While experts agree that writing in professional contexts, such as academia and business, is a learned skill, non-native speakers generally require more time and practice to master writing techniques than those whose native language is English—largely due to a smaller vocabulary and unfamiliarity with common sentence structures, idiomatic expressions, and cultural nuances.

There is extensive research on the challenges that non-native speakers face when writing. But perhaps the article “The ABC of academic writing: non-native speakers’ perspective” most memorably summarises the challenges at the sentence and paragraph level and the behaviors that can improve writing over time. 

While the article focuses on academic writing and the big picture, the points discussed apply to almost all types of professional writing and can be adapted depending on your specific needs and preferences. Let’s take a look.

See also: Why InstaText is your best bet for getting published

The Writing Alphabet: ABCDEFGHI 

In their insightful article, the authors share a perspective on writing with a set of heuristics called the “Writing Alphabet.” It consists of:

• Accurate 
• Brief
• Clear
• Dynamic
• Engaging
• Flowing
• Goal
• Habit
• Investment

These points can help writers not only identify what they need to improve in terms of content, especially at the sentence and paragraph level, but also internalise good writing practices. 

ABC for sentences: Accurate, Brief, and Clear

In scientific texts, sentences should be accurate, brief, and clear. 

Accuracy means using precise language and specific data, such as “10% increase” instead of vague phrases like “significant difference.” 

Brevity follows, focusing on removing unnecessary words while retaining the essential meaning. But remember that you should never sacrifice scientific accuracy for the sake of brevity. 

Clarity is about avoiding complex or confusing terms that may not be easily understood by readers and using simple, clear, straightforward sentences. 

DEF for paragraphs: Dynamic, Engaging, and Flowing

In academic texts, paragraphs should be dynamic, engaging, and flowing to capture the reader’s interest, avoid monotony, and enhance the reading experience. 

Although brevity is important, not every sentence should be short, as a string of short sentences can be tedious. Dynamic writing uses different sentence lengths and structures, sometimes using longer sentences or the passive voice to create variety. 

To make the content engaging, “characters” are often introduced, which in academic texts can be study systems, concepts, or competing hypotheses. 

A logical and smooth flow is also important in academic writing, which is achieved, for example, through the proper use of subheadings. 

GHI for implementation: Goal, Habit, and Investment

To improve your writing skills in the long term, you need to focus on three key areas: goal, habit, and investment. 

Set clear and challenging goals for your writing, and develop a consistent writing habit, for example by setting aside a specific time each day to write. Regular reading will also strengthen your writing skills. Invest time and resources into improving your craft, by attending workshops, reading blog posts on writing tips, or getting feedback on your work.

How InstaText helps you improve both your text and writing skills 

Fortunately, technology has made it easier for non-native speakers to overcome common writing challenges in two main ways: With tools that help them improve their text, and with tools that help them learn how to write better. 

InstaText, an advanced editing assistant, is one of these technology-powered tools developed with the intention of enabling non-native speakers to do both. 

It improves texts by enhancing clarity, readability, flow, structure, style, tone, conciseness, word choice, grammar, spelling, punctuation and more during the editing and proofreading process—all things that are essential for high-quality content but sometimes difficult to achieve, especially when deadlines are tight. 

It also helps users improve their English skills, especially their writing skills, through interactive feedback. With this editing style, users can see and track each suggested change and accept or reject it. By paying attention to these changes, users can identify areas for improvement and apply this knowledge to future content.

See also: How editing with InstaText improves both your writing and cognitive skills

Invest in yourself with InstaText

As the authors of the article “The ABC of academic writing: non-native speakers’ perspective” argue, investing in useful resources, and therefore in yourself, is one of the most important aspects of improving your writing skills. 

If you want to increase the speed, efficiency and quality of your writing process and become a better writer at the same time, we believe InstaText is a great investment.If you are already a user, you can learn how to get the most out of it by exploring its features. If you are not yet a user, why not try it out for free and see for yourself how it can support your growth as a writer.

“There’re are countless features which I like about InstaText. It’s a game changer for editing, as it suggests changes to make the text more understandable. The best part is that it completely rewrites a sentence for you when necessary. The quality of writing and editing has become so impressive. It’s quite user friendly and improves your writing to make it more readable without losing your originality.”

— Mohit Manraaj, Author

“I find InstaText very helpful. It makes me much faster in writing papers. I’m a perfectionist and usually spend (way too) much time finding the right words and making sure that sentences are easily readable even if the concepts are arbitrarily complicated. InstaText makes my life easier. I recommend it to any PhD student or researcher, whether a native English speaker or not.”

— Giulia Guidi, PhD Student, University of California, Berkeley

“InstaText helps me revise my texts to sound more native-like. It corrects my grammar. Its word choices are precise. It preserves my writing tone and style. It does every important thing two tools can do in one. If you feel like you need a writing assistant to guide you throughout your whole write-up with concrete suggestions without ever losing your unique touch, then InstaText is the way to go.”

— Ken Moo, Entrepreneur and SaaS Specialist