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Want to improve your writing skills? Our free online tool helps you to practise your writing and get valuable feedback instantly. Write & Improve is simple to use: just choose a task, write or upload a written response and use the feedback to quickly improve.

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100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

by Joe Bunting | 50 comments

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 Nine 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.

Work with Joe Bunting?

WSJ Bestselling author, founder of The Write Practice, and book coach with 14+ years experience. Joe Bunting specializes in working with Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, How To, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, and Self Help books. Sound like a good fit for you?

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 whole purpose of writing tools is to make monotonous, tedious, and routine tasks obsolete.

Why do the same thing over and over again when you can easily automate the whole process, giving you tons of free time, less stress, and notably better results? After all, it’s not like you’re learning anything new by doing the same time-consuming tasks!

Writing tools allow students to spend their time focusing on things that really matter.

Hours Upon Hours of Saved Time

Have you ever thought to yourself that you could’ve done so much more if it weren’t for a certain writing assignment and all the many subtasks required to complete it?

With the help of writing tools, these thoughts will be gone forever. You’ll be able to:

• Spend more time on your hobby or other things you love
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• Find a part-time job

And that’s just to name a few things! The actual possibilities are endless.

Significantly Less Stress

Writing assignments tend to pile up, along with many other tasks. And unfortunately there’s no way to add more hours to the day to complete everything on time.

An approaching deadline brings nothing but stress, resulting in even lower productivity, which can make your mental state even worse. Not to mention the feeling of failure after receiving a bad grade.

With the help of writing tools, this nightmare is easy to avoid. You’ll be able to deal with all your routines more effectively and even meet multiple deadlines at once.

Improved Academic Performance

Needless to say, no matter how much time you’ve devoted to completing your writing assignment, if it contains mistakes — you won’t receive the grade you were hoping for.

With writing tools, mistakes are simply impossible. You’re completely covered: you can check your grammar, see if there’s any plagiarism in your text, create a summary, generate a topic and thesis statement, and so much more.

Long story short—these writing tools are here to make your academic life easier and your studying smarter. It’s worthwhile to try them at least once. After seeing the results, you’ll surely come back for more!

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Quill Reading for Evidence

Provide your students with nonfiction texts paired with AI-powered writing prompts, instead of multiple-choice questions, to enable deeper thinking.

Students read a nonfiction text and build their comprehension through writing prompts, supporting a series of claims with evidence sourced from the text. Quill challenges students to write responses that are precise, logical, and based on textual evidence, with Quill coaching the student through custom, targeted feedback on each revision so that students strengthen their reading comprehension and hone their writing skills.

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The Quill Lessons tool enables teachers to lead whole-class and small-group writing instruction.

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Quickly determine which skills your students need to work on with our diagnostics.

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Proofreader teaches your students editing skills by having them proofread passages.

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15 Online Resources That Help Improve Essay-Writing Skills

• By Julie Petersen

Throughout the journey from kindergarten to 12th grade, students are supposed to gain appropriate vocabulary and grammar skills that need to be successfully implemented into essay writing. Here are some effective online tools that can help you make the art of essay writing more attractive for your students.

1.  ReadWriteThink – Student Interactives

This page is a great source of interactive tools that help students accomplish various goals, from organizing their thoughts to learning about different aspects of the English language. Some of the most popular tools for grades K-12 include Story Map, Persuasion Map, Word Family Sort, Acrostic Poems, Trading Card Generator and Comic Creator. You can choose different tools based on the grade level, capabilities, student interactive type, theme, and learning objective. 

2.  Interactive Sites for Education

This website serves as a resourceful guide to English language arts topics. You can find educational, interactive games and simulations for grades K-5 in the categories of grammar, compound words, capitalization, phonemes and words, punctuation, poetry, reading and sight words, parts of speech, writing and rhyming. These activities work well with an interactive whiteboard. However, you can also recommend them for individual learning at home. 

3.  Graphic Organizers

Young students can hardly manage all the ideas they get if you leave them in front of a piece of paper and saying they should write an essay right away. The process requires pre-writing stages, where these graphic organizers will be of great help. Your students can use them as a way of putting their ideas and notes in order. Then, the actual writing stage will be much more focused. 

4.  Teach the Children Well – Language Arts

This website may not be that appealing in terms of design, but it’s a great base of resources that will help you become a better teacher. This is actually a collection of awesome articles related to writing. Every educator should spend time examining these resources as they progress through different teaching methods.

5.  Free Writing Resources

Time4Writing.com is mostly known for the eight-week online writing courses it offers. However, the website is also a great source of free resources in seven categories: teaching writing, writing skills, writing sentences, writing paragraphs, writing mechanics, writing essays and standardized-test writing.

6.  Guide to Grammar and Writing

This website offers comprehensive lessons on all aspects of English grammar and writing. You will easily locate all materials you need in the Index, which includes links to all resources of the Guide to Grammar and Writing, as well as Principles of Composition. This online source is like the grammar textbook you always wished to have. Now you can use it to make the lectures more accessible for your students.

7.  [Resource Removed by Editor]

This was a writing resource but has since morphed into an essay purchasing service, which THE Journal does not support or advocate.

8.  Essay Punch

Essay Punch is an interactive, online, essay-writing tutorial that takes students through all stages of the academic writing process. The guidance it offers is based on pre-set writing prompts and interactive exercises for the pre-writing, organizing, writing, editing and publishing stages.

9.  Teen Ink

This well-established magazine publishes high-quality essays and other written forms created by students. The categories at the website include nonfiction, poetry and fiction. There is no need to subscribe to the monthly print magazine; all you need to do is recommend the website as a source of inspiration. You can select some of the featured essays and read them in class in order to show great samples of academic content.

Your students will love this tool! Since they are always struggling to come up with a believable thesis statement, you can recommend the Thesis Builder, an automatic engine that launches a statement based upon the topic, opinions and supporting arguments the users provide in the form. Once they get the thesis, your students can proceed with the creation of an outline without looking for another online tool.

12.  Hemingway Editor

There is a rule about long, complex sentences: You can only use them if you know how. K-12 students rarely manage to handle complex sentence structure, but they still want to impress you with big words and endless arguments. When you want to emphasize the importance of clarity, use Hemingway as an example. This tool will highlight the common errors and long sentences that need corrections.

This tool tests the readability of a piece of writing according to a set of commonly used indicators. You can recommend it to your students as an editing aid that will help them improve the readability of their work before they submit it to you.

When you assign a specific word count for a piece of writing, you want your students to respect it. This tool will help them achieve that goal. It will not only provide them with a correct number of words in their essays, but will also enable them to locate repetitive words and phrases.

Referencing is certainly not the most exciting part of any writing assignment. Nevertheless, you cannot simply neglect all those details and citation rules. This tool provides instant citations in Chicago, Turabian, APA and MLA styles. Upon entering the appropriate parameters, the students get a properly formatted reference without any fuss.

About the Author

Julie Petersen is a tutor and a blogger who features the latest career and educational trends in her articles. She is working on her first e-book dedicated to online learning.

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English Typing Test Paragraphs

Stimulate your mind as you test your typing speed with this standard English paragraph typing test. Watch your typing speed and accuracy increase as you learn about a variety of new topics! Over 40 typing test selections available.

If you don't like a test prompt, you can get a different (random) prompt with the "change test" button - or select a specific paragraph to type from the list below. To find out how fast you type, just start typing in the blank textbox on the right of the test prompt. You will see your progress, including errors on the left side as you type. In order to complete the test and save your score, you need to get 100% accuracy. You can fix errors as you go, or correct them at the end with the help of the spell checker.

Personalized Feedback

This feedback graph will follow you from page to page for your typing session. You can see more details by mousing over the graph. The session is reset when the tab on your browser is closed.

Type this... CHANGE TEST

Test begins when you start typing..., check your wpm typing speed here.

To find out how fast you type, just start typing in the blank textbox on the right of the test prompt. You will see your progress, including errors on the left side as you type.

You can fix errors as you go, or correct them at the end with the help of the spell checker. If you need to restart the test, delete the text in the text box. Interactive feedback shows you your current wpm and accuracy.

In order to complete the test and share your results, you need to get 100% accuracy. You can review your progress for this session with the feedback chart. Just hover over a dot to see what your average speed and accruacy are for that key.

Letter Drills

A | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z.

Select a Specific Typing Test:

Click on a topic to use it as your test prompt. Selections are ranked according to difficulty from '*' (easiest typing tests) to '*****' (most challenging typing tests). For more details, check the difficulty key at the bottom of the page.

Short typing tests for beginners: (1 - 3 minute typing test at < 30 wpm)

• Virtual Assistant (38.4 words) ****
• Slash: / Choosing Between Options (46 words) ***
• Confidentiality: Protecting Sensitive Information (43.8 words) ****
• Utilizing Technology to Your Advantage (47.4 words) ****
• Closed Captions (56.2 words) **
• Teachers (70.2 words) ****
• Business Casual (74 words) ***
• Paralegals (76.4 words) *
• Web Designers (77 words) ***
• Medical Transcription (82.6 words) ***
• Thumbing (83 words) ***
• Engineers (84.4 words) ****
• Translation (88 words) ***
• Stay Ahead of the Curve (50.8 words) ****
• Data Entry Accuracy (50.2 words) ***
• Boost Your Typing Speed (53.4 words) ****
• Quotation Marks: Capturing Words Directly (65.4 words) ***
• The Question Mark: Inquisitive and Curious? (56.6 words) ***
• Parentheses: A Whisper in the Reader's Ear (69.8 words) ****
• Email Etiquette (51.8 words) ****
• Making a Professional Impression (51.2 words) ****
• Proofreading Tips (56.8 words) ***
• The Hyphen: Connecting Words and Ideas (56.8 words) ***
• Brackets: [Adding Clarification and Context] (56.2 words) ****
• Your Workstation Setup Matters (59.6 words) ***
• The Apostrophe: Possession, Contraction, and More (59.4 words) ****
• The Ellipsis: ...And the Story Continues (62.4 words) **
• The Period: A Full Stop, A Moment of Pause. (61.8 words) ***
• Capture Information Efficiently (65.2 words) ***
• Business Writing Essentials for Administrative Professionals (75.8 words) ****
• Filing Systems for the Modern Office (82.6 words) ****
• The Key to Productivity (89.4 words) ****
• The Exclamation Point: Expressing Excitement and Urgency! (68 words) ****
• The Dash -- An Em Dash of Drama and Parentheses' Subtle Whisper (78.8 words) ***
• Owning Your Role in the Team's Success (87.2 words) ***
• The 10-Minute Pitch (80.8 words) ***
• The 30-Day Challenge (81.8 words) ***
• The 3-Month Internship (84 words) ***
• The $20 Bill (72 words) **

Intermediate typing tests: (3-6 minutes at 40 wpm)

• Proofreaders (90 words) **
• Typing Styles (91.8 words) ***
• Typing Tips for Efficiency and Accuracy (110.6 words) ***
• Careers for Skilled Typists (104.8 words) ****
• Embrace Your Uniqueness (110.4 words) ***
• Stepping Stones to Growth (94.6 words) ***
• Cultivate a Positive Mindset (101.8 words) ***
• Learn from Failure (101.6 words) ***
• Your Personal Cheerleading Squad (113 words) ***
• Set Inspiring Goals (115.2 words) ***
• Celebrate Your Achievements (110.6 words) ***
• Nurturing Your Mind, Body, and Spirit (105.2 words) ***
• The Ripple Effect of Positivity (112.2 words) ***
• The Power of Perseverance (114.4 words) ***
• The Power of Collaboration (154 words) ****
• The Foundation of Effective Teamwork (114 words) ***
• Communication: The Lifeline of Collaboration (123 words) ****
• Diversity: The Spice of Collaboration (114.2 words) ****
• Guiding the Team Towards Success (103 words) ****
• Adapting to Change and Overcoming Challenge (101.8 words) ***
• Celebrating Success (97.4 words) ****
• Turning Challenges into Opportunities (103.2 words) ****
• The Joy of Teamwork (112.6 words) ***
• Embracing a Growth Mindset (121 words) ***
• Prioritizing Self-Care for Optimal Performance (116.4 words) ****
• Utilizing Available Resources and Support Systems (117.2 words) ***
• Strategies for Maximizing Learning (123.2 words) ***
• Bouncing Back from Setbacks and Challenges (127 words) ***
• Active Learning Strategies (132.4 words) ****
• Effective Time Management (161.2 words) ****
• The Power of Goal Setting (156.8 words) ***
• The Importance of Budgeting (166.6 words) ***
• Building Wealth Over Time (167.4 words) ***
• The Debt Dilemma (181.8 words) ***
• The $5 Investment (98.4 words) ***
• The Coffee Shop Turnaround (107.2 words) ***
• The Unexpected Partnership (116 words) ****
• The Rise of the Eco-Friendly Startup (159.2 words) ****
• The 5-Year Plan (129.4 words) ***
• The 100th Customer (145.8 words) ***
• The 5-Year Career Pivot (137.6 words) ***
• The 10-Year Journey to the C-Suite (119.6 words) ***
• The 20-Year Transformation of a Company (174 words) ****
• The 30-Year Legacy of a Mentorship Program (199.6 words) ****
• The 1% Raise (100 words) ***
• The $50,000 Inheritance (120.6 words) ***
• The 5-Year Savings Goal (132.8 words) ***
• Typing Speed in WPM (100.4 words) ***
• Keyboard Shortcuts (104 words) *
• Buffer Method of Typing (105 words) **
• Transcription Service (107.4 words) ***
• Data Entry Clerks (112.4 words) **
• Hunt and Peck (128.2 words) **
• Touch Type (132.2 words) **
• Sales Methodologies (135.4 words) ***
• Invention of Touch Typing (147.4 words) ***
• Typing Speed Records (166.8 words) ****
• Comparing Typing Speed and Methods (169.2 words) ***
• Pharmacists (172.4 words) ***
• Editing (175.2 words) ***
• History of Flight (175.4 words) ****
• HR Management (177.4 words) ****
• Transcription Services (187.4 words) ****
• Motivation (192.4 words) ***
• Freelancers (194.6 words) ***
• Average Typing Speeds (195.2 words) ****

Hard typing tests for advanced typists: (over 4 minutes at 60+ wpm)

• The Future of Administrative Work (232.6 words) ****
• Understanding the Stock Market (332 words) ***
• The Legacy of the Family Business (224 words) ***
• The 10-Year Reunion (236.2 words) ***
• The $1 Million Business Deal (202.4 words) ***
• The Art of Transcription: Transforming Audio into Text (247.2 words) ****
• Word Processors (203.8 words) ***
• Class Reunion Report (211 words) ***
• Financial Reporting (221.2 words) *****
• Biking Story (233.6 words) *
• Event Description (233.8 words) *
• New York Stock Exchange (234.6 words) **
• Career Choice Article (236.6 words) *
• Self Confidence Article (244.8 words) ***
• FDA Article (246.8 words) ***
• Competitive Typing (250.4 words) ***
• Academic Success Article (256.6 words) **
• Typing as a Life Skill: Beyond the Workplace (219.8 words) ***
• Effective Communication in the Workplace: More Than Just Words (275.2 words) ****
• The Evolution of Typing: From Typewriters to Touchscreens (275.8 words) ***
• Emotions Article (272.8 words) **
• MBA Article (276 words) ****

If you have a topic that you would like to see added to the list above, please feel free to contact us with your suggestion for a new paragraph typing test.

Typing Test Difficulty Levels

Our typing tests are ranked on level of difficulty. The algorithm to calculate difficulty depends on the average word length and how many special characters like capitals, numbers and symbols are included in the text. Most standard pre-employment typing tests will be in the normal range. You should expect to get higher wpm scores on easier tests and lower wpm scores on the more difficult tests.

• * Very Easy Typing Test
• ** Easy Typing Test
• *** Normal Typing Test
• **** Difficult Typing Test
• ***** Very Difficult Typing Test

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Archive for the ‘Essay Writing’ Category

General essay writing strategies.

November 24th, 2013 in Essay Writing

Most standardized English tests include writing tasks. For example, the TOEFL writing section has two tasks. It takes about 50 minutes. The IELTS writing section, too, includes two tasks. It takes about 60 minutes.

Here are a few tips for success on the Writing section.

Organize your thoughts first

Do not start writing as soon the section begins. Instead, use one or two minutes for organizing your ideas. This is very important, because few people are capable of organizing their thoughts in their mind as they write. As a result they will have to edit more.

By organizing your ideas in the beginning itself, you will get an outline for your essay. Once you have got the outline ready, you only need to develop the ideas into paragraphs. However, do not spend more than 2 or 3 minutes on an outline. Remember that you will not get any marks for the outline.

Use familiar vocabulary

Some students try to impress the examiner with complex vocabulary. You must not try this stunt if you are not familiar with these words. Of course, you have to use academic words in your essay. However, they needn’t necessarily be obscure.

Instead use the vocabulary you would normally use. During the preparation stage itself try to incorporate new words into your writing. Make it a habit so that you learn their correct usage. You can then use these words while writing your TOEFL essays. However, avoid the temptation to use unfamiliar words on the actual TOEFL test. Remember that to add variety and sophistication to your writing you don’t have to use long, obscure words.

Use precise vocabulary

Most ideas can be expressed using more common words. You must still make a conscious effort to use precise vocabulary. For example, some English words are used to express a large number of ideas. A common example is the word ‘get’. It can be used to express ideas such as ‘acquire’, ‘catch, ‘earn’, ‘coax’, ‘become’, ‘score’ and so on.

While writing an academic essay, avoid words like get and good . The same idea can be expressed using more sophisticated words.

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The professional proofreader

Upload your entire document first. Choose the pages you want proofread, the extra services you want to use, and the deadline. Then fill in some key details like your field of study so that we can find you the best proofreader. When you’re done, you pay for your order, and we make sure that your writing is checked by a proofreader. You’ll be contacted when the job is done!

Who should use this proofreader?

Avoid a bad grade and hand in your documents with absolute confidence.

Businesspeople

Look like a pro by writing error-free emails, reports, and more.

Ensure your work is clear and readable to increase the chance that it’ll get published.

Want your whole document checked and corrected in a matter of minutes?

Would you like to upload your entire document and check all your documents for 100+ language issues? Then Scribbr’s AI-powered proofreading is perfect for you.

With AI-powered proofreading, you can correct your text in no time.

• Upload document
• Wait briefly while all errors are corrected directly in your document
• Correct errors with one click

Proofread my document

Fantastic service!!

“Excellent review of a paper that was deciding my grade. I appreciate both the edits and the feedback to increase my knowledge of correct APA formatting and accurate citations. I needed the paper returned quickly, and the team worked hard to make sure I had what I needed. I just got my grade back, A+. I would 100% use this service again, it was worth every penny!!!!!!”

A proofreader for everyone

Don’t let typos and grammar keep you down. Make your writing count

Ask our team.

Want to contact us directly? No problem.  We  are always here for you.

• Email [email protected]
• Start live chat
• Call +1 (510) 822-8066
• WhatsApp +31 20 261 6040

Frequently asked questions

Our support team is here to help you daily via chat, WhatsApp, email, or phone between 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. CET.

Yes! Our personal statement editors can help you reduce your word count by up to 25%. You can choose to receive this feedback through direct edits or suggestions in comments – just select your choice when you upload your personal statement.

Our APA experts default to APA 7 for editing and formatting. For the Citation Editing Service you are able to choose between APA 6 and 7.

It is not necessary to reserve a time slot for your edit. As soon as your document is ready to be proofread, you can upload it at any time via our website . Based on your chosen deadline, our editor(s) will then proofread your document within 24 hours, 3 days, or 7 days.

If you are unsure about the availability of our services or are planning to upload a very large document (>13,000 words) with a 24 hour deadline, we recommend that you contact us beforehand via chat or email .

Scribbr is following the guidelines announced by the WHO (World Health Organization). As an online platform, all our services remain available, and we will continue to help students as usual.

Can I still place an order? Will my order be completed within the deadline? Yes, you can still place orders and orders will be delivered within the agreed upon deadline. Scribbr is an online platform – our proofreading & editing services are provided by editors working remotely from all over the world. This means Scribbr can guarantee that we will process your order with the same diligence and professionalism as always. The same holds true for our Plagiarism Checker .

Can I still contact customer support? Yes. Our support team is available from 09.00 to 23.00 CET and happy to answer any questions you might have!

Yes, if your document is longer than 20,000 words, you will get a sample of approximately 2,000 words. This sample edit gives you a first impression of the editor’s editing style and a chance to ask questions and give feedback.

How does the sample edit work?

You will receive the sample edit within 12 hours after placing your order. You then have 24 hours to let us know if you’re happy with the sample or if there’s something you would like the editor to do differently.

Read more about how the sample edit works

When you upload a large document (20,000+ words), we will ask your editor to send a sample edit of approximately 2,000 words as soon as possible. This sample edit gives you a first impression of your editor’s editing style and what you can expect from the service. You will receive it within 12 hours after uploading your order.

Why do we provide you with a sample edit?

We always aim to make you 100% happy, and Proofreading & Editing is a complex service. We want to make sure that our editing style meets your expectations before the editor improves your entire document.

Our editors are trained to follow Scribbr’s academic style . However, your preferences might deviate from our conventions. The sample edit gives you the chance to provide feedback – you can let us know if you’re happy with the sample or if there’s something you would like the editor to do differently.

Once your editor has completed your sample edit, you will receive a notification via email. You have 24 hours to reply to this email and provide us with feedback. If we receive your feedback in time, your editor will go the extra mile and adjust the edit according to your input.

What sort of feedback can you give?

Give us feedback that will help your editor meet your requirements. For example:

• “I am completely happy. The editor can continue editing like this.”
• “I forgot to mention that my school has the following rules for gendered pronouns.”
• “The editor changed the spelling of a technical term, but my professor spells it differently. Please keep the original spelling of this term.”

The  Structure  and Clarity Check can only be purchased in conjunction with Proofreading & Editing . Providing feedback on structure and clarity requires extensive knowledge of the text, which the editor acquires while proofreading and editing your text.

However, our Paper Formatting Service,   Citation Editing Service and Plagiarism Checker can be purchased separately.

Yes, Scribbr will proofread the summary in another language as well.

Who will proofread my summary?

If your document contains a summary in a different language, we will send this part to another editor who is a native speaker of that language. The editor will check your summary, applying our standard Proofreading & Editing service.

If you ordered any additional services, such as the Structure Check or Clarity Check, the editor will not apply them to your summary. This is because the summary is a translation of your abstract – you already receive Structure and Clarity feedback on the text in the original language. Therefore, when proofreading your summary, the editor will focus on making sure your language and style is correct.

How does it work?

We will create a new assignment within your order and send you a confirmation email. This also means that you will receive a separate email/SMS notification from us when the editor has finished proofreading your summary. Once your summary is proofread, you can download it via your Scribbr account and read the editor’s feedback.

Yes, we can provide a certificate of proofreading.

As soon as the editor delivers the edit, you can email us at [email protected] to request a certificate.

Please indicate the following in your email:

• Your order number
• Your full name
• The title of your work

We will create a PDF certificate and email it to you as soon as possible.

Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents . We proofread:

• PhD dissertations
• Research proposals
• Personal statements
• Admission essays
• Motivation letters
• Reflection papers
• Journal articles
• Capstone projects

Yes, when you accept all changes and delete all comments your document is ready to be handed in.

How to accept all changes:

• Word for Mac 2011

How to remove all comments:

When you’ve finished this, others will no longer be able to see the changes made by the editor.

• Read your last version one last time to make sure everything is the way you want it.
• Save your document as a .pdf file to come across more professional and to ensure the format of your document doesn’t change.

Yes, in the order process you can indicate your preference for American, British, or Australian English .

If you don’t choose one, your editor will follow the style of English you currently use. If your editor has any questions about this, we will contact you.

Yes, you can upload your thesis in sections.

We try our best to ensure that the same editor checks all the different sections of your thesis. When you upload a new file, our system recognizes you as a returning customer, and we immediately contact the editor who helped you before.

However, we cannot guarantee that the same editor will be available. Your chances are higher if

• You send us your text as soon as possible and
• You can be flexible about the deadline.

Please note that the shorter your deadline is, the bigger the risk that your previous editor is not available.

If your previous editor isn’t available, then we will inform you immediately and look for another qualified editor. Fear not! Every Scribbr editor follows the  Scribbr Improvement Model  and will deliver high-quality work.

However, every editor has a slightly different editing style, so you may notice small inconsistencies in editing choices. As with every proofreading order, be sure to carefully review your editor’s changes and suggestions as you finalize your text to ensure that everything is as you want it.

The fastest turnaround time is 12 hours.

You can upload your document at any time and choose between four deadlines:

At Scribbr, we promise to make every customer 100% happy with the service we offer. Our philosophy: Your complaint is always justified – no denial, no doubts.

Our customer support team is here to find the solution that helps you the most, whether that’s a free new edit or a refund for the service.

Every Scribbr order comes with our award-winning Proofreading & Editing service , which combines two important stages of the revision process.

For a more comprehensive edit, you can add a Structure Check or Clarity Check to your order. With these building blocks, you can customize the kind of feedback you receive.

You might be familiar with a different set of editing terms. To help you understand what you can expect at Scribbr, we created this table:

View an example

Scribbr not only specializes in proofreading and editing texts in English , but also in several other languages . This way, we help out students from all over the world.

As a global academic writing proofreading service, we work with professional editors  – all native speakers – who edit in the following languages :

This way, you can also have your academic writing proofread and edited in your second language!

Please note that we do not offer Finnish proofreading, but students can still upload English papers on scribbr.fi .

Yes, regardless of the deadline you choose, our editors can proofread your document during weekends and holidays.

Example: If you select the 12-hour service on Saturday, you will receive your edited document back within 12 hours on Sunday.

The footnotes are not automatically included in the word count.

If you want the language errors in your footnotes to be corrected by the editor, you can indicate this in step 3 of the upload process . The words in the footnotes are then automatically added to the total word count.

Need help with your references?

• If you use the APA reference style, you can use our free APA Citation Generator or the articles about APA in our Knowledge Base.
• If you’d like us to check your references for consistency, you can use our Citation Editing Service .

To keep our prices competitive, we do not offer a free trial edit. However, if your document is longer than 30,000 words, we are happy to provide you with a sample edit of 2,000 words to ensure you are satisfied with the editor’s editing style.

Rest assured, our customers are very satisfied with our proofreading services. We’re proud that they have rated us with an excellent 4.6 on Trustpilot. In the unlikely event that you have a less positive experience, we’ll solve that with our 100% happiness guarantee !

After your thesis has been edited , you will receive an email with a link to download the edited document.

The editor has made changes to your document using ‘ Track Changes ’ in Word.  This means that you only have to accept or ignore the changes that are made in the text one by one.

It is also possible to accept all changes at once. However, we strongly advise you not to do so for the following reasons:

• You can learn much by looking at what mistakes you have made.
• The editors do not only change the text, they also place comments when sentences or sometimes even entire paragraphs are unclear. We therefore advise you to read through these comments and take into account your editor’s tips and suggestions.
• Because of the many changes, sometimes there may be double spaces, double periods, or other minor mistakes in a sentence. Checking the changes one by one, you can easily detect these minor errors.

We have written a manual in which we explain step by step how ‘Track Changes’ works.

Check out an example

Our editors are very experienced and will do their utmost to correct all errors in your thesis .

However, with our current rates, an editor can only check your thesis once. This may cause an editor to overlook an error. We can therefore not guarantee that your thesis is 100% error free after you have had your thesis edited.

The editor uses ‘Track Changes’ in Word when editing your thesis.

Don’t know how this works? Then read the following guide  in which we explain step by step how ‘Track Changes’ works.

No, we do not provide you with a clean copy. You will always receive a file edited with tracked changes .

We do this for two main reasons:

• In most papers, there are sentences that the editor cannot edit without additional information from the author. In these cases, your editor will provide guidance but leave you to implement the feedback. If we were to simply accept the changes for you, then these issues would be left unaddressed.
• We believe students should be accountable for their work. Our editors can correct language errors and coach you to be a better writer. However, the end product belongs to you and should reflect your ideas and decisions.

All Scribbr editors are language experts with interests in different subject areas.

You can indicate your field of study when you upload your document . We’ll make sure that the editor who proofreads your work is familiar with your discipline and its specialist vocabulary.

These are the fields of study you can choose from, and examples of the main subjects in each field:

• Business and Management: Business Administration, Hotel Management, Accountancy, Marketing
• Economics: Business Economics, Econometrics, Finance
• IT and Engineering: ICT, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Applied Mathematics, Civil Engineering, Industrial Design, Electrical Engineering
• Natural and Life Sciences: Biomedical Sciences, Biology, Chemistry
• Geography, Agriculture and Environment: Ecology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Studies, Urban Planning
• Health and Medical Sciences: Medicine, Obstetrics, Pharmacy, Nutrition, Dentistry
• Arts and Humanities: Philosophy, History, Literature, Cultural Studies, Theology
• Law and Policy: Law, Political Science, Public Policy, Human Rights
• Social and Behavioral Sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication Sciences

Editors don’t have to be experts in the content of your paper, but they do know how to present it in the best way possible! Our goal is to improve your writing and give you feedback on the readability, structure, logic, and clarity of your text. We know from experience that the most effective editors are specialists in language and academic writing.

We’ve carefully selected and trained all of our editors to proofread theses and other academic documents. Once they’re qualified, we continue to carefully monitor their work to make sure we always deliver the highest quality .

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