essay writing practice exercises

100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

by Joe Bunting | 50 comments

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Want to become a better writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing assignments , or maybe you'd like to start a popular blog .

If you want to write better, you need practice. But what does a writing practice actually look like? In this post, I'm going to give you everything you need to kick off your writing practice and become a better writer faster.

What Is Writing Practice?

Writing practice is a method of becoming a better writer that usually involves reading lessons about the writing process, using writing prompts, doing creative writing exercises , or finishing writing pieces, like essays, short stories , novels , or books . The best writing practice is deliberate, timed, and involves feedback.

How Do You Practice Writing?

This was the question I had when I first started The Write Practice in 2011. I knew how to practice a sport and how to practice playing an instrument. But for some reason, even after studying it in college, I wasn't sure how to practice writing.

I set out to create the best writing practice I could. The Write Practice is the result.

I found that the best writing practice has three aspects:

Deliberate . Writing whatever you feel like may be cathartic, but it's not an effective way to become a better writer or build your writing skills. You'll get better faster by practicing a specific technique or aspect of the writing process each time you sit down to write.

This is why we have a new lesson about the writing process each day on The Write Practice, followed by a practice prompt at the end so you can put what you learned to use immediately.

Timed . It's no secret writers struggle with focus. There are just too many interesting distractions—Facebook, email, Kim Kardashian's Instagram feed (just kidding about that last one, sort of)—and writing is just too hard sometimes.

Setting a timer, even for just fifteen minutes, is an easy and effective way to stay focused on what's important.

This is why in our writing practice prompt at the end of each post we have a time limit, usually with a link to an online tool egg timer , so you can focus on deliberate practice without getting distracted.

Feedback . Getting feedback is one of the requirements to deliberately practice writing or any other craft. Feedback can look like listening to the reactions of your readers or asking for constructive criticism from editors and other writers.

This is why we ask you to post your writing practice after each lesson, so that you can get feedback from other writers in The Write Practice community. It's also why we set up The Write Practice Pro community , to provide critique groups for writers to get feedback on each finished piece of writing.

Our 100+ Best Creative Writing Practice Exercises and Lessons

Now that you know how we practice writing at The Write Practice, here are our best writing practice lessons to jumpstart your writing skills with some daily writing exercises, for beginner writers to even the most expert writers:

All-Time, Top 10 Writing Lessons and Exercises

These ten posts are our most viewed articles to boost your writing practice:

1. What is Plot? The 6 Elements of Plot and How to Use Them . Great stories use similar elements in wildly different ways to build page-turning stories. Click here to read what they are and learn how to start using them !

2. Top 100 Short Story Ideas . Here are over a hundred writing prompts in a variety of genres. If you need ideas for your next story, check this out!

3. How To Use Neither, Nor, Or, and Nor Correctly . Even good writers struggle figuring out when to use neither/nor and either/or. In this post, our copy-queen Liz Bureman settles the confusion once and for all. Click to continue to the writing exercise

4. Ten Secrets To Write Better Stories . How does Pixar manage to create such great stories, year after year? And how do you write a good story? In this post, I distill everything I've learned about how to write a good story into ten tips. Click to continue to the writing exercise

5. 35 Questions To Ask Your Characters From Marcel Proust . To get to know my characters better, I use a list of questions known as the Proust Questionnaire, made famous by French author, Marcel Proust. Click to continue to the writing exercise

6. How a Scene List Can Change Your Novel-Writing Life . Creating a scene list changed my novel-writing life, and doing the same will change yours too. Includes examples of the scene lists from famous authors. Click to continue to the writing exercise

7. Why You Need to be Using the Oxford Comma . Most people I've met have no idea what the Oxford comma is, but it's probably something that you have used frequently in your writing. Click to continue to the writing exercise

8. Six Surprising Ways to Write Better Interview Questions.  The interview is the most-used tool in a journalist's bag. But that doesn't mean novelists, bloggers, and even students can't and don't interview people. Here's how to conduct a great interview. Click to continue to the writing exercise

9. Why You Should Try Writing in Second Person . You've probably used first person and third person point-of-view already. But what about second person? This post explains three reasons why you should try writing from this point-of-view. Click to continue to the writing exercise

10. The Secret to Show, Don't Tell . You've heard the classic writing rule, “Show. Don't Tell.” Every writing blog ever has talked about it, and for good reason. Showing, for some reason, is really difficult. Click to continue to the writing exercise.

12 Exercises and Lessons To Become a Better Writer

How do you become a better writer? These posts share our best advice:

• Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 7 Words
• What I Mean When I Say I Am A Writer
• How to Become a Writer: 3 Simple Steps
• 72% of Writers Struggle With THIS
• 7 Lies About Becoming a Writer That You Probably Believe
• 10 Questions to Find Your Unique Writing Voice
• The Best Writing Book I’ve Ever Read
• The Best Way to Become a Better Writer
• The Creative Writer’s Toolkit: 6 Tools You Can’t Write Without
• Should You Write More or Write Better: Quantity vs Quality
• How to Become a Better Writer in One, Simple Step
• 11 Writing Tips That Will Change Your Life

6 Lessons and Exercises from Great Writers

If you want to be a writer, learn from the great writers who have gone before you:

• 23 Essential Quotes from Ernest Hemingway About Writing
• 29 Quotes that Explain How to Become a Better Writer
• 10 Lessons Dr. Seuss Can Teach Writers
• 10 Writing Tips from Ursula Le Guin
• Once Upon a Time: Pixar Prompt
• All the Pretty Words: Writing In the Style of Cormac McCarthy

12 Genre and Format Specific Writing Lessons and Exercises

Here are our best writing lessons for specific types of writing, including essays, screenplays, memoir, short stories, children's books, and humor writing:

• Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips
• How To Write a Screenplay: The 5 Step Process
• How to Write a Great Memoir: a Complete Guide
• How to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish
• How to Write a Thriller Novel
• How to Write a Children's Book
• How to Write a Love Story
• How to Write a Coming of Age Story or Book
• How to Write an Adventure Book
• 5 Key Elements for Successful Short Stories
• 4 Tips to Write a Novel That Will Be Adapted Into a Movie
• Humor Writing for People Who Aren’t Funny

14 Characterization Lessons and Exercises

Good characters are the foundation of good fiction. Here are our best lessons to create better characters:

• Character Development: How to Create Characters Audiences Will Love
• Writing Villains: 9 Evil Examples of the Villain Archetype
• How NOT to Introduce a New Character
• The Strongest Form of Characterization
• The Most Important Character Archetype
• How Do You Build A Strong Character In Your Writing?
• 75+ Antihero Examples and How to Use Them
• How to Explore Your Characters’ Motivations
• 8 Tips for Naming Characters
• The Protagonist: How to Center Your Story
• Heroes vs. Anti-Heroes: Which Is Right For Your Story?
• The Weakest Form of Characterization
• How to Write With an Accent
• How To Create a Character Sketch Using Scrivener

15 Grammar Lessons and Exercises

I talk to so many writers, some of whom are published authors, who struggle with grammar. Here are our best writing lessons on grammar:

• Is It Okay To End A Sentence With A Preposition?
• Contractions List: When To Use and When To Avoid
• Good vs. Well
• Connotation vs. Denotation
• Per Se vs. Per Say
• When You SHOULD Use Passive Voice
• When Do You Use “Quotation Marks”
• Polysyndeton and Asyndeton: Definition and Examples
• The Case Against Twilight
• Affect Versus Effect
• Stop Saying “Literally”
• What Is a Comma Splice? And Why Do Editors Hate Them?
• Intra vs. Inter: Why No One Plays Intermural Sports
• Alright and Alot: Words That Are Not Words
• The Poor, Misunderstood Semicolon

4 Journalism Lessons and Exercises

Want to be a journalist? Or even use techniques from journalism to improve your novel, essay, or screenplay? Here are our best writing lessons on journalism:

• Six Ways to Ask Better Questions In Interviews
• How Should You Interview Someone? Over Email? In Person?
• What If They Don’t Want to Talk to You?
• Eleven Habits of a Highly Effective Interviewers

16 Plot and Structure Lessons and Exercises

Want to write a good story? Our top plot and structure lessons will help:

• The Ten Types of Story and How to Master Them
• Points of a Story: 6 Plot Points Every Story Needs
• How to Shape a Story: The 6 Arcs
• 7 Keys To Write the Perfect First Line of a Novel
• The Secret to Creating Conflict
• 4 Tips to Avoid Having Your Short Story Rejected by a Literary Magazine
• 7 Steps to Creating Suspense
• 5 Elements of Storytelling
• 3 Important Rules for Writing Endings
• A Writer’s Cheatsheet to Plot and Structure
• Overcoming the Monster
• How to Satisfy Your Reader With a Great Ending
• Pow! Boom! Ka-Pow! 5 Tips to Write Fight Scenes
• The Dramatic Question and Suspense in Fiction
• How to Write a Memorable Beginning and Ending
• How to Write the Perfect First Page

6 Lessons and Exercises to Beat Writer's Block

Writer's block is real, and it can completely derail your writing. Here are six lessons to get writing again:

• How To Write Whether You Feel Like it Or Not
• This Fun Creative Writing Exercise Will Change Your Life
• When You Should Be Writing But Can't…
• What to do When Your Word Count is Too Low
• 7 Tricks to Write More with Less Willpower
• When You Don’t Know What to Write, Write About Your Insecurities

7 Literary Technique Lessons and Exercises

These writing and storytelling techniques will teach you a few tricks of the trade you may not have discovered before:

• 3 Tips to “Show, Don’t Tell” Emotions and Moods
• 3 Reasons to Write Stream of Consciousness Narrative
• 16 Observations About Real Dialogue
• Intertextuality As A Literary Device
• Why You Should Use Symbolism In Your Writing
• 6 Ways to Evoke Emotion in Poetry and Prose
• 3 Tips To Write Modern Allegorical Novels
• Symbol vs. Motif: What’s the Difference

3 Inspirational Writing Lessons and Exercises

Need some inspiration? Here are three of our most inspiring posts:

• Why We Write: Four Reasons
• You Must Remember Every Scar
• 17 Reasons to Write Something NOW

3 Publishing Blogging Lessons and Exercises

If you want to get published, these three lessons will help:

• The Secret to Writing On Your Blog Every Day
• How to Publish Your Book and Sell Your First 1,000 Copies
• How to Get Published in Literary Magazines

11 Writing Prompts

Need inspiration or just a kick in the pants to write. Try one of our top writing prompts :

• Grandfathers [writing prompt]
• Out of Place [writing prompt]
• Sleepless [writing prompt]
• Longing [writing prompt]
• Write About Yourself [writing prompt]
• 3 Reasons You Should Write Ghost Stories
• Road Trip [writing prompt]
• Morning [writing prompt]
• The Beach [writing prompt]
• Fall [writing prompt]
• How to Use Six-Word Stories As Writing Prompts

Is It Time To Begin Your Writing Practice?

It's clear that if you want to become a writer, you need to practice writing. We've created a proven process to practice your writing at The Write Practice, but even if you don't join our community, I hope you'll start practicing in some way today.

Personally, I waited  far  too long to start practicing and it set my writing back years.

How about you? Do you think practicing writing is important?  Let me know in the comments section .

Choose one of the writing practice posts above. Then, read the lesson and participate in the writing exercise, posting your work in the Pro Practice Workshop . And if you post, please give feedback to your fellow writers who also posted their practices.

Have fun and happy practicing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

50 Comments

You have THE BEST content for writing on this blog!!

Thank you, Kristen. This made my morning. 🙂

Thanks Mitch. 🙂

I can’t remember when I started following this website. I have to look in my notebooks because that’s where I did these practices. I didn’t have access to a computer when I did them, so I wrote them out, setting the time limit. But even when I do get to a computer, I have my reservations about putting my practices on the page. even though it’s practice, I want them to be the best, almost perfect. But I know it won’t be. I’ve gotten feedback before that says so. It still gets to me that I didn’t put something together that not everyone liked. I need to get over it. After all, that is what these practices are about: to learn and improve on our craft.

I don’t know either, George, but it’s been several years. Perfectionism is something so many of us face, and it’s made worse when you don’t have a critique community as warm and encouraging as ours is. I hope you and everyone here are always willing to try something new, even if it comes out a little messed up, because you know we’ll support you and try to make you better.

What a great share! Thanks so much!

You’re so welcome, Elizabeth. Thank you for commenting.

when I ran writing classes I wrote. when I am “a member of writing classes” the teacher/leader/facilitator is NOT MY AUDIENCE and so I don’t write as well/as much. I don’t get the feedback I need from fellow students because most of them have never run their own writing projects/workshops. So many people expect you to write their story for them. I’ve actually got quite a few stories of me own. I have finally decided I like owning them. 😉

It sounds like you need a new critique group, Patience! Hope you can find a place where you get the feedback you need.

Wow! Terrific round-up of resources. 🙂

Thanks Stephanie. 🙂

Practice is necessary, period. It doesn’t matter what you want to learn. If you want to improve, practice is vital.

It’s odd. I’ve known and applied that principle for years on a variety of things. Painting. Drawing. Blogging. Gardening. Laundry.

But never writing.

Like you, I had the notion that just writing every day was all it took to improve. Why not the same level of dedication to writing?

Perhaps it’s time to change that!

I can relate, Carrie. It’s easy to confuse the craft of writing with journaling, thinking that you can just write whatever you feel like and you’ll get better, write something worth reading. The truth is that writing interesting things to read is a skill, but the good news is that you can get better at it with practice. Thanks for practicing with us! 🙂

I love these suggestions , and have set Writing Practice as my homepage so the first 15 minutes of my day is spent writing, whether its a practice or exercise here or another that is sprinkled through out this site, Thank you for all you do everyone here at The Write Practice

This is great Debra. I want to write the first 15 minutes of my day too!

I agree with Joe, Do it. Could be your to do list… ( that could lead to something else story wse later)

I love that, Debra. Such a good way to start your day.

Thanks Joe!

The best! Thank you so much for this.

You’re very welcome!

I simply LOVE all the tips and suggestions given on this blog. They are super helpful!

THANK you. We love sharing them with you. 🙂

Hi! You forgot the link to How to Write a Story a Week: A Day-by-Day Guide.

Thanks a lot for your work! This post is amazing.

It’s a great post Thiago. Definitely one of our most shared. Thanks for mentioning it! BTW here’s the link:

https://thewritepractice.com/a-story-a-week/

Wow!! There are so many exercises…. I just love it..! I am gonna really enjoy it..!

Awesome! Thank you for reading and practicing with us. 🙂

I only read halfway , My tootie is jumping all over me, and typing this is a struggle when a 3yr old wants his Toy Story movie on Youtube in this computer. Thank you for this article, will come back later to finish reading.

I know the feeling! Good luck!

Can’t wait to get stuck in with this! 🙂

Very helpful! Thank you!

I’ve just bookmarked this page. Thanks for this wonderful list.

This is awesome! So many helpful tips. I will be coming back to this often. Thanks for posting this!

Wow, so many goodies! Thank you for always providing such amazing content!!

I have enjoyed all these articles. Thank you for the help an inspiration to get my writing on its way. My creativity is boosting with confidence. Tootle loo.

Amazing contents for beginners like me Joe. I am highly inspired by your commitment. Thank you.

Hey, thanks!

Although I have only read half of thisc article, the practice exercises are excellent. Some of them are exactly what a beginning writer like myself needs. I am committing to at least try ALL of them. Thanks Joe!!

very helpful! thank you..

Amazing articles! Thanks so much for sharing!

My god this article made me love this site . You know it’s kinda hard for a beginner writer, who don’t know where to start and fixing goals, even samll ones give us a direction . A place to go , an aim for our creativity so thanks you , this community and this site. Love you all . At your pens ! 😉

Wow. This is great. I find all your posts informative, but this one is the best for me to use as a guide to get my self starting to write….Thank you.

I’m an old lady who wants to publish one more book before I die — have published several, all non-fiction, and done two under contract to a major publisher (reference books). So help me, the BIGGEST problem I have all along, is keeping track of the damned paper work and research that goes into a book!!! Yet I never ever see articles on something as simple as “How to file” — Oh I know, there’s wonderful software these days so probably I will never find a way to get paper organized — everybody will use software and do it on the computer. I’m too old for that — just one look at the learning curve for software, even putting the damned stuff into computer files is even MORE frustrating than paper!! Oh well, somehow I managed in the past to get books published, I may be able to do it one more time.

you enjoy writing more than anything else and you do indeed care to help others write. I love writing but translation from Arabic into English and English into Arabic is taking all of my time from the early hours of the morning till the evening. I will soon get all of your books in order to read them as soon as possible. One thing I am sure of. You know what you are doing very well. Hamzah

Excellent! Many useful tips. Many thanks!

Liz and Joe, I have only looked at a few exercises. Already, I am convinced that your site is one of the best sites out there. Thank your for sharing your wisdom.

Wow, these are the best lessons and exercises for writing. Actually i’m participating in a compitition this wendsday. so, i’m quite nervous and exited. this helped me a lot

Magnificent post ever I have read. This article will help me a lot to write a right way. Thank you.

i need your help to improve to become a better writer please. i think i usually commit moist of these errors and i don;t pay attention to many advices too.

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The best writing exercises bring out our latent creativity. Especially if you ever feel stuck or blocked, making creative writing exercises part of your daily writing practice can be a great way to both hone your skills and explore new frontiers in your writing. Whether you’re a poet, essayist, storyteller, or genre-bending author, these free writing exercises will jumpstart your creative juices and improve your writing abilities.

24 of the Best Free Writing Exercises to Try Out Today

The best creative writing exercises will push you out of your comfort zone and get you to experiment with words. Language is your sandbox, so let’s build some sand castles with these exercises and writing prompts.

Write With Limitations

The English language is huge, complicated, and — quite frankly — chaotic. Writing with self-imposed limitations can help you create novel and inventive pieces.

What does “limitations” mean in this context? Basically, force yourself not to use certain words, descriptions, or figures of speech. Some writing exercises using limitations include the following:

• Write without using adverbs or adjectives.
• Write without using the passive voice – no “being verbs” whatsoever. (Also called “E-Prime” writing.)
• Write a story without using a common letter –  just like Ernest Vincent Wright did .
• Write a poem where each line has six words.
• Write without using any pronouns.

Among exercises to improve writing skills, writing with limitations has the clearest benefits. This practice challenges your brain to think about language productively. Additionally, these limitations force you to use unconventional language – which, in turn, makes you write with lucidity, avidity, and invention.

Check Out Our Online Writing Courses!

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Freewriting & Stream of Consciousness

What do you do when the words just don’t come out? How can you write better if you can’t seem to write at all? One of the best poetry exercises, as well as writing exercises in general, is to start your day by freewriting.

Freewriting, also known as “stream of consciousness writing,” involves writing your thoughts down the moment they come. There’s no filtering what you write, and no controlling what you think: topicality, style, and continuity are wholly unnecessary in the freewriting process. While the idea of freewriting seems easy, it’s much harder than you think – examining your thoughts without controlling them takes a while to master, and the impulse to control what you write isn’t easy to tame. Try these exercises to master the skill:

• Do a timed freewrite. Start with five minutes.
• Freewrite until you fill up the entirety of something – an envelope, a receipt, a postcard, etc.
• Freewrite after meditating.
• Freewrite off of the first word of today’s newspaper.

Among daily writing exercises, freewriting is one of the best writing exercises. Poets can use freewritten material as inspiration for their poetry. Prose writers can also find inspiration for future stories from the depths of their consciousnesses. Start your writing day with freewriting, and watch your creativity blossom.

Copy What You Read

Plagiarism is still off the table; however, you can learn a lot by paying attention to how other people write. This is what we call “reading like a writer.”

Reading like a writer means paying attention to the craft elements that make an excellent piece of literature work. Good writing requires different writing styles, figurative language, story structures, and/or poetry forms, as well as key word choice.

When you notice these craft elements, you can go ahead and emulate them in your own work. As a fiction writer , you might be drawn to the way Haruki Murakami weaves folklore into his stories, and decide to write a story like that yourself. Or, as a poet, you might be inspired by Terrance Hayes’ Golden Shovel form — enough so that you write a Golden Shovel yourself.

• Read a favorite poem, and write your own poem in the same poetic form.
• Blackout poetry: take another poem, cross out words you don’t want to use, circle words you do, and write a poem based on the circled words.
• Copy a single sentence from a favorite novel, and write a short-short story with it.

Among free writing exercises, this is a great way to learn from the best. The best kinds of exercises to improve writing skills involve building upon the current canon of works — as Isaac Newton said, you achieve something great by “standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Write From Different Perspectives

The conventional advice given to writers is to “write what you know.” We couldn’t disagree with that statement more. The best creative works force both the writer and the reader to consider new perspectives and learn something new; writing from a new point-of-view makes for a great exercise in expanding your creative limits.

Try these ideas as daily writing exercises:

• Write a story with the same plot, but with two or more perspectives. For example, you could write a lover’s quarrel from two different view points.
• Write from the point-of-view of a famous historical figure.
• Write a story or poem from the perspective of an object: a statue, a doll, a roomba, etc.
• Write from the perspective of a person you dislike.

While playing with perspective makes for a great fiction writing exercise , poets and essayists can do this too. Patricia Smith’s poem “Skinhead,” for example, is a persona piece written from the perspective of a white nationalist, but the poem clearly condemns the speaker’s beliefs.

Thus, perspective writing also works as a poetry exercise and an essay writing practice exercise . If you’re stuck in your own head, try writing in someone else’s!

Write Metaphor Lists

All creative writers need figurative language. While metaphors, similes, and synecdoches are more prominent in poetry , prose writers need the power of metaphor to truly engross their reader. Among both exercises to improve writing skills and fun writing exercises for adults, writing metaphor lists is one of the best writing exercises out there.

A metaphor list is simple. On a notebook, create two columns. In one column, write down only concrete nouns. Things like a pillow, a tree, a cat, a cloud, and anything that can be perceived with one of the five senses.

In the other list, write down only abstract ideas. Things like love, hate, war, peace, justice, closure, and reconciliation — anything that is conceptual and cannot be directly perceived.

Now, choose a random noun and a random concept, and create a metaphor or simile with them. Delve into the metaphor and explain the comparison. For example, you might say “Love is like a pillow — it can comfort, or it can smother.”

Once you’ve mastered the metaphor list, you can try the following ideas to challenge yourself:

• Create a coherent poem out of your metaphor list.
• Turn your metaphor list into a short story.
• Try making lists with a different figurative language device, such as personification, pathetic fallacy, or metonymy.

Any free creative writing exercise that focuses on figurative language can aid your writing immensely, as it helps writers add insight and emotionality to their work. This is an especially great creative writing exercise for beginners as they learn the elements of style and language.

Daily Journaling

Of course, the best way to improve your creative writing skills is simply to write every day. Keeping a daily journal is a great way to exercise your writing mind. By sitting down with your personal observations and writing without an agenda or audience, a daily writing practice  remains one of the best writing exercises , regardless of your genre or level of expertise.

Consider these ideas for your daily journal:

• Track your mood and emotions throughout the day. Write those emotions in metaphor — avoid commonplace adjectives and nouns.
• Write about your day from the second- or third-person.
• Journal your day in verse. Use stanzas, line breaks, and figurative language.
• Write about your day backwards.
• Write about your day using Freytag’s pyramid . Build up to a meaningful climax, even if nothing significant seemed to happen today.

Learn more about keeping a journal here:

How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily

Writing Exercises: Have Fun with Them!

Many of these writing exercises might feel challenging at first—and that’s a good thing! You will unlock new ideas and writing strengths by struggling through these creative challenges. The main point is to have fun with them and use them to explore within your writing, without indulging too many monologues from your inner critic.

Are you looking for more exercises to improve your writing skills? Our instructors can offer prompts, illuminating lectures, one-to-one feedback, and more to help you improve your craft. Check out our upcoming creative writing courses , and let’s put these skills to practice.

Sean Glatch

Thank you for this. I’ve been stuck for months—more than that, actually, and you’d think that a pandemic stay-at-home would be the perfect time to do some writing. But no. I’m as stuck as ever. In fact, the only time I seem able to write consistently and well is when I’m taking one of your classes! I’m still saving my pennies, but these exercises will hopefully get me writing in the meantime. Thanks again!

Hi Kathy, I’m glad to hear some of these tips might spark your creativity 🙂 I feel the same way, I was hoping the stay-at-home order might spark some creativity, but we shouldn’t push ourselves too hard – especially in the midst of a crisis.

The best part about writing: all you have to do is try, and you’ve already succeeded. Good luck on your writing endeavors!

Bravo….!What a great piece! Honestly I learnt a lot here!

I picked interest in poetry just a week ago after reading a beautiful piece which captivated my mind into the world of writing. I’d love to write great poems but I don’t know anything about poetry, I need a coach, a motivator and an inspiration to be able to do this. This piece really helped me but I will appreciate some more tips and help from you or anyone else willing to help, I am really fervid about this.

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for your comment! I’m so excited for you to start your journey with poetry. We have more advice for poetry writing at the articles under this link: https://writers.com/category/poetry

Additionally, you might be interested in two of our upcoming poetry courses: Poetry Workshop and How to Craft a Poem .

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at [email protected] . Many thanks, and happy writing!

[…] 24 Best Writing Exercises to Become a Better Writer | writers.com  […]

Hi, kinsey there. Thanks for giving information. it is a very informative blog and i appreciate your effort to write a blog I am also a writer and i like these type of blogs everyone takes more knowledge to check out my essay writing website

As a writer, I often struggle to break free from the chains of writer’s block, but this blog has gifted me with a map of inspiration to navigate through those creative storms. It’s like being handed a box of enchanted writing exercises

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Are you a learner at B1 English level (intermediate) ? This section offers writing practice to help you write simple connected text on familiar topics that are of personal interest. Texts include forum posts, reviews, messages, short essays and emails.   

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An email giving holiday advice

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An email to explain an accommodation problem

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An email to invite someone to a job interview

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Describing a bar chart

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84 comments.

Thank you so much. This has truly helped me in my exams and throughout the beneficial journey of my school year.

Ellen Davis

How will I be able to check my work, when I print it out to work on them? Where are the answers?

I guess it depends on what you are working on. On what are you working?

Kareema Coles

Ummm the pdf version is not working…is the link still valid?

Which link?

This is an amazing website with fabulous ideas and printable ready to go lessons!!! Thank you so much! I wish I could meet you!!!

Thank you very much for this amazing resource and great ideas. They are extremely comprehensive and well designed. Thank you very much for your kind consideration and not adding a Price-tag to your valuable resources. Highly appreciated.

Sandra Conner

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your work with us. As teachers, we are always in need of fresh material. I teach college level creative writing classes, and your worksheets help my students. Sometimes I change the essay topics to fit their particular age group or interest, but having these examples laid out for us and made available for use in our classrooms is wonderful.

Lifesaver! Thank you for the great ideas and guidance. I am a new teacher, and finding this site has made a true turn around in my instruction. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Thank you for these great step by step resources

Macca Malbrán

Despite all the negative comments above, you should keep up for the ones (like me) who are absolutely grateful for these material.

Thanks for sharing! Best.

I give this website 3stares only for the info but in general 1star

I give your comment 0 stars because your position lacks support or evidence of any kind. Complete some of these worksheets and begin your argument again.

that’s stupid from where do u get the worksheets

I wrote them.

I did not see any activities that required the student to write an entire essay.

https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/writing/persuasive-essay-topics/

Lamar Mohamed

Thank you for this information! They helped me in my exam so much!

These are fantastic resources! Thank you so much for sharing them. I only wish I had found them earlier in the school year!

There’s always next year…

Thank you so much for all you do for teachers. I love an use practically everything on your Website!

That’s awesome. Thanks for visiting my website.

I really like this website

Shenard McDougal

How can a teacher get the answers to the worksheets?

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Essay Writing Practice

Instructions:  Read the passage in the essay writing practice correction exercise below. Choose the best version of the underlined parts of the sentences from the choices provided. You will see your score when you have finished the quiz.

1. [1] The study of the philosophy of human nature is often regarded as an investigation for the meaning of life . [2] This subject deals with four key problem areas:  human choice , human thought, human personality, and the unity of the human being. [3] A consideration of these four problem areas can include scientific also and artistic viewpoints on the nature of human lives.

The word “investigation” takes the preposition “into.”

2. [1] The study of the philosophy of human nature is often regarded as an investigation for the meaning of life . [2] This subject deals with four key problem areas:  human choice , human thought, human personality, and the unity of the human being. [3] A consideration of these four problem areas can include scientific also and artistic viewpoints on the nature of human lives.

The colon is needed before stating items in a list within a sentence like this one.

3. [1] The study of the philosophy of human nature is often regarded as an investigation for the meaning of life . [2] This subject deals with four key problem areas:  human choice , human thought, human personality, and the unity of the human being. [3] A consideration of these four problem areas can include scientific also and artistic viewpoints on the nature of human lives.

The word “nature” is singular, so the word “life” should also be singular.

4. [4] The first problem area human choice, asks us to confront many questions. [5] Among these is the important inquiry as to whether human beings can really make decisions that can change their futures. [6] However, it investigates to what extent the individual’s future is fixed and pre-determined by cosmic forces outside the control of human beings.

The phrase “human choice” defines the first problem area. It is extra information in the sentence (called an appositive phrase). These kinds of phrases need commas before the first word and after the last word of the phrase.

5. [4] The first problem area human choice, asks us to confront many questions. [5] Among these is the important inquiry as to whether human beings can really make decisions that can change their futures. [6] However, it investigates to what extent the individual’s future is fixed and pre-determined by cosmic forces outside the control of human beings.

The noun phrase “human beings” is plural, so the noun (futures) also need to be plural. The pronoun “their” is used in order to be gender-neutral.

6. [4] The first problem area human choice, asks us to confront many questions. [5] Among these is the important inquiry as to whether human beings can really make decisions that can change their futures. [6] However, it investigates to what extent the individual’s future is fixed and pre-determined by cosmic forces outside the control of human beings.

Be careful with questions on linking words like this one. We are changing the subject from decision making to a fixed destiny, so we need a linking word like “conversely.” Note that “in spite of” would not be grammatically correct in this sentence.

7. [7] In the second problem area, human thought, epistemology is considering. [8] Epistemology means the study of knowledge, it should not be confused with ontology, the study of being or existence

We are emphasizing the inquiry, not the people making the inquiry. So we need the passive voice in this sentence. The present simple passive (is considered) should be used here since we are describing a current inquiry.

8. [7] In the second problem area, human thought, epistemology is considering. [8] Epistemology means the study of knowledge, it should not be confused with ontology, the study of being or existence

Here we have two complete sentences that have incorrectly been joined with a comma. This type of error is called a comma splice. To correct it, you need to use a semicolon. Alternatively, you could put in a period and begin a new sentence with “It [. . .]”.

9. [9] The third key issue, human personality, emphasized aspects of human life that are beyond mental processes. [10] They take a look at emotional, spiritual, and communal elements. [11] Yet, the study of the communal aspect focuses on community and communication, instead of the philosophy of the state.

This is a question on using the correct verb tense. In this sentence, we continue to describe a current inquiry. Therefore, the simple present tense (emphasizes) is needed here.

10. [9] The third key issue, human personality, emphasized aspects of human life that are beyond mental processes. [10] They take a look at emotional, spiritual, and communal elements. [11] Yet, the study of the communal aspect focuses on community and communication, instead of the philosophy of the state.

In this sentence, we continue to describe “the third key issue” (which is mentioned in the previous sentence.) The phrase “the third key issue” is singular, so we need the singular pronoun (it) here.

11. [9] The third key issue, human personality, emphasized aspects of human life that are beyond mental processes. [10] They take a look at emotional, spiritual, and communal elements. [11] Yet, the study of the communal aspect focuses on community and communication, instead of the philosophy of the state.

We are continuing the idea of “communal elements” from the previous sentence. So we need a linking word that shows emphasis or the introduction of a new point. The word “importantly” gives emphasis to the idea, so it is the best answer.

12. [12] Finally, the fourth problem, the unity of the human being, explores the first three areas more full. [13] It asks if that there is any unifying basis for human choice, thought, and personality. [14] In other words, while the human is an inherently complex being, there must be a unity or wholeness which underlies these complications.

The sentence needs an adverbial phrase, so we need to use “more fully” rather than “more full.” Remember that adverbs often end in the -ly suffix. Placing the adverbial phrase (more fully) next to the verb (explores) provides the correct emphasis. This sentence structure is also correct grammatically.

13. [12] Finally, the fourth problem, the unity of the human being, explores the first three areas more full. [13] It asks if that there is any unifying basis for human choice, thought, and personality. [14] In other words, while the human is an inherently complex being, there must be a unity or wholeness which underlies these complications.

We need “whether there is” or “if there is” in this sentence since we are describing the conditions of the inquiry.

14. [12] Finally, the fourth problem, the unity of the human being, explores the first three areas more full. [13] It asks if that there is any unifying basis for human choice, thought, and personality. [14] In other words, while the human is an inherently complex being, there must be a unity or wholeness which underlies these complications.

When you see “or” in a sentence you need to use the singular form (underlies) of the verb. We need to continue to use the present simple tense here. So the sentence is correct as it is written.

[1] The study of the philosophy of human nature is often regarded as an investigation for the meaning of life . [2] This subject deals with four key problem areas:  human choice, human thought, human personality, and the unity of the human being. [3] A consideration of these four problem areas can include scientific also and artistic viewpoints on the nature of human lives.

[4] The first problem area human choice, asks us to confront many questions. [5] Among these is the important inquiry as to whether human beings can really make decisions that can change their futures. [6] However, it investigates to what extent the individual’s future is fixed and pre-determined by cosmic forces outside the control of human beings.

[7] In the second problem area, human thought, epistemology is considering. [8] Epistemology means the study of knowledge, it should not be confused with ontology, the study of being or existence

[9] The third key issue, human personality, emphasized aspects of human life that are beyond mental processes. [10] They take a look at emotional, spiritual, and communal elements. [11] Yet, the study of the communal aspect focuses on community and communication, instead of the philosophy of the state.

[12] Finally, the fourth problem, the unity of the human being, explores the first three areas more full. [13] It asks if that there is any unifying basis for human choice, thought, and personality. [14] In other words, while the human is an inherently complex being, there must be a unity or wholeness which underlies these complications.

The student wants to add a sentence to the second paragraph emphasizing the reasons for the importance of human choice. Which of the following sentences accomplishes this?

Paragraph two talks about whether or not human beings have control over their futures. Accordingly, we need a sentence that links the idea of control to the idea of the future. Sentence E is the only choice that accomplishes this.

More Essay Writing Practice

Instructions: Look at each of the numbered clauses and phrases sentences in the essay writing practice exercise below. If the part of the sentence has an error, identify and correct it. Then check your answers in the next section.

[1] Antarctica is a mysteriously and remote continent [2] one which is often forgotten by virtue of its geographical location. [3] Yet, the Antarctic could even be considered desolate and isolated. [4] Nevertheless, an understanding of the organisms that inhabit this continent was critical [5] to our comprehension of the world as a global community. [6] For this reason, the southernmost continent has the source of a great deal of scientific investigation.

[7] Many notable recent research has come from America and Great Britain. [8] The British Antarctic Survey, sponsored with the Natural Environment Research Council of the United Kingdom, [9] and the United States Antarctic Resource Center, a collaborate of the United States Geological Survey Mapping Division and the National Science Foundation, [10] are forerunners in the burgeoning currently field of research in this area.

[11] This corpus of research has resulted in an abundance of factual data on the Antarctic. [12] For example, one now know that more than ninety nine percent of the land is completely covered by snow and ice, [13] which making Antarctica the coldest continent on the planet. [14] This inhospitable climate, has not surprisingly, brought about the adaptation [15] of a plethora of plants and biological organisms on the continent present.

[16] An investigation for the sedimentary geological formations provides testimony to the process of adaptation. [17] Ancient sediment’s recovered from the bottom of Antarctic lakes, [18] bacteria as well as discovered in ice, [19] has reveal the history of climate change over the past 10,000 years. [20] Hopefully, this important research will continue into the future.

Essay Practice – Answers

• Change the adverb “mysteriously” to the adjective “mysterious”.

2. Remove the word “one” or put a comma after the word “continent”.

3. Remove the word “yet” at the head of the sentence and replace it with an emphatic phrase linker, like “Indeed” or “In fact”.

4. The sentence should be in the present tense since we are talking about the current relevance of the research. Therefore, “was” should be changed to “is”.

5. This phrase does not have an error.

6. Put the word “been” after the word “has”.

7. The word “many” should be changed to “much” since research is a non-countable noun.

8. Change the word “with” to the word ‘by”.

9. We are speaking about organizations (which are nouns), so the word “collaborate” should be changed to “collaboration” to use the noun form.

10. Move the word “currently” and put it after the word “are”.

11. There is no mistake in this sentence.

12. Subject-verb agreement is a problem in this part of the sentence. Change the word “one” to “we”. Alternatively, change “know” to “knows”.

13. Remember to use the present simple tense, so change “making” to “make”.

14. Remove the comma after “climate” and place it after “has” instead.

15. Place the word “present” before the word “on”.

16. There is a problem with the proposition “for”, which should be changed to “into”.

17. This is a question about unnecessary punctuation. Remove the apostrophe in the word “sentiment’s”.

18. Move the words “as well as” in front of the word “bacteria” in order to set up the comparison correctly.

19. Change the word “reveal” to “revealed” in order to correctly form the present perfect tense.

20. This sentence is correct as is is written.

Essay Writing – Practice Your Structure

You may be asked to write an essay as part of your standardized test. The essay may be human-read by an examiner, but many essays nowadays are written on a computer and graded by software.

The six following characteristics of your essay will be assessed:

Focus and purpose

This means that your essay should answer the question that has been posed. You will need to express your main idea in a clear way in the introduction of the essay.

The examiner or software assesses this aspect of your essay by searching for a thesis statement in the first paragraph of your essay, which should clearly indicate what you are going to speak about in the remainder of the essay.

Organization

Your essay should be divided into paragraphs, which have been set out in an organized manner. Each body paragraph should contain a point that supports your main idea. You should also include a conclusion that sums up the essay.

The examiner or software will look for logical paragraph divisions, as well as for linking words and phrases which indicate that a new paragraph is beginning.

Development and support

It is extremely important to elaborate on the main idea of your essay and maintain your point of view throughout your writing. Your essay should include examples and explanations that illustrate and support your viewpoint. Remember that if your essay topic presents a contentious issue, you need to take a stance on only one side, rather than stating both the pro’s and con’s.

Be sure to use linking words and phrases that signal that examples or reasons are being provided in the essay. These linking words and phrases include the following: such as, for example, for this reason, because of.

Sentence construction

You should write long and developed sentences that demonstrate a mastery of the English language.

Use advanced writing strategies like subordination and coordination to improve your writing style.

Avoid repeatedly beginning your sentences in the same way, such as “I think that.”

Remember to use a variety of sentence patterns, using other linking words and phrases like the following: therefore, in addition, furthermore, moreover, in conclusion.

Mechanics refers to the “rules” of English, particularly those of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Your essay should be grammatically accurate and punctuated correctly.

Your spelling should also be correct.

Exercises to Improve your English

Try our free grammar exercises

Look at our essay writing topics

See “General Writing” at Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab)

EnglishForEveryone.org

Writing practice worksheets terms of use, finish the story writing worksheets.

• Beginning Finish the Story - The Snow Day
• Beginning Finish the Story - The Fair
• Beginning Finish the Story - Summer Camp
• Beginning Finish the Story - The Birthday Party
• Beginning Finish the Story - The Halloween Costume
• Beginning Finish the Story - The 4th of July
• Intermediate Finish the Story - The Beach Trip
• Intermediate Finish the Story - The Great Find
• Intermediate Finish the Story - Which Way?
• Intermediate Finish the Story - Finding Muffin
• Intermediate Finish the Story - The Zoo
• Advanced Finish the Story - The Troublemaker

Question Response Writing Worksheets

• Beginning Question Response - Your Favorite Color
• Beginning Question Response - Your Favorite Day
• Beginning Question Response - Your Favorite Number
• Beginning Question Response - In Your Family
• Beginning Question Response - Your Favorite Sport
• Beginning Question Response - Your Favorite Clothes
• Beginning Question Response - Your Favorite Music
• Beginning Question Response - How You Relax
• Beginning Question Response - Lunch Time
• Beginning Question Response - With Your Friends
• Beginning Question Response - Collecting Stamps
• Beginning Question Response - Your Birthplace
• Beginning Question Response - Starting Your Day
• Intermediate Question Response - Your Favorite Food
• Intermediate Question Response - Your Favorite Movie
• Intermediate Question Response - Your Favorite Song
• Intermediate Question Response - TV Programs
• Intermediate Question Response - Your Favorite Time
• Intermediate Question Response - Which Country?
• Intermediate Question Response - The Wisest Person
• Intermediate Question Response - Someone You Admire
• Advanced Question Response - A Great Accomplishment
• Advanced Question Response - The Most Exciting Thing
• Advanced Question Response - Oldest Memory
• Advanced Question Response - The Most Productive Day of the Week
• Advanced Question Response - An Interesting Person
• Advanced Question Response - What Have You Built?
• Advanced Question Response - What You Like to Read

Practical Writing Worksheets

• Beginning Practical - Grocery List
• Beginning Practical - TO Do List
• Beginning Practical - At the Beach
• Beginning Practical - The Newspaper
• Intermediate Practical - Absent From Work
• Intermediate Practical - Your Invitation
• Intermediate Practical - Paycheck
• Intermediate Practical - The New House
• Advanced Practical - Soccer Game Meeting
• Advanced Practical - Note About Dinner
• Advanced Practical - A Problem
• Advanced Practical - A Letter to Your Landlord
• Advanced Practical - A Product

Argumentative Writing Worksheets

• Intermediate Argumentative - Cat, Star, or Book?
• Intermediate Argumentative - Soccer or Basketball?
• Intermediate Argumentative - Giving and Receiving
• Intermediate Argumentative - Does Practice Make Perfect?
• Advanced Argumentative - Five Dollars or a Lottery Ticket?
• Advanced Argumentative - The Most Important Word
• Advanced Argumentative - An Apple
• Advanced Argumentative - Too Many Cooks

Writing Worksheets

• Beginning Writing Worksheet
• Intermediate Writing Worksheet
• Advanced Writing Worksheet

Using Precise Language

• Using Precise Language - An Introduction
• Using Precise Language Practice Quiz

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12 Essential Paragraph and Essay Writing Skills Exercises and Worksheets

Elementary paragraph  and essay writing skills include brainstorming  and outlining, as well as the ability to write attention getters, topic and support sentences.

1 Elementary academic paragraph writing lesson

 This is a bare bones elementary paragraph writing lesson for English language learners that aims to help them understand paragraph types and the components of a paragraph. It is particularly aimed at students who have vocabulary skills but almost no writing skills.  

 Elementary paragraph writing lesson (PDF)

2 Brainstorm worksheet cluster diagram

    This is a  brainstorming and academic essay planning worksheet for students writing essays. The best way to get ideas for  a paragraph or essay is to brainstorm with the  aid of  a graphic organizer. Students can freely associate ideas to a topic. This  allows them to be more creative and explore any path their minds might take.

Brainstorming worksheet cluster diagram (PDF)

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3 Outlining a basic paragraph

This is a paragraph outline worksheet to help students learn how to write a basic paragraph.

Paragraph outline worksheet (PDF)

4 Outlining an essay

This is an essay outline worksheet to help students focus on organization and planning when preparing to write essays.

Essay outline worksheet (PDF)

Related Resources:

6 exercises for writing topic sentences

10 opinion and argument writing worksheets

8 comparison/contrast templates and exercises

10 cause/effect writing activities

3 kinds of exercises for teaching transitions

6 memorable narrative essay writing practice exercises (PDF)

6 delightful descriptive paragraph and essay writing exercises  (PDF)

5 Writing main idea sentences for essays or paragraphs (with possible answers)

In this worksheet students practice writing main idea sentences by looking at the pictures, and writing an appropriate main idea sentence. They should try to express themselves freely.

Main idea writing practice worksheet (PDF)

6 Attention getters (with pictures) for essays

Attention getters are essential at the beginning of a paragraph or an essay when you want to attract the reader’s attention. There are many kinds of attention getters but a few of the most common are anecdotes, quotation, provocative questions and surprising facts or statistics. Students can practice attention getters by looking at the pictures and trying to write an attention getter for each one.

Writing attention getters  (PDF)

7 Attention getters comprehension exercise

This worksheet is a good way to challenge students’ knowledge of different types of attention getters.

8 Kinds of attention getters writing exercise

This is another worksheet that tries to impress upon students the importance of good openings or attention getters.

9 Understanding support sentences

This support sentence writing worksheet can be used to test students’ understanding of both topic and support sentences.

Writing support sentences (PDF)

12 Replies to “Basic Writing Templates, Exercises and Worksheets”

Great material. thanks.

Amazing!!! The exercises are completely helpful to me!!!! Thank a lot!

Amazing , i appreciate. exercises are unbelievably useful. especially that they are free of charge.

Thanks for the comments. Glad the exercises are useful.

Thank you! very useful material

This is a wonderful site. I was wondering if there was an answer sheet for the 6 Understanding Topic Sentences? Thank you for offering this information about writing paragraphs.

So helpful… many thanks.

Thank you so much. You are indeed a great help to many. Blessings

Good creative material

The materials are good and easy to use by my students. With the help of the pictures and graphic, my student can easily understand on how to write and essay. thank you for the creative ,materials,

Some really good material BUT the ADS are so annoying!

This is really useful information and activities for busy teachers. The beauty of it is you can use it at all levels, particularly if your classroom profile is spiky. Keep up the good work.

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My favourite meal.

Look at the text and do the exercises to practise and improve your writing skills.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first. Then do the other exercises.

Preparation

Do this exercise before you start.

Check your understanding: multiple choice

Check your writing: gap fill 1, check your writing: gap fill 2, worksheets and downloads.

What's your favourite meal?

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