Writing Tips: 5 Common ESL Errors

Learning a new language is hard work. If you are an ESL (English as a Second Language) writer, you can therefore be forgiven a few mistakes in the first draft of an essay. That’s why we have proofreading!

But what are the most common errors made by ESL writers? And how can you avoid them? Check out our list of things to watch out for in your writing.

1. Article Choice: ‘A/An’ or ‘The’?

In English, we use articles to specify something about a noun. The definite article ‘the’ is used when referring to a specific noun, while indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ show that something is non-specific.

However, some languages, such as Russian and Chinese, do not have articles. This can make it tricky to know whether to use a definite or indefinite article. Common ESL errors would look like this:

I am good baker.

I am the good baker.

In the first, the article is missing, so the sentence is ungrammatical. The second uses the definite article, but this would suggest that the speaker is the only good baker. Instead, it should be:

I am a good baker.

This uses the indefinite article, clarifying that the speaker is one good baker among many.

2. Problem Prepositions

Prepositions specify the relationship between words in a sentence. In ‘the cat sat on the mat’, for example, ‘on’ is a preposition that tells us the position of the cat in relation to the mat.

But there are many different prepositions, many of which have multiple meanings, so knowing which one to use can be challenging. ‘To’ and ‘at’, for example, can both indicate a location in a sentence, but they are not interchangeable. For instance, we could not switch them in the following:

I am going to the theatre. ✓

I am going at the theatre. ✗

You are staying at home. ✓

You are staying to home. ✗

It can therefore be helpful to have a dictionary available to look up prepositions while you’re writing, as a good dictionary should have examples of how each term is used.

3. Word Order

Word order is a big part of any language. The problem is that different languages use different word orders! In English, the basic word order is subject + verb + object (i.e. SVO). For example:

Other languages use an SOV or VSO word order, but your writing will be ungrammatical if you use these in English.

English can be extra difficult in this respect, as the position of some words may vary depending on how a sentence is constructed. It can therefore help to ask a native speaker for advice.

4. Homophones

Homophones are words that sound similar but have different meanings. ‘Bear’ and ‘bare’ sound exactly the same, for example, but the first is a big hairy animal and the second means ‘naked’, so you wouldn’t want to get them confused in your writing!

Knowing which term to use can be confusing if English is not your native language, though. As such, you may want to check a dictionary for the correct spelling if you’re using an unfamiliar word.

5. Tricky Synonyms

As well as words that sound similar, English has plenty of synonyms (i.e. two words with the same meaning). Unfortunately, some words with similar meanings still differ in how they are used.

For instance, the words ‘quick’ and ‘fast’ are both adjectives that mean ‘speedy’. But ‘quick’ also implies brevity, which is not the case with ‘fast’. As such, a short conversation could be described as a ‘quick chat’, but a ‘fast chat’ would imply talking at high speed!

This is why it’s important to check a dictionary when using synonyms, especially if it is an unfamiliar word from a thesaurus.