Everyone knows that essays are the primary assignment in college. Students produce dozens of them during their studies. And while some find essays an easy way to boost an average, paper writing is an absolute nightmare for others. If essay writing is driving you nuts, you have come to the right place. We have put together a list of mistakes and wrong approaches that will result in a disastrous paper.
Attempting to Plagiarise
Of all the gravest mistakes students make, plagiarism deserves to be the most common one. Needless to say that students are inventive these days. They try to evade negative plagiarism reports by paraphrasing content, changing sentence structures, or substituting words. Academic institutions have strict policies against plagiarism. So if they catch you’ve used somebody’s intellectual property without referring to it, they may fail you or can even get you suspended. This makes many students google “buy essay cheap” and get plagiarism-free papers, which isn’t surprising. Plagiarising content leads to severe penalties, so you’d better cite sources every time you rely on them.
Trying to Show Off by Using Specific Language
Oddly enough, many learners think that the more sophisticated their work is, the higher the grade they will score. Consequently, they start adding obscure structures, colloquial language, articulate words, and any other phrases that people don’t use regularly. Not only does it make an essay clumsy, but it also lowers the chances of scoring even a mediocre grade. Don’t fall into the same trap. Although every work must be original, that doesn’t mean you have to use vague language to deliver the message. Make your paper simple and easy to understand.
Summing Up Instead of Analyzing a Topic
Writing improves students’ analytical, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. Analytical essays, research papers, theses, and many more writing assignments require analyzing the topic and creating arguments. But unfortunately, students commit a common mistake and simply restate the information provided in the source. Keep in mind that the paper’s main goal is to make the writer create an argument and develop it, relying on relevant literature.
Dumping On a Vague and Unclear Thesis Statement
Developing a solid thesis statement is pivotal. A thesis statement usually ends the introduction. Its purpose is to provide the reader with the main points that will explain the topic and its central question. A thesis statement should be compressed and clear, giving neither too broad nor accurate information.
Exaggerating With Quotes
When writing an essay, you have to reflect on your understanding of the subject. To do that, you should research the topic, gather sources, process them, and include the necessary information to help yourself make your arguments more explicit and valid. Overusing quotes and adding them here and there undermines your authority. It creates the impression that you have wrapped up the topic instead of analyzing it and providing unique arguments. It will also negatively impact your grade. Consider adding quotes only when necessary. A good rule of thumb is to have one citation per academic page or at least one in a paragraph.
Committing Common Mistakes
Aside from the mentioned, more substantial mistakes, common errors also badly influence essays. When writing any paper, ensure that your:
- Subject agrees with the verb
- Sentences are complete, i.e., have both a subject and a verb
- Contractions are correct
- Punctuation is right
- Format pertains to the discipline (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard)
You can avoid the majority of them by using a spell checker. Fortunately, there is an abundance of them, so you can even use them interchangeably to polish your paper to a shimmering brilliance.
Whether or not you have a knack for writing essays, you can’t hide from composing them. Essays play a significant part in your final grades, so it is crucial to know how to write a paper well. Knowing the given above mistakes will help you complete a good essay and thus improve your marks shortly.
