In order to write well, you should have sound knowledge of spelling or word formation. One who errs in spelling, reduces his writing to an insect crawl. Bad handwriting demits even a good piece of text, and writer fails to convey his piece of mind. Even if spelling mistakes in writing be few or far between, they end up spoiling the whole show.
Best way to clean up your scribbling act is that you write a story or article and show it to a teacher, or a learned person, for his perusal, correction, and expert comments. And depending on feedback therefrom, you take stock of your pen power. Our presentation can also be in the shape of an episode, essay or in plain question-answer form. So get on to your spellings as first lesson in handwriting improvement. Try to see nuances of similar looking letters and how best their identities are not confused with other forms. This makes your writing easily decipherable and your language conveys your point of view effectively.
Repeat, and repeat
There is no better mantra than this to improve your writing skills.
Health is wealth
The axiom is most apt even for healthy writing. Sound health connotes a fair degree of mind-muscle coordination which enables you to write. So, if you are in sound health, your mind-muscle coordination is best. And that shows in a piece of good handwriting.
A drop is ocean
Try saying more in less words. Conversely less words should mean and imply more.
Vitriol verses verisimilitude
They say one man’s food is another man’s poison. So also for word meanings. Similar sounding words may be poles apart in what they actullay mean overtly or covertly. Similarly context can alter a word’s conventional meaning. These intricacies of language need to be known and respected. Generally speaking words fall into distinct groups :
1. WORDS FREQUENTLY USED
2. WORDS USED LESS OFTEN
Words that are commonly used are of first kind. For example—coming, going, eating, thinking, seeing, reading, sleeping, getting up etc.
To second category belong such words as are less frequently used. For example—wheedle, staccato, hullabaloo etc.
Yet it also depends on individual, as to what kind of words he/she uses in routine. A teacher frequently uses the word ‘blackboard’, which may be Greek to an illiterate labourer. Thus above classification is subjective and tentative. The kind of words used by Shobha De, the famous writer, are not the same as used by a graduate of English literature. But possibilities of going into the realm of less-frequently-used words (2nd of the kind) are immense and worth while.
Enrich your vocabulary
Nothing can help you better to improve on your language, be it English, Hindi or any other; than a dictionary on your study desk. A good dictionary is one that is lucid and throws light even on origin and collateral meaning of words in question.
Try to understand word formations
It helps to know how a word originated, evolved, and acquired its present status. Indeed letters join to form a word that conveys a specific meaning. Yet minor additions or alterations can drastically change word’s usage, connotion, or even meaning. Even context, suffix and prefix can turn a word’s implied message upside down. For example, ‘Pass’ means to succeed or cross-over. Whereas ‘Passe’ means out-of-fashion or a past phenomenon. Benevolent means kind. Malevolent is unkind.
Yet some word combinations make a altogether different one. For example, ‘Nevertheless’, made from never + the + less, it stands for ‘inspite of it’. ‘Cargo’, made from car + go—has little to do with a car or the act of going. Rather it connotes goods loaded on a ship for transportation to overseas destinations.
Hence you should know the nuances of word formation and notable exceptions to run-of-the-mill assumptions.
Make It a habit to study regularly
To go on adding to your literary repertory, make sure to cultivate habit of reading and writing. Remain in touch with the current developments in your business and professional field. This you can do by studying related reviews and periodicals. This habit will pay you rich dividends in your mastery of English/Hindi language, as well as in your professional endeavours.
Have a feel for words and their express/implied meaning
A mere storehouse of words in your vocabulary serves no purpose unless you know their usage in practical speech or writing. For example in ‘mean mentality’ and ‘mean machine’ the same word mean has different connotations. Mean mentality refers to retrograde outlook. But ‘mean machine’ refers to power packed high performance gizmos.
More importantly, we should pick up words that are less often used, and use them in our routine communications. For example, ‘ergo’ is a simple sounding word meaning ‘therefore’; but it is not used as frequently as latter. But by consciously pushing ahead to adopt it, we can replace ‘therefore’ by ‘ergo’ in everyday usage.
Similarly ‘once upon a time in 1857’ may be replaced by succinct one word ‘Circa 1857’.
This way, we increase our knowledge of language, and enrich our memory.
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