老相好功力见长，比前几天写溜溜的那个小短文写得好很多。

When asked how to improve my English writing, my previous advisor simply mentioned that I just needed to pay more attention to what I wrote.  It sounds easier than it really is.（this sentence is a bit odd, I thought you were going to say: When I really started paying more attention, my writing still didn’t improve） I relied on my advisor too much on writing when I was in school. As long as I got the papers published, I just did the mimimum and did not care about how to improve my writing by myself. Now, I am looking for a job and then realize(have realized?maybe) that good writing skills are essential for almost all the jobs I have applied.

      I know that the structure and the content of an article are the  foremost for attracting readers. (not proper use of “foremost”, maybe say: the structure and content of an article are what attract the readers). However, when practicing my English writing, I realized that I made too many grammar mistakes, which made my writing lousy(that grammatical mistakes made my writing lousy). Some of the mistakes were made because I was reckless(这个词用在这里不太确定，我觉得reckless是指鲁莽); others were made because I did not even have a clue about the right rules to use. Then, in order to have a solid grammar training which is fundamental towards a good writing, I started to read grammar books again, ten years after I took my TOFEL exam when was the last time I read a grammar book. (ten years after the last time I read a grammar book when I was preparing for my TOEFL exam)

 

    When I got to the details of the rules and the exceptions of English grammar, my hands were sweating. The more I read, the more I realized that how many mistakes I have made. I even made lethal（用词不准确，我觉得） mistakes in my cover letters for job applications. No wonder I get no responses from those hiring companies.  On the other hand（突兀，前面应该加上句，I felt I was learning a lot from just reading the rules/exceptions）, I felt lost in all the rules and exceptions. It is hard to memorize all the details without using them on a daily basis. Thus, I decided to practice everyday. Try to write something and utilize what I have learned. My grammar practice? is really weak based on my self-evaluation and feedbacks from others. The good part is that I have a large room to improve, whereas the bad part is that I have a lot to do to be on the right track. (don’t quite get the logic here.)

 

If I just practice on my own, those blind spots in my wrting may never be found. So, I need help from you guys. Please help me to correct my mistakes and therefore make my writing better. Hope you do not mind that my writing is really poor. I also beg you for the tips towards proper usage of grammar(I think you mean: the role of grammar in writing?) in writing. Thanks.