At Plain English, you can learn how to use new English expressions and tools by listening to an audio lesson, reading a definition, or watching a video.
You may be able to answer quiz questions about the expression. But are you prepared to use it in the real world? To help you with that, you can write your own sentences using what you learned and get personal, human feedback on your writing.
This is an excellent way to make sure you feel prepared to expand your vocabulary and put your learning into practice in the real world.
✅ Writing practice & personal feedback is available at the Plus+ level.
How it works
When you learn something new in Plain English, you have the opportunity to write a sentence using what you learned. Within approximately 24-48 hours, you will receive a reply to your sentence with feedback on how to improve.
This feature is available in:
Where to find it
On every Expressions page and Casual Dictionary page, look for the tab in the Learn section called "Practice Writing":
(In the Toolkit Workshops, it's called "Your Turn.")
What to do
In the comment box, write an example sentence using the topic of the lesson. For example, in the lesson about "made of," you might write, "Her necklace is made of silver."
Then press the blue button that says "Post comment."
What happens next
You'll receive a reply within about 24-48 hours. The reply will be posted on the page so that you and other members can review the reply and benefit from the feedback. You will also get an e-mail notification including the response.
Here are a few more things to know about the process:
You may write more than one example. Many members write two or three examples to make sure they understand what they've learned. You'll get feedback on each one.
You may reply to any feedback asking follow-up questions. If you choose, you can re-write the sentence or write another one, though this is not required or expected.
You may write as much as you like, but we'll focus your feedback on the contents of the lesson. (If you write a long paragraph, we may not be able to offer feedback on your entire paragraph. Instead, we'll offer feedback on the topic of the lesson and perhaps one or two other pointers.)
Jeff and JR choose the two or three best sentences of the week to highlight in the Sunday Update email to all Plus+ members. Watch that email to see if yours was a winner!
Popular questions
Here are answers to some popular questions about the writing practice:
Who can see what I write?
The comments and responses are open for anyone with a Plain English Plus+ membership or a free trial membership to see. They are not open to the general public and they do not appear in any search engine results. (Here's how your name will appear.)
Why aren't they private?
We want everyone to enjoy the benefit of trial-and-error and the learning process of our members. You can review and learn from the feedback others have received.
Can I change my user name?
The name that appears by your comment is the name you used at registration. If you are uncomfortable with how your name appears, send us a note and we'll be happy to change it. (The most common change is to show first names only.)
I made a mistake. What can I do?
If you accidentally make a mistake in your submission, you can change it for approximately the next one hour. Move your mouse to the bottom-right hand corner of the comment until you see a gear icon appear. Click on the icon and then click "Edit":
If you cannot edit the comment and you want to remove it, just send us a note and we'll remove it for you. However, please do not worry about writing sentences with mistakes. Plain English is a supportive community and nobody will judge you for the occasional mistake.
Can I see my previous comments?
You can see a list of examples that you have written. Here is how to find them:
First, go to any Expressions page and choose the "Practice writing" tab. Then, find the icon of a person and a gear:
You will then see a popup with a paginated list of your previous examples:
Is there a limit?
There is no limit on how many sentences you can write per lesson, nor on how many lessons you can take. There is no limit on how much you can write in your reply. Write as much as you like!
Just be aware that our feedback will focus on the topic of the lesson.