Strong writing starts with the basics. Grammar, punctuation, word choice, tone—they all play a role in how effective your writing is. Grammar is what allows you to put words together in a way that other people can understand. Punctuation helps you separate individual thoughts on the page or even emphasize the most important ones. Strong, vivid vocabulary helps your readers envision what you’re talking about and causes your writing to stick in their minds. Tone can be tricky, but learning to work with it opens up all kinds of interesting writing techniques. And of course, structuring your writing, both on a sentence level and on a paragraph level, is essential for being understood. The good news is, you can learn to use grammar, vocabulary, and more like a pro. We promise! We have tons of resources to help you get the hang of it.

At first glance, persuasive writing may not seem all that different from, say, expository writing. Of course, no matter what you’re writing, you’ll need to focus on writing clearly and organizing your ideas in a logical way. But to really understand the differences between various writing styles, it helps to think about the goal that you’re trying to achieve with each one. Persuasive writing is meant to present an argument that will win over a reader to a particular position or idea. Creative writing is geared more toward artistic expression. Descriptive writing is supposed to create a vivid experience for a reader. Expository writing tends to be fact-based and focuses on educating readers rather than entertaining them. Narrative writing can be similar to creative writing, but the goal is to tell a story. To decide which writing style is right for your piece, think about what you’re trying to do, then check out Grammarly’s tips for different styles of writing.

A blank page can be intimidating. Even professional writers feel that way! That’s why breaking down the writing process into manageable steps is so important. You may look at all the steps involved and feel like it’s going to take forever. But here's the truth: Spending even a little bit of time on brainstorming and outlining will save you tons of time when it comes to writing and editing drafts. In fact, you may find that the distance between a good outline and a rough draft isn’t long at all. Of course, you’ll still need to budget some time for editing and proofreading. It might feel tempting to skip those steps, but your hard work deserves that polish. New to the writing process? Fear not, we’ve broken it down for you. Learn more about each step of the writing process.

It’s safe to say that writing is a big part of life. Whether you’re writing essays for school, emails for your job, or texts to your friends, being able to write quickly and effectively will serve you well. The important thing to remember is that your writing should match the setting. Academic writing tends to be formal and sometimes impersonal. Professional writing often leans formal too, yet it tends to be a bit warmer because you’ll likely be trying to form some kind of relationship with your reader. Email or letter writing varies quite a bit, depending on the recipient. The more practice you have with each type of writing task, the easier it will be to sit down and get the job done. Learn more about top writing tasks.