Writing a well-written English essay is no easy feat for international students. With English as your second language, it's understandable to need some help polishing an essay. The good news? A plethora of tools and resources exist to support you through the writing process. The key is using them effectively — not as replacements for doing the work, but as aids to improve your writing skills and produce a better final piece. Let's dive into some of the top tools and resources that can help you take your essays to the next level.

‍

Write First, Refine Later

Before even turning to writing tools, it's critical to invest time and effort into writing an initial draft independently. Doing so pushes you to:

• Organize your thoughts
• Outline your ideas
• Practice expressing concepts in your own words

This process is essential for building English proficiency. Once you've fleshed out a draft, tools can come in handy to take your essay to the next level.

‍TL;DR: Resist the temptation to skip straight to tools. Write first and refine later for maximum learning and skill development.

‍

11 Tools and Resources to Help International Students With Writing

Here are 11 writing tools and resources you can use to improve your near-final essays:

1. EssayEdge (paid)

EssayEdge provides professional essay editing and proofreading services. Students can submit their near-final essay drafts to the platform, and experienced editors will provide an in-depth critique. This can include:

• Checking for typos
• Correcting grammatical mistakes
• Refining the essay structure
• And more

Getting detailed feedback gives you direction on where you can do better.Pricing plans vary depending on the word count. Shorter essays under 600 words cost around $380, while longer ones up to 2,400 words cost around $530. Anything longer than 2,400 words costs $12 per +100 words, as of January 2024.

2. Duolingo (free)

The popular language learning app Duolingo can support you in improving your overall English proficiency. Building vocabulary and grammar skills through their lessons will translate to more fluent English essay writing. Even 10-15 minutes per day on this free app can make a big difference over time!

RELATED >> Most Useful Apps to Have in the US

3. Grammarly (free/paid)

Grammarly is an AI-powered grammar and spell-check tool. Students can paste their essay drafts into Grammarly to scan for potential grammar and spelling mistakes. The tool also provides corrections and suggestions to improve:

• Sentence structure
• Word choice
• Style

Fixing these errors is an easy way to polish an essay draft. Best of all, the free version of Grammarly is plenty sufficient. If you want more advanced suggestions and generative AI prompts, Grammarly Premium is affordable at $30 per month. If you pay upfront for a year, it'll come out to $12 per month.

4. Dictionary/Thesaurus.com (free)

Having a varied vocabulary is key for articulate essay writing. Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com allow students to look up word definitions and find synonyms to improve their word choice. These free sites empower you to use more descriptive, academic words appropriately in essays.

5. Wordtune (free/paid)

Wordtune is an AI writing assistant. It looks at entire sentences and paragraphs and makes suggestions to improve the clarity and flow of ideas. This helps you expand on points more eloquently. Not sure if you're communicating your ideas effectively? Wordtune can provide helpful suggestions. It can also summarize lengthy articles, documents, and videos to speed up your research process.Similar to Grammarly, Wordtune has a free plan that allows 10 rewrites, 3 AI prompts, and 3 summaries a day. If you need more than that, you can explore their Plus plan for around $10 per month. This plan gets you 30 rewrites, 5 AI prompts, and 5 summaries. The Unlimited plan costs around $15 per month. All plans come with unlimited text corrections.

6. Hemingway Editor (free)

The Hemingway Editor highlights sentences and phrases that you can simplify for better clarity and readability. The free tool color-codes complex sections and provides tips like:

• Shortening sentences whenever possible
• Turning passive voice into active voice
• Removing unnecessary adverbs

This helps students refine their writing to be bold and concise.

7. JSTOR (free)

JSTOR provides free access to millions of academic journals, primary sources, images, and books. Use this rich collection of materials to conduct research and find sources to support your arguments and lend credibility.

8. Duplichecker (free/paid)

Duplichecker is a reliable plagiarism checker. Before turning in your essay, run it through Duplichecker to ensure you've properly cited all sources and haven't accidentally plagiarized. The tool helps identify passages needing citations or rewording — crucial for academic integrity. The free version caps at 1,000 words. If your essay is longer than this, you have two options:

1. Pay a higher fee to check more words in one go (pricing depends on your word count needs)
2. Split your article into multiple rounds of under 1,000 words each

9. English teachers (free)

Meeting with your English teacher to get feedback throughout the writing process is invaluable. Teachers can provide guidance based on knowing the assignment expectations and goals. Their insights help you know which areas to focus on improving. For example, they may tell you what to expand on further before turning in the final draft.Pro tip: Make it a priority to visit your English teacher's office hours. This is free dedicated time for your teacher to review your draft and offer suggestions before it's due.Besides enhancing your writing, going to office hours is an excellent way to build a relationship with your professor and show you're a dedicated student. You never know when having a good rapport with a teacher might come in handy down the road!

10. School counselors (free)

School counselors are another fantastic resource for constructive essay feedback. They can offer a fresh perspective to help you identify areas that may need more clarification or better transitions to improve the essay flow.

11. Writing tutor (free/paid)

Turning to a writing tutor to review drafts can be super helpful. Native English-speaking tutors can point out where language usage is unclear and make suggestions to strengthen the content and structure. Their support helps you gain confidence in your English academic writing abilities.

‍Pro tip: Check if your university or college offers free or affordable tutoring services. Otherwise, the cost of hiring a writing tutor varies on factors like location, demand, and experience level.

‍

Let Tools Support You in Writing Stronger Essays

Writing an essay in a second language and getting a good grade on it can be difficult. For international students, these tools provide valuable assistance at all stages of the writing process — from researching to fixing errors in a near-final draft. Remember, these resources aren't meant to replace your job as a writer. Rather, they should complement your efforts. True knowledge comes from practicing essay writing skills. With dedication and the smart use of these resources, you'll master academic English essay writing and communicate ideas effectively.