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English Guide: Practical Tips for Better English Communication

article thumbnailA rich vocabulary is an important indicator of a person’s command over the English language. That is one of the reasons why we keep offering tips regularly on how to improve your English vocabulary. However, building one’s vocabulary requires sustained effort to discover and add new words that can be used effectively in your communication. The process of enriching one’s vocabulary can be simplified into 4 key steps: read a lot of good English...
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article thumbnailIf you are planning to study, work or even immigrate to any western country (Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, UK – to name a few), you will most likely be required to get a good IELTS score to get the requisite entry visa. Typically, this means that you should get a score of band 7 or higher to maximise the chances of getting the visa approval. The IELTS score contributes significant points to the points-system used by many countries for...
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article thumbnailWhen it comes to learning spoken English, many people often mistake the purpose of the learning. They tend to think that acquiring English speaking skills is about speaking with a British or American accent. They couldn’t be farther from truth. The true purpose should be to learn to speak English correctly, fluently, confidently and in manner that the listener understands the communication without much difficulty.      Too much emphasis is laid on...
article thumbnail  In a recent article, we wrote about the difference between improve and improvise and how to use these two similar terms appropriately. Continuing this series on using similar-sounding English words correctly, let us consider the use of the words “affect” and “effect”.  Both terms  mean “impact” or “result” of something, but their usage  varies depending on the context in which they are being used.     Affect The word “affect” is generally used in the...
article thumbnailEnglish language has plenty of words that seem very similar but mean very different. It is quite easy to ignore the subtle difference in the words themselves and consider them to mean the same thing. This results in incorrect usage of the words when writing or speaking in English, which may confuse the listener or create a negative impression about your English Communication skills. Let’s focus on two words, improve and improvise; the former is a...
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article thumbnailGood teamwork is essential not only for the growth of any organisation but also for the personal growth of individuals in the organisation. An essential component of achieving good team bonding is when team members express positive thoughts about fellow team members to them directly.  Sincere compliments and praise go a long way in making a person feel good and feel motivated to perform better for the team and the organisation.     There are a...
article thumbnailAt the outset, let us state that we hope you never have to apply for a compassionate leave. However, the reality is that most of us, at some stage of our life, end up having to request for such leaves. This article is written to specifically help you in case of such an eventuality.     Before we get into the mechanics of applying for compassionate leave, let us first understand what is compassionate leave. It is leave granted to an employee upon...

How to Best Describe a Place?

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"Easy reading is damn hard writing." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Ever read a novel, where the author used a descriptive writing technique in such a way that you could actually visualize the place in HD (high-definition)? Descriptive writing is an art and to excel in it,  you need a whole lot of imagination and a good vocabulary to support you.

How to be fluent in English language?


Since, it's vacation time, many of our students, who have enrolled for improving English programs, are approach us with the request to learn descriptive writing. Don't we all like to describe our place of holiday at length. Let me tell you a secret, I have written travel blogs for ages, and with each travel escapade I try and improve my descriptive writing. So, what is it that you should learn as part of your spoken English program in order to improve your English writing skills.

What is descriptive writing?

It is a kind of writing that facilitates readers to draw images in their mind or visualize exactly what the writer is describing. It is like making the reader travel to that place and be there in that moment. If you are a novel reader, which you should be as it is integral part of learning English, you would know exactly what I mean.

Have you read Mitch Albom's "The Five People You Meet in Heaven"? It is one of the best examples of descriptive writing. All your five senses are engaged when you read - sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. The detailing, the use of words, the objects, places and people, everything is just described to the T.

Example of descriptive writing

You recently holidayed at a place and want to describe it to your friends or perhaps write a blog. How do you go about it? Learn English vocabulary by reading books and newspapers.

One of the famous descriptive writers is Charles Dickens.
Let us look at how best he describes a situation/place/event.

"I came into the valley, as the evening sun was shining on the remote heights of snow, that closed it in, like eternal clouds. The bases of the mountains forming the gorge in which the little village lay, were richly green; and high above this gentler vegetation, grew forests of dark fir, cleaving the wintry snow-drift, wedge-like, and stemming the avalanche. Above these, were range upon range of craggy steeps, grey rock, bright ice, and smooth verdure-specks of pasture, all gradually blending with the crowning snow. Dotted here and there on the mountain's-side, each tiny dot a home, were lonely wooden cottages, so dwarfed by the towering heights that they appeared too small for toys. So did even the clustered village in the valley, with its wooden bridge across the stream, where the stream tumbled over broken rocks, and roared away among the trees. In the quiet air, there was a sound of distant singing—shepherd voices; but, as one bright evening cloud floated midway along the mountain's-side, I could almost have believed it came from there, and was not earthly music. All at once, in this serenity, great Nature spoke to me; and soothed me to lay down my weary head upon the grass ..."— David Copperfield

Rules for Descriptive Writing

The whole scene came to life in front of you. Didn't it? That is the specialty of Charles Dickens' writing style, through his words he can narrate the feel of the place. We shall look at more tips and examples to help you become a pro at descriptive writing. Stay tuned and till then practice describing a place you just visited! Hope these pointers will help you!

Your how to improve English exercise for today?


"Describe the scene in this image."

Describe the scene

About eAgeTutoring:


eAgeTutor.com is the premier online tutoring provider. eAge's world class faculty and ace communication experts from around the globe help you to improve in an all round manner. The assignments and tasks, based on a well researched content developed by subject matter and industry experts, can certainly fetch the most desired results for improving spoken English skills. Overcoming limitation is just a click away in this age of effective and advance communication technology. For further information on online English speaking course or to experience the wonders of the virtual classroom, fix a demonstration session with our tutor.

For further information on our online English speaking course, please visit www.eagetutor.com.


- By Shailja Varma

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