5．
Four Simple Ways to Better Your Writing Keep It Simple
My first tip for improving your writing is： keep it simple．
Now， I know this seems really， really obvious， but I always say to my students， "Simple done right is better than complicated（复杂的） done wrong．" In other words， it's better to keep things simple and do it well， rather than over-complicate（使过分复杂） everything and do it badly．
So， in English writing exams， you want to show off your English， but you want to show off your right English， not all this English that you don't know or haven't learnt yet．
Have a Collection of Set Phrases（固定搭配）
Now that leads me on to point number two． In order to avoid making mistakes in your writing， it's a really， really good idea to have a collection of set phrases and key words that you can use in the exam． Now， you do have to be careful with this． You don't want to practice what you're going to write， but you do want to have a nice collection of things and have key phrases prepared． Make sure that you have different ways to …
Compare：in the same way， at the same time
Give your opinion：from my point of view， in my view
Add information（补充）： in addition， besides
Show cause：owing to， due to
Show effect：as a result， in consequence， therefore
Conclude：in short， in conclusion， in summary
So， that's just a very brief list showing you exactly what you need to study to be fully prepared for any English writing exam．
Reduce Your Word Count（精简字数）
Now， point number three： reduce your word count． Use as few words as possible．
Avoid pointless words like very， a lot． Replace them， instead， with a strong word． So， instead of saying "so scared，" I would say， "terrified．" By using strong words， you can reduce your word count by a fair bit．
Another way is avoiding there is and there are． We want everything to be as clear as possible． Thus， you can increase the quality and the clarity（清楚，清晰） of your writing．
Check Your Work
Tip number four： this is one that you have heard in school so many times． Students will make some stupid mistakes when they're writing． After being asked to correct the mistakes， they will say， "we already know this． So easy!" and it's because they don't check their work．
I know， when you finish an exam， you're like， "Ah， I'm done! I want to move to the next question!" But you can avoid so many point deductions（扣除） just by checking through your work， so make it priority（优先的事）．
I personally think it's much better if you write less and check more． Fewer words， high accuracy（准确率）． Then you will make your writing perfect．
Four Simple Ways to Better Your Writing | Keep it simple | ●Keep things simple and do it well， （1） ______ of over-complicating everything and do it badly．
●Show off your English by presenting right English but not the English （2） ______ or not learnt． |
| （3） ______ Set Phrases | ●Have a collection of set phrases and key words to （4） ______ making mistakes．
●Make sure that you have different ways to express your idea， such as in （5） ______ ， aside from to show add information．
●List what you need to study to make （6） ______ for writing exams． |
| Reduce Your Word Count | ●（7） ______ pointless words with strong words．
●Avoid using there is or there are to（8） ______ the quality and clarity of your writing． |
| Check Your Work | ●Some stupid mistakes are made because the students （9） ______ to check their work．
●Make it a priority to check your work． |
| Conclusion | ●Write less and check more，（10） ______ sure fewer words but high accuracy， and you will write perfectly． |