Abstract: Essay writing is an integral part of academics. Most essays written by students are usually fraught with mistakes. To remedy this part of academics, particular essay writing sites that help students write their essays. Check this site to discover an easier way to handle the essay writing part of your academics effectively.
Essay writing requires specific skills that you can only obtain through frequent practice and experience. This article will be expounding on some of the common mistakes made in student essay writing. Some of these mistakes are:
- Not Understanding the Question/Topic/Instructions Properly
In essay writing, understanding what you are asked to write on is key to the write-up structure. If you misunderstand the topic in question, the whole structure of your essay is ruined. It is equivalent to you not attempting the “essay.” In general, before you make any attempt to write an essay, try and understand what is required of you and incorporate it into your write-up correctly and efficiently.
- Use of a Wide Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is a crucial part of the introduction of an essay. It must subtly hint at what your write-up will consist of. A thesis statement is meant to be precise, narrow, and small compared to the central part of the essay. In other words, write a sufficiently small thesis statement you can expand on later.
- Not Stating Your Point of View in the Thesis Statement
As discussed earlier, the thesis statement helps introduce your readers to what you will write on in your essay. So, it is essential that your position is stated in your thesis statement. If your position is stated clearly at the introduction of your essay, your reader will be able to follow your thought process and reasoning throughout the essay.
- Making Your Essay Hard to Read
In essay writing, your reader must read what you write easily and correctly determine the message you are trying to pass across. In order to make your work easier to read, use more simple sentences and avoid writing lengthy sentences. Avoid using ambiguous and complex words that will make reading difficult. Writing with this thought process in mind will make your work easy to read.
- Spelling
In English or any other language, some words are similar either because they sound the same or the spelling of the words a similar. It is easy to confuse such terms and use inappropriate words in a context it is not meant for. To prevent this, you should do a careful perusal of your write-up to identify these mistakes. Expanding and deepening the understanding of your vocabulary can also help avoid such mistakes.
- Try to Be Specific
Academic writing as a field in essay writing emphasizes knowledge and facts. Try to be very specific and avoid the use of general language. Words such as “most” and “really” are not specific. Instead use facts in the academic discipline you are writing on to support what you are trying to say. This way, your entire work is validated.
- The Misuse of Commas
Commas are an integral part of essay writing, and they can make or break the content of your write-up depending on the usage. A typical example is the use of comma splice. A comma splice occurs when you use a comma to connect two independent clauses. It makes your essay grammatically incorrect and should be avoided.
- Absence of Coherent Flow
In essay writing, for your reader to understand the message and content you are trying to pass across, there must be a flow. What determines the flow in essay writing is the correct use of paragraphing and transitional words. Also, if transitional words such as “additionally,” “therefore,” etc., are absent in your write-up, then the chances that your essay is incoherent will be high.
- Use of Informal Language
As a student, most of the essays that you write are formal essays. In a formal essay, certain things are not permitted due to the context and audience the essay applies. Please avoid the use of informal words and slang in such essays because they give it an informal outlook. Do not use contracting words such as “can’t,” “won’t,” etc. they make your work look lazy. Instead, type the wordings fully and let your overall work be constructive.
- Correctly Determine the Essay Type Before Writing
When an essay has been assigned to you, determine the type because it will influence the content and structure of your essay. For instance, if the essay content is an argumentative one and you write with an expository essay format, both the content and context of the essay will be incorrect. This is because the two essay types have different rules for their structuring. So, before writing, try and determine the correct essay type.
- Use of Invalid Sources
As a student, you might have quoted many sources in your write-up and still wondered why the essay generated a low mark. This might have been because you used an invalid opinion, blog or article that is not officially recognized. When writing an essay, use sources with unquestionable validity and content that are traceable and verifiable.
- No Topic Sentence
An essay is made up of several paragraphs, and these paragraphs introduce a new concept. A topic sentence introduces this new concept. If a topic sentence is absent in an essay, correlation tends to be difficult because there will be a break in the flow of your essay. So, every paragraph introducing a new idea must have a topic sentence which is a mini-thesis statement.
- No Conclusion
The conclusion is a crucial part of essay writing because it is the part where you sum up all the ideas and thought processes. It does not contribute to the content of your essay, but it aptly summarizes your perspective in a few sentences.
- Introducing A New Idea in The Conclusion
As discussed earlier, a conclusion is where you summarize the ideas and opinions you gave in the body of your essay. Introducing a new concept in the conclusion of an essay should be avoided because it was not discussed earlier on, and it can confuse your readers.
- Avoidance of Editing
Editing is a crucial part of essay writing because it allows you to look at your mistakes and identify errors. If you do not edit your work, the chances that your essay will be rated low is high. So, re-read your essay and edit it to satisfaction. You can also use sites such as Grammarly to scan through the grammatical content of your work.
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to write a flawless essay is not a day’s job. It involves identifying your mistakes and growing from them. As a student, this article should help you identify and correct mistakes you might have made in essay writing.
