Ace Your Written Skills

Writing skills are an integral part of all competitive exams. So how do we improve our written communication?

You should keep in mind certain things to help you become better writers and thereby excel in these exams.

Remember your audience: remember that the people reading your passage are the professors of the college, who are there to judge you and mark you. Also, remember that your career lies in this passage.

Identify the main idea: first and foremost, identify the main idea of your passage. This helps you stay on the topic and highlight the main points of the topic.

Create your outline: creating an outline helps you structure your passage properly and makes sure your passage looks good.

We must make sure that our passage doesn't have any grammatical errors.

"Affect" is a verb meaning to influence.

Example: The economic forecast will affect our projected income.

"Effect" is a noun meaning the result or outcome.

Example: What is the effect of the proposal?

"Then" is typically an adverb indicating a sequence in time.

Example: We went to dinner, then we saw a movie.

"Than" is a conjunction used for comparison.

Example: The dinner was more expensive than the movie.

"Your" is a possessive.

Example: Is that your file?

"You're" is a contraction of "you are."

Example: You're the new manager.

Note: Also, watch out for other common homophones (words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings) – such as their/they're/there, to/too/two, and so on.

"Its" is a possessive.

Example: Is that its motor?

"It's" is a contraction of "It is."

Example: It's often that heavy. Yes, it is this way around!

And finally, most importantly, always remember to proofread different spellings and meanings) – such as their/they're/there, to/too/two, and so on.

"Its" is a possessive.

Example: Is that its motor?

"It's" is a contraction of "It is."

Example: It's often that heavy. Yes, it is this way around!