.

Copy What You Read

Plagiarism is still off the table; however, you can learn a lot by paying attention to how other people write. This is what we call “reading like a writer.”

Reading like a writer means paying attention to the craft elements that make an excellent piece of literature work. Good writing requires different writing styles, figurative language, story structures, and/or poetry forms, as well as key word choice.

When you notice these craft elements, you can go ahead and emulate them in your own work. As a fiction writer , you might be drawn to the way Haruki Murakami weaves folklore into his stories, and decide to write a story like that yourself. Or, as a poet, you might be inspired by Terrance Hayes’ Golden Shovel form — enough so that you write a Golden Shovel yourself.

• Read a favorite poem, and write your own poem in the same poetic form.
• Blackout poetry: take another poem, cross out words you don’t want to use, circle words you do, and write a poem based on the circled words.
• Copy a single sentence from a favorite novel, and write a short-short story with it.

Among free writing exercises, this is a great way to learn from the best. The best kinds of exercises to improve writing skills involve building upon the current canon of works — as Isaac Newton said, you achieve something great by “standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Write From Different Perspectives

The conventional advice given to writers is to “write what you know.” We couldn’t disagree with that statement more. The best creative works force both the writer and the reader to consider new perspectives and learn something new; writing from a new point-of-view makes for a great exercise in expanding your creative limits.

Try these ideas as daily writing exercises:

• Write a story with the same plot, but with two or more perspectives. For example, you could write a lover’s quarrel from two different view points.
• Write from the point-of-view of a famous historical figure.
• Write a story or poem from the perspective of an object: a statue, a doll, a roomba, etc.
• Write from the perspective of a person you dislike.

While playing with perspective makes for a great fiction writing exercise , poets and essayists can do this too. Patricia Smith’s poem “Skinhead,” for example, is a persona piece written from the perspective of a white nationalist, but the poem clearly condemns the speaker’s beliefs.

Thus, perspective writing also works as a poetry exercise and an essay writing practice exercise . If you’re stuck in your own head, try writing in someone else’s!

Write Metaphor Lists

All creative writers need figurative language. While metaphors, similes, and synecdoches are more prominent in poetry , prose writers need the power of metaphor to truly engross their reader. Among both exercises to improve writing skills and fun writing exercises for adults, writing metaphor lists is one of the best writing exercises out there.

A metaphor list is simple. On a notebook, create two columns. In one column, write down only concrete nouns. Things like a pillow, a tree, a cat, a cloud, and anything that can be perceived with one of the five senses.

In the other list, write down only abstract ideas. Things like love, hate, war, peace, justice, closure, and reconciliation — anything that is conceptual and cannot be directly perceived.

Now, choose a random noun and a random concept, and create a metaphor or simile with them. Delve into the metaphor and explain the comparison. For example, you might say “Love is like a pillow — it can comfort, or it can smother.”

Once you’ve mastered the metaphor list, you can try the following ideas to challenge yourself:

• Create a coherent poem out of your metaphor list.
• Turn your metaphor list into a short story.
• Try making lists with a different figurative language device, such as personification, pathetic fallacy, or metonymy.

Any free creative writing exercise that focuses on figurative language can aid your writing immensely, as it helps writers add insight and emotionality to their work. This is an especially great creative writing exercise for beginners as they learn the elements of style and language.

Daily Journaling

Of course, the best way to improve your creative writing skills is simply to write every day. Keeping a daily journal is a great way to exercise your writing mind. By sitting down with your personal observations and writing without an agenda or audience, a daily writing practice  remains one of the best writing exercises , regardless of your genre or level of expertise.

Consider these ideas for your daily journal:

• Track your mood and emotions throughout the day. Write those emotions in metaphor — avoid commonplace adjectives and nouns.
• Write about your day from the second- or third-person.
• Journal your day in verse. Use stanzas, line breaks, and figurative language.
• Write about your day backwards.
• Write about your day using Freytag’s pyramid . Build up to a meaningful climax, even if nothing significant seemed to happen today.

Learn more about keeping a journal here:

How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily

Writing Exercises: Have Fun with Them!

Many of these writing exercises might feel challenging at first—and that’s a good thing! You will unlock new ideas and writing strengths by struggling through these creative challenges. The main point is to have fun with them and use them to explore within your writing, without indulging too many monologues from your inner critic.

Are you looking for more exercises to improve your writing skills? Our instructors can offer prompts, illuminating lectures, one-to-one feedback, and more to help you improve your craft. Check out our upcoming creative writing courses , and let’s put these skills to practice.

Sean Glatch

Thank you for this. I’ve been stuck for months—more than that, actually, and you’d think that a pandemic stay-at-home would be the perfect time to do some writing. But no. I’m as stuck as ever. In fact, the only time I seem able to write consistently and well is when I’m taking one of your classes! I’m still saving my pennies, but these exercises will hopefully get me writing in the meantime. Thanks again!

Hi Kathy, I’m glad to hear some of these tips might spark your creativity 🙂 I feel the same way, I was hoping the stay-at-home order might spark some creativity, but we shouldn’t push ourselves too hard – especially in the midst of a crisis.

The best part about writing: all you have to do is try, and you’ve already succeeded. Good luck on your writing endeavors!

Bravo….!What a great piece! Honestly I learnt a lot here!

I picked interest in poetry just a week ago after reading a beautiful piece which captivated my mind into the world of writing. I’d love to write great poems but I don’t know anything about poetry, I need a coach, a motivator and an inspiration to be able to do this. This piece really helped me but I will appreciate some more tips and help from you or anyone else willing to help, I am really fervid about this.

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for your comment! I’m so excited for you to start your journey with poetry. We have more advice for poetry writing at the articles under this link: https://writers.com/category/poetry

Additionally, you might be interested in two of our upcoming poetry courses: Poetry Workshop and How to Craft a Poem .

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at [email protected] . Many thanks, and happy writing!

[…] 24 Best Writing Exercises to Become a Better Writer | writers.com  […]

Hi, kinsey there. Thanks for giving information. it is a very informative blog and i appreciate your effort to write a blog I am also a writer and i like these type of blogs everyone takes more knowledge to check out my essay writing website

As a writer, I often struggle to break free from the chains of writer’s block, but this blog has gifted me with a map of inspiration to navigate through those creative storms. It’s like being handed a box of enchanted writing exercises

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Writing an essay: How to structure an essay exercise

The purpose of any essay is to convince the person reading it that your opinion you've written on a topic in it is the correct one. An essay works if it does this. Although what you say in an essay (the reasons/arguments you choose to give and the evidence and examples you give to support them) is very important, a good essay also needs to both sound professional and be easy to read and understand.

To do this, you have to express what you write (both the words and ideas) well. Your essay should both use appropriate and varied phrases or expressions (i.e. formal and academic) and the ideas that you write (the arguments and points) need to flows well.

What I mean by 'flow well', is that each argument/point you make in the essay naturally follows the one that you wrote before. Doing this is very similar to giving good directions to a person to get to somewhere. When you give directions, in order to not get the person you're telling them to become lost or confused, you have to both give them in the correct sequential order (i.e. where to go or what to do first, second etc..) and to connect each part of the directions together (e.g. 'Walk down the road until you reach the supermarket. At the supermarket, cross onto the other side of the road...').

To show you what I mean, look at the following directions to a restaurant below. Apart from the third one (which is in yellow and has a tick next to it), the rest are not in the correct order (and don't make any sense). Rearrange each part of the directions (in white) by dragging and dropping them with your mouse or finger so they are in the correct order.

When you have finished, press the 'Check' button to see if you are right.

Please note: This exercise (and the one below it) doesn't work on versions 8 or 7 of the Internet Explorer browser.

The restaurant is about 5 minutes down this road, opposite a supermarket.

To get to the restaurant, take the underground to Kings Cross.

When you are on the other side of the road, turn left and walk up the road.

After leaving the underground station, cross over the road at the traffic lights directly in front of the station.

Continue walking until you reach a church on your right. Go down the road on your right directly after the church.

And like with giving good directions, how you structure what you write in an essay is equally important to making it effective. With an essay, you need to organise the different parts/paragraphs of what you write into a good order. You do this by first ensuring the essay has an introduction, body (the main part of the essay where you write the reasons/arguments) and conclusion. Then, you make sure that each argument/reason is written in its own paragraph (or paragraphs). And that each paragraph you use naturally follows each other (like with directions).

Link the paragraphs together

But an essay doesn't only flow well because of how you order what you write in it, you also need to ensure that the different parts/paragraphs of the essay are linked/connected together. You do this by either referring in the last sentence of one paragraph what the next paragraph will talk about, or by referring in the first sentence of one paragraph what you talked about in the previous one.

By doing this, it makes any essay you write a lot easier to read and as a consequence, a lot easier to understand. And if you want to convince somebody that your opinion/argument in the essay is right, this is fundamental.

To help you learn how to do this, I have created the below exercise.

In this exercise you have to put the paragraphs of an essay on 'Should schools use computers or textbooks for teaching subjects in class?' into the correct order. Apart from two paragraphs (which are in yellow with a tick next to them ), the rest of the paragraphs are in the incorrect order.

When deciding which paragraph goes where, read each paragraph and decide what it is talking about. Focus especially on the first and last sentence of each one (this will help you to guess which paragraph goes before and after it).

To rearrange the paragraphs, drag and drop each one with your mouse or finger (on touch screen devices).

Should schools use computers or textbooks for teaching subjects in class?

Not only do they encourage students to learn more quickly than textbooks can, but they can also be used to monitor the individual performance of students. As students complete tests and exams on applications they are using on computers, a record of their results is automatically kept. This makes it easier for the teacher to identify issues any of their students are having with a particular area of a subject, so they can undertake the necessary actions to solve them.

One of the reasons which people who support the idea of replacing textbooks with computer software for teaching in classrooms give is that it makes the learning environment more enjoyable and productive. As most educational software applications on computers are interactive (they can contain videos, animations, games etc...), they are more engaging for students to use. Making students want to use them more than reading a textbook. As a result, students learn not only more, but do so more quickly than they would by using a textbook.

For hundreds of years, textbooks have been used by schools as one of the main methods to educate their students. But with the rise of technology (computers, the internet etc...) many experts are now saying that students should learn many subjects (from maths to geography) at school using computers instead. So why do these experts believe that software on a computer is better for learning than using a traditional textbook?

So if educational software is so much better than using traditional textbooks to educate students, why are most schools still using textbooks? The answer is quite simple, cost.

There are even some educational software applications which can do this automatically. The application itself monitors the students' performance on the exercises and tests they complete. If it identifies an area or topic a student is struggling on, it will give the student extra exercises and/or help on the area to ensure that they understand the concept they are learning. Although a teacher can do all of this without the need of a software application, it takes a lot longer to do it manually. And if a teacher has a lot of students, they won't have the time to monitor every student effectively.

The main problem about using computer software to teach subjects instead of textbooks is that it is a lot more expensive. Not only is the software more expensive per student than a textbook, but all the teaching staff will have to be professionally trained to use it. On top of this, schools will have to pay to have a new or better computer network installed and to employ new staff to look after it.

It is this cost which means that the only schools which will be able to afford to replace their textbooks with computers will be private schools. For schools in most countries (and especially in the developing world), the cost of replacing their textbooks with computer software will be too expensive.

Although there seems little doubt about the educational benefits of using computer software applications instead of textbooks in the classroom for students (they are more engaging, make them learn both more quickly and productively, and make it easier to monitor and improve students' academic performance), the problem is with the cost. It is not only that the software is more expensive to purchase than textbooks, but the schools will also have to install a new or better computer network, pay for somebody to look after it and provide a tablet or laptop for each of their students to use. It is this cost which I believe that will mean that most schools will continue to use textbooks for a long time into the future.

In addition to the cost of the software and the network, schools will also have to provide each of their students with their own tablet or laptop to use. And as children have a habit of dropping or losing things, schools will also have to pay for the replacement or repair throughout the year of many of the tablets and laptops which they provide to their students.

You now know what makes a good structure of an essay and why it is important. But when do you do it?

When to structure your essays

You should structure your essay when you are planning what you are going to write. The first thing you need to do when planning an essay is to decide what the opinion (or main argument) of your essay will be. After this, you have to think of some good reasons which you will use to convince the person reading it that the opinion (or main argument) of your essay is right. After you have done this, you then decide how you are going to structure what you are going to write.

Once you have this structure, this is when you start to write your essay.

Write the introduction last

One last piece of advice is that you should write the introduction last. The introduction of an essay is used to both tell the person reading it what the essay is about and make them want to read more. It is both better and quicker to do this when you have written the rest of the essay, because you know actually what they are going to read about.

Now that you understand how to structure, practise it by writing your own essay.

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Introductory Academic Essay and Paragraph Writing Exercises and Worksheets

• Basic or elementary academic writing classes usually focus on brainstorming, outlining, writing topic and support sentences and essay structure.
• A teacher might also teach the various forms of attention getters, some basic transitions and different kinds of essay conclusions.
• This page contains links to some possible worksheets for these components of an introductory essay writing course.

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Importance of Exercise Essay

500 words essay on exercise essay.

Exercise is basically any physical activity that we perform on a repetitive basis for relaxing our body and taking away all the mental stress. It is important to do regular exercise. When you do this on a daily basis, you become fit both physically and mentally. Moreover, not exercising daily can make a person susceptible to different diseases. Thus, just like eating food daily, we must also exercise daily. The importance of exercise essay will throw more light on it.

Importance of Exercise

Exercising is most essential for proper health and fitness. Moreover, it is essential for every sphere of life. Especially today’s youth need to exercise more than ever. It is because the junk food they consume every day can hamper their quality of life.

If you are not healthy, you cannot lead a happy life and won’t be able to contribute to the expansion of society. Thus, one needs to exercise to beat all these problems. But, it is not just about the youth but also about every member of the society.

These days, physical activities take places in colleges more than often. The professionals are called to the campus for organizing physical exercises. Thus, it is a great opportunity for everyone who wishes to do it.

Just like exercise is important for college kids, it is also essential for office workers. The desk job requires the person to sit at the desk for long hours without breaks. This gives rise to a very unhealthy lifestyle.

They get a limited amount of exercise as they just sit all day then come back home and sleep. Therefore, it is essential to exercise to adopt a healthy lifestyle that can also prevent any damaging diseases .

Benefits of Exercise

Exercise has a lot of benefits in today’s world. First of all, it helps in maintaining your weight. Moreover, it also helps you reduce weight if you are overweight. It is because you burn calories when you exercise.

Further, it helps in developing your muscles. Thus, the rate of your body will increases which helps to burn calories. Moreover, it also helps in improving the oxygen level and blood flow of the body.

When you exercise daily, your brain cells will release frequently. This helps in producing cells in the hippocampus. Moreover, it is the part of the brain which helps to learn and control memory.

The concentration level in your body will improve which will ultimately lower the danger of disease like Alzheimer’s. In addition, you can also reduce the strain on your heart through exercise. Finally, it controls the blood sugar levels of your body so it helps to prevent or delay diabetes.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Importance of Exercise Essay

In order to live life healthily, it is essential to exercise for mental and physical development. Thus, exercise is important for the overall growth of a person. It is essential to maintain a balance between work, rest and activities. So, make sure to exercise daily.

FAQ of Importance of Exercise Essay

Question 1: What is the importance of exercise?

Answer 1: Exercise helps people lose weight and lower the risk of some diseases. When you exercise daily, you lower the risk of developing some diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and more. It also helps to keep your body at a healthy weight.

Question 2: Why is exercising important for students?

Answer 2: Exercising is important for students because it helps students to enhance their cardiorespiratory fitness and build strong bones and muscles. In addition, it also controls weight and reduces the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Further, it can also reduce the risk of health conditions like heart diseases and more.

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Exercise 6: Writing an essay for examination from 2024 (Ultimate Guide)

Exercise 6 of the Reading and Writing paper of the IGCSE English as a Second Language (ESL) exam (0510/0511/0991/0993) is always a formal or semi-formal writing. It can be an article, an essay, a report, or a review.

In this article, you will discover how to write an almost-perfect essay that impresses the examiner and gets you the highest band. So, are you ready? Let’s dive in!

So, what is an essay?

An essay is a short piece of writing on a particular subject. The purpose of an essay is to present an argument or point of view about a particular topic and give examples or reasons to support it. The topic will be a question or an issue which people generally have different opinions about.

The essay could present both sides of the argument, or just one, depending on the instructions given in the task. So, if the instructions ask you to give your opinion, you can address just this one point of view, or you can discuss the arguments for and against. But if the task instructions state that arguments for and against should be included, then you should address both points of view.

The Tone and Register of an Essay

In the exam, the essay is usually for your teacher, so the tone and register should be formal or semi-formal . Therefore, it should avoid language that is too idiomatic and colloquial.

Now, before diving into the details of how to write a successful essay, let’s first explore a few differences between articles and essays.

Differences between an article and an essay

An essay is very similar to an article with only a few key differences.

An article is usually published in a newspaper or a magazine, so as far as the exam is concerned, the audience is often students at your school (school magazine article), or sometimes your teacher or the local newspaper.

The audience of an essay is often your teacher (who requested the essay in the first place).

An article is generally written to inform and persuade the reader that a certain viewpoint is correct.

An essay is generally written as a response to a question or a proposition (often by your teacher). It presents an argument or point of view about a particular topic and gives examples or reasons to support it.

Tone and style:

Articles generally have a more objective tone and style, focusing on presenting information in a neutral or balanced manner.

Essays are generally subjective, reflecting the writer’s opinion and perspective.

An article may have a heading to grab the reader’s attention (though not compulsory in the exam).

An essay does not require a heading.

The format of a one-sided argument essay

A one-sided argument essay can have two formats, depending on whether you include a counterargument from the opposing viewpoint or not.

Paragraph 1:  Introduction (including your opinion)

Paragraph 2:  First point supporting your opinion with an explanation

Paragraph 3:  Second point supporting your opinion with an explanation

Paragraph 4:  State a counterargument (an idea from the opposing viewpoint) and counter the counterargument (i.e., explain why this counterargument is invalid). In other words, state a point made by people who have a different opinion from yours and explain why they are wrong.

Paragraph 5:  Conclusion (including your opinion again but in different words)

Paragraph 2:  One or two points supporting your opinion with an explanation

Paragraph 3:  One or two points (different from those of the previous paragraph) supporting your opinion with an explanation

Paragraph 4:  Conclusion (including your opinion again but in different words)

The format of a two-sided argument essay

Paragraph 1:  Introduction (without your opinion)

Paragraph 2:  One side of the argument

Paragraph 3:  The other side of the argument

Paragraph 4:  Conclusion (including your opinion)

Introduction

The purpose of the introduction is to  inform the reader  about the main point (topic) of the essay and  engage the reader  to make them interested in the topic. The main components of an effective introduction are:

• Topic sentence

Start your essay with a brief topic sentence that outlines the argument that the essay will discuss. Give  forceful statements  rather than “I think that”, “maybe” or “perhaps”. For example, “Teenagers love fast food.”, “Nowadays, music plays an indispensable role in our lives.”, etc.

To write an effective topic sentence, you might  use adverbial time phrases  and  generalizations . Here are some examples of each.

Adverbial time phrases

• Nowadays/these days/currently
• Every day/week/year
• Recently/for many years/decades
• In the past
• 10 years ago
• In the last (few/five) (days/weeks/months/years/decades)

Generalization

• A large number of / The vast majority (of)
• Several/some
• Not many/hardly any/ few
• In almost all cases
• In the majority of cases
• In a large number of cases
• In most cases
• In some cases
• On the whole/ Overall
• Rhetorical question(s)

Use rhetorical questions (questions that don’t require an answer but make your reader think) to get the reader interested in the topic and encourage them to read on. For example:

• How much longer do animals have to suffer?
• Could you live with yourself if you missed out on this opportunity?
• How could we possibly stand the …?
• What would happen if …?
• Could your conscience cope with …?
• Is it really worth …?
• Do you want to be part of …?
• Should students do sport at school?
• Should teenagers completely avoid fast food?
• We all love convenience food. But is it the best thing for our waistlines, our wallets and our world?
• Your opinion (if it is a one-sided argument essay)

If you are writing a two-sided argument essay,  DO NOT  give your opinion in the introduction.

If you are writing a one-sided argument essay, you MUST give your opinion (whether you support or oppose the viewpoint expressed in the statement).

Here are some opinion phrases to help you express your opinion.

• In my opinion/view
• From my perspective
• From my point of view
• I concur/agree
• I believe/think (that)
• It seems to me that
• I am in favour of
• I am against the idea of
• I am strongly opposed to
• I disagree/cannot accept

You may also kill two birds with one stone and begin your essay with a rhetorical question that introduces the topic to the reader, thus acting as a topic sentence. Here are some examples.

“Have you ever thought how school life would be if the school day started later? In my perspective, this will have countless benefits.”

“Should students do sport at school? This is a question which people have different opinions about.”

One-sided essay structure:

Body paragraph 1:  First idea supporting your opinion with an explanation

Body paragraph 2:  Second idea supporting your opinion with an explanation ( should be different from the first idea )

Body paragraph 3:  State a counterargument (an idea from the opposing viewpoint)  AND  counter the counterargument (i.e., explain why this counterargument is invalid). In other words, state a point made by people who have a different opinion from yours and explain why they are wrong.

Body Paragraph 1:  one or two points supporting your opinion with an explanation

Body Paragraph 2:  one or two points (different from those of the previous paragraph) supporting your opinion with an explanation

When introducing the counterargument in the 3 rd  body paragraph, use any of the following phrases.

• Opponents of this idea claim/assert/argue that …
• Those who disagree/are against these ideas may say/insist that …
• Some people allege/argue/contend that …
• Some people may suggest/point out that …
• A common counterargument is that …
• It can be argued that …

When countering the counterargument in the 3 rd  body paragraph, use any of the following phrases depending on the context.

• Although true to a certain extent, …
• While this may be true to some extent, …
• While it is true that …, it is important to consider…
• While some may believe that … recent studies have shown that …
• What this invalid argument misses is …
• What these people fail to notice/take note of is …
• The evidence, however, disproves this argument because …
• However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that …
• However, a closer analysis reveals that …
• However, this flawed argument overlooks the fact that …

Two-sided essay structure:

Body paragraph 1:  One side of the argument either in favour or against ( mention 2 different ideas )

Body paragraph 2:  The other side of the argument either in favour or against ( mention 2 different ideas )

General guidelines for both kinds of essays:

• Read the question carefully  and  draft a plan  for your essay in the blank space below the question using a pencil. Here are some steps to follow.
• Separate the blank space into two parts, one for and one against.
• Jot down any points that come to your mind in the correct part, along with any interesting vocabulary or expressions suitable for the task. Remember to write briefly and in bullet points.
• Decide whether you will write a one-sided essay or a two-sided essay. If the instructions in the question state that you must include arguments for and against, then choose the best 2 points supporting each side and write a two-sided essay. If it’s not mentioned that you must include arguments for and against, then the choice is yours.
• Consider how you will begin your essay and how you will engage the reader at the start. For example, write some variations of the topic sentence and rhetorical questions that you could use.
• Choose the most effective ones and begin writing. Remember to  spend no more than 5 minutes on the plan.
• Start your body paragraphs with a topic sentence rather than just jumping into the advantages or disadvantages (especially if you’re writing a two-sided essay). This helps to organize your writing and makes the purpose of the paragraph clear to the reader. For example, in an essay discussing the advantages and disadvantages of fast food, it is better to start your first body paragraph with a topic sentence like “There are some obvious advantages of fast food. Firstly, …” rather than just getting into the first point and writing, “To begin with, it’s quite tasty.”.
• You can use the few prompts given in the question, but it is better to  use your own ideas  if you want to get higher marks. If, however, you are out of ideas, use the ideas in the question and make sure to paraphrase them (write them in different words) and develop them well.
• Support your ideas with reasons, evidence, or examples . Keep in mind that the examiner knows the evidence or examples will be made up and doesn’t expect these to be correct. Yes, you can make up your own statistics! Just make sure it’s not overly unrealistic.
• Keep to the topic  (don’t wander away from the main subject of the essay). Remind yourself constantly by looking again at the question.
• Use a variety of linking words and cohesive devices  (mainly formal) to create a smooth and logical flow in your writing. Here are some examples.

When presenting the first point (used in the 1 st  body paragraph of both one-sided essays and two-sided essays)

• There are some obvious advantages of
• Those in support of … believe that …
• People who think … say that …
• The main argument in favour of/against is
• The main point/reason is
• The most important point/reason is
• The first point/reason is
• First of all
• First and foremost

When  adding  more points to the same side of the argument

• In addition,
• Furthermore,
• Additionally,
• Not only … but also…
• As well as.
• Another noteworthy point is …
• Apart from that
• What is more

When  contrasting  ideas (typically used to introduce the opposite viewpoint in the 2 nd  body paragraph of a two-sided essay

• Some people argue that …
• Nevertheless
• Even though
• In spite of
• On the other hand
• On the contrary
• By contrast

When giving examples

• For example
• For instance
• One clear example is
• To illustrate
• In other words

When reasoning:

• Results and consequences: as a result, consequently, therefore, thus, hence, for this reason, as a result (of), which means that, etc.
• Reasons and causes: owing to, because (of), on account of, due to, since, as, etc.   

When highlighting and stressing

• Particularly
• In particular
• Specifically

The purpose of the conclusion is to  sum up what you have said  and  express (or re-express) your opinion.

In the conclusion:

• Briefly summarize your main points using concluding phrases. Here are some examples.
• In conclusion
• To conclude
• To reiterate
• On the whole
• All things considered
• After weighing the benefits and drawbacks
• I believe that …
• Thus, I am of the opinion that …
• Given these points

Remember to use different words from those used to express the points in the body.

• Give your final opinion (regardless of whether it’s a one-sided or a two-sided essay) and any solution or suggestion if applicable.

The solution or suggestion might be part of your opinion if you’re writing a two-sided essay and want to take a balanced view on the issue rather than siding with one side. For example, “Overall, I believe eating fast food occasionally isn’t a problem, but fresh home-cooked food is best.” Use the opinion phrases stated earlier in the Introduction section to express your opinion, and if it’s a one-sided essay, make sure to use different words from those used in the introduction.

• End with a strong, impactful statement that leaves the reader with something to think about. This could be a rhetorical question or a statement that encourages the reader to decide what they think about the same viewpoint. For example:
• “To conclude, I wholeheartedly believe that everyone should pursue higher education. Why not embrace this invaluable opportunity to fast-track your career, build your confidence, and broaden your social circle?”
• “Overall, I believe eating fast food occasionally isn’t a problem, but fresh home-cooked food is best. Do you not think so?”
• “After weighing the benefits and the drawbacks, it is apparent that convenience food, while palatable, may negatively impact other areas of your life. Think about this before you reach for your next snack!”

It’s worth mentioning that this step is PREFERABLE . So don’t stress too much about ending your essay with an impactful statement or a rhetorical question. Just make sure that the conclusion reflects the argument presented in the main body of the essay and that your final opinion is clear to the reader.

Points to keep in mind

• Read the task carefully to make sure that the ideas and supporting information you include are relevant to the topic. Students often lose focus and write about wider, more general issues associated with the topic, which significantly affects their marks.
• Organize your essay into 4-5 paragraphs . Leave a line between paragraphs or indent the first line of each new paragraph. Don’t do both!
• Take care of spelling, punctuation, and grammar . This is important as the examiner will look at the accuracy of your language.
• Use a combination of simple, compound, and complex sentences . A series of long sentences will make your writing difficult to read, and a series of short simple sentences will make your writing boring to read. Balance is the key.
• Use a wide range of formal vocabulary, including some advanced and less commonly used ones .
• Include a range of topic-related vocabulary to show that you have a good understanding of the topic.
• Use a wide variety of formal linking words to link ideas in sentences and paragraphs.  Examples have been mentioned earlier.
• Use advanced punctuation sparingly  (1-3 in the whole essay), for example, colon (:) and semicolon (;).
• Include language appropriate for expressing opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing. In addition to mentioning your opinion in the introduction and/or conclusion, your viewpoint can also be included in the body paragraphs (whether it’s a one-sided or a two-sided essay) by:
• Mentioning personal examples or experiences (which implies that you agree with this point of view)
• Explicitly agreeing while presenting a point in the body paragraph. Here is an example: “People who think sports lessons are a good idea say that students need exercise, and I agree that doing sports helps to make you healthy and avoid getting overweight.”
• Aim to complete towards the maximum word limit  (approximately 160 words). Exceeding the word limit slightly (15-20 words) is fine as long as you write accurately and complete the task within the correct time. If you exceed the word limit by any number of words, be it even 100, no marks will be cut directly, but you increase your chances of making more mistakes and spending more time than required for this exercise, which may affect your mark indirectly. If you write towards the lower limit or below, you are highly unlikely to achieve the highest band for Content as your content is not well developed.
• Spend about 30 minutes on this exercise : the initial 5 minutes for planning and the last 2-3 minutes for checking your work for simple spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes.
• Write legibly

Don’ts

• Do not write a heading.
• Avoid colloquial or ‘chatty’ language (which includes informal vocabulary, abbreviations, or slang such as how r u, OMG, BTW, etc.).
• Avoid listing  (firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc.). There is no problem in writing “firstly”, but avoid writing “secondly” and “thirdly”.
• Avoid repetition of vocabulary and beginning your sentences with the same words . Sometimes, students write 3 or more sentences in a row starting with “The”!
• Avoid including too many different ideas in your essay. It is better to include fewer ideas and develop one or two in greater depth rather than writing many ideas which are not well-developed.
• Avoid writing an overlong introduction and conclusion. It would be more effective to utilize the limited word count to develop your ideas within the body of the essay. Also, avoid pre-learned language for these parts of the essay, as this may not be totally relevant or might sound unnatural.
• It’s preferable to avoid contractions , but they can be used as the essay can have a semi-formal tone and register. In both cases, remember to be consistent throughout. So, if you used contractions, use them throughout your whole essay, and if not, avoid them altogether.

Practice a lot of past papers and get feedback on your writing. We know that essay writing is newly added to the syllabus, but you can still practice writing essays in response to past years’ article writing questions as they are very similar.

Finally, don’t forget to check out our samples page and if you find this helpful, please share it with your friends.

Good luck! Go get that A*!

21 responses to “Exercise 6: Writing an essay for examination from 2024 (Ultimate Guide)”

Dear ESL KINGS Team,

Your notes have always helped me, including the samples ofcourse. I have made a number of progress, but there is still some questions I have.

To begin with, when would it be perfect/suitable for you to start uploading essay samples? My exam is on May 8 and I really do require their needs. I know that article is basically almost like an essay, But I still haven’t seen a proper essay For esl ever.

Moving on, I wanted to ask that are the International examiners more strict? I am asking this because the samples you have provided have made me totally fall apart as I was shocked by the language required to score top marks. My emails are average on a scale of 13/15 while my formal writings are between 10 – 12, and since I never have experienced the real examiner, I am scared I will even get less then that. It’s my hugest goal to Get around 95 marks from 100 in ESL. For now, If I can estimate I will get around 93 marks which I still don’t find in appeal.

Please do help me with this.

Warm regards, Ayaan Yousuf.

Dear Ayaan,

Thank you for your kind words! We’re glad you’re making progress!

Unfortunately, we may not be able to upload any more samples at the moment as we’re very busy with our exams. However, you may check out Cambridge’s essay sample available here . We appreciate your understanding.

It’s absolutely normal to feel that your writing is not as good as the samples because they are not a standard every student must follow to achieve good mark. They are just meant to inspire you: you can use any of their vocabulary, ideas or structures in your own writing to improve it. You can still score very good marks with a language below that of the samples. Our advice is to focus now on practicing as much as you can instead of how many marks you will score, and you will be able to get your desired grade inshallah.

Best regards, ESL Kings team

Thank you for providing such helpful resources and samples. Your examples are very good and advanced, but I feel my writing isn’t as good. Is this something to worry about, or is it normal? Will the examiners be very strict, or somewhat lenient, considering this is ESL?

Thank you for your kind words! It’s absolutely normal to feel that your writing is not as good as the samples. This is completely understandable and actually a good sign because it provides room for improvement.

We suggest that you get your writing marked by a teacher, a family member, a friend or even yourself; this will give you an idea of where your writing actually stands. And keep practising as much as you can, taking into account the tips we provide in the notes, and you will definitely see progress.

Examiners know of course that this is a second language exam and they mark based on the criteria mentioned in the mark scheme, which is more lenient than a first language exam.

Appreciate this post! Very helpful to me as a teacher.

Thank you! We really appreciate your positive feedback!

Thank you so much for giving us the ideas how to write an essay. Specially, phrases how to begin sentences from each paragraph

You’re welcome 🙂 We’re glad it helped!

Wonderful materials for my students who are going to take the exam next May. Thank you so much

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! We’re glad our notes are benefiting your students! Good luck to them!

Thank you so much for your help! Could you also post some sample essays, it would be very helpful for us!!

Hi Sara, thank you for your comment! We will definitely consider adding them after completing the review writing notes which we are currently working on.

What do you mean by do not write a heading? Do you mean we shouldn’t have a title for the essay?

Yes, an essay doesn’t require a title. Trying to come up with one will use up your exam time unnecessarily.

Is there going to be direct deduction of marks if written?

yes no title in essay

Hello, I’m having my exam in 4 months and I can’t believe I didn’t know about this website before, seriously I wholeheartedly appreciate what you do, I heard there’s a service where you can correct or give feedback on pieces of writings and grade them, is it available?

Thank you so much for your nice comment! We really appreciate it! Our marking service was available, but unfortunately, it is now suspended as it requires a lot of time and effort, which we can’t provide at the moment. We apologize for this! And we wish you good luck with your exam!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR EFFORT AND TIME CREATING THESE SUPER AMAZING NOTES AND TIPS FOR WRITING EXERCISES

Thank you for your kind words! We’re really glad you found them helpful!

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