Every time I read my own writing, I get so frustrated. I think to myself, ‘Who’s going to want to read this? Even I don’t want to!’ Since it’s not interesting enough, it shows my low vocabulary level and it’s not well-organized. 

             When I read well-written essays, usually the writers have their own “style.� For example, some people make sentences short on purpose. Or some are good at using marks such as colons, hyphens, quotation marks and so on. There are more than these examples of course, and all those “styles� make the writings interesting. This is what I need to develop first. I want to be creative in my writing and have my own “style� so that makes my writing interesting, which will make people want to read it all through. Therefore, more ‘inputs’ are important. Reading articles in magazines is more helpful than reading novels, because it is usually short and includes many different kinds of writing styles. 

             English is not my first language. Even though my writing has good content, it seems like elementary school writing assignment. Vocabulary is a big problem. In some cases, a certain word has a very various function. It might make an idea clear, or give readers unforgettable impression. Also, inappropriate word choice makes a sentence, an idea or sometimes a whole essay awkward. However, it is impossible to memorize all the English words. Since I need English writing for school essays or TOEFL tests, not all vocabulary is necessary. Reading academic writing can be helpful because I can memorize words that I don’t know and I can see that how the words are used in the sentences.*   

           It is very difficult to make main ideas clear. It’s hard for me to focus on what I want to say. I often have a hard time narrowing down theses. Logically well-organized writings are easy to read and get the point. Since I’m not a professional writer, as a learner, reading other professional writings – such as English newspaper articles – would be good. Also, writing something in English everyday would be helpful. Because it is very different when you’re just reading and thinking, or when you’re actually writing something.