Writing style

[skeptical]

I was just wondering anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to make my writing sound more eloquent and sophisticated? My writing style is very simple.
Thanks in advance

[FlorianK]

I think it will easier for our english pro's to give you tips, if you'd post one of your essays.

[nisha]

Thats not neccessarily bad! Sometimes having to the point writing that is simple, but coherent can be rewarded more than a piece of writing that is blurry with long words that don't fit, or for those who want to show off their vocabulary

[brenden]

Yeah, simple language isn't necessarily bad language. Otherwise I'd be reading the newspaper (preferably the Age, let's be honest) daily (I think you can subscribe to the age through any school for $20 a year or something very cheap), highlighting the words you don't know and putting them in a word bank. And reading good books. And getting constant feedback on your writing - let your teacher know specifically that you want to improve eloquence/sophistication.

[Jenny_2108]

I was just wondering anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to make my writing sound more eloquent and sophisticated? My writing style is very simple.
Thanks in advance

Read heaps of books, watch lots of movies and listen intently in the class.
But dont write too much sophisticated words with many layers of meaning, it makes the readers find hard to understand

[rachaelcool]

Yeah, it's mostly about reading I think. Just read read read really good quality A+ essays, and note not only the sophisticated vocabulary/sentence structure, but also the fluency - they don't jam in "sophisticated" words everywhere, that generally tends to be overwhelming and tiresome.

Notice the way often simple and direct sentence structure is punctuated occasionally with a "bling word", as my lit teacher calls them, so it seems natural and just a part of the student's vocabulary much as any other "simple" word.

I think the best way to develop an idea of what is fluent and what is too much is by reading high quality essays and also proofreading your own and editing like its your job! (Even do this after they've been marked etc if you're practising timed conditions. It's always helpful even if it's a "finished" essay.)

Happy studying!

[skeptical]

Thanks heaps everyone
I'm going to start reading more often. And just wondering where can I find A+ essays?

[rachaelcool]

Thanks heaps everyone
I'm going to start reading more often. And just wondering where can I find A+ essays?

There's a thread for sample essays in the English board here Also the TSFX site has some good ones, depending on which texts you're studying, and try asking at your school if they have samples of the top students' responses over the last few years.

Any other suggestions, anyone?

[anthony99]

Ah style. You say you want to sound more eloquent and sophisticated, yet you want to learn how to write well. That's almost an oxymoron. If you want your examiner to be blown away by your style then don't try to sound 'eloquent and sophisticated' in the traditional sense of complex words. It might come as a suprise but there is nothing worse than reading a student's essay and realising that he/she is trying to use their language and not their ideas to impress me. It may also suprise you that teachers see through verbosity very easily. If you want to develop a strong style then break down big ideas into very simply worded sentences.

Every Tom, Dick and Jennifer can memorise big words and regurgitate them on an exam, but very few can express cogent, nuanced ideas with simple words. The latter is much more desirable than the former. Style is just that; substanceless. To earn marks in VCE English, you must convey substance well, and that is best done through simplicity.