Writers in the beginning stages of composition should know when to use an adjective and when to use an adverb. Adjectives describe the subject of a sentence, while adverbs modify a verb to be descriptive of the subject. For example, "pretty" is an adjective and "quickly" is an adverb. A grammar exercise for differentiating between adjectives and adverbs requires someone to write a sentence with a subject requiring description. At the end of the sentence, place a word in parentheses that writers can use as an adjective or adverb. Fill in the appropriate form of the word depending on the sentence structure. For example: "He reads a book. (quick)" and "Mandy is a girl. (pretty)."
The English language only has one definite article ("the"), which writers use to identify a specific member of a group. In writing, note that when to use the definite article and when not to use it. An exercise of this is to choose whether to include the definite article from a list of prewritten sentences. For example: "My grandmother likes __ flowers very much," and "I love __ flowers in your garden." Include the definite article when appropriate.
In writing, it is usually better to write in an active voice. Only in rare instances do passive voices get a pass. While this may be true, learning how to write passively teaches writers what to look for to avoid bad writing habits. Exercises in passive writing can include writing a broken sentence with only articles, the subject and the verb. Write a passive statement using only those words, such as: "The book / read / not" turns into "the book is not read."
When reporting to someone else what another speaker or writer has said, writers need to change the sentence around a bit. This exercise helps foster a better understanding of how to do so. Start with a quote from another person and pretend someone sitting next to you wants to know what the speaker said. Do not paraphrase but instead change around the wording like so:
Speaker: I want to tell you something about my holiday in London.
Classmate: What did she say?
You: She says she wants to tell us something about her holiday in London.