Have you ever wondered why you still do not get your desired marks after writing and submitting your essay with sleepless nights of effort? There are probably some common essay mistakes constantly coming up on your paper.
They might seem small, but when a teacher scrutinizes your essay with much precision, you start to lose points. The worst part is you might be writing a good essay but still feeling stuck because of your lack of knowledge.
Knowledge not in terms of the subject matter but the mistakes in your essay. So, in this excerpt below, we will be discussing some of the common essay mistakes many of us make.
Stop These Common Essay Mistakes
Essay mistakes generally begin when you are writing your essay too fast or without proper research. Plus, your first draft is often a mess, so submitting that is never a good idea.
Let us understand these mistakes in detail.
1. If You Are Writing A Summary
What do you generally do when you are in possession of all the facts you need for the research?
We will tell you what most do. They simply write a synopsis of the matter. A big summary that condenses all the information. That is not the purpose of an essay. Yes, you need to add facts, but there has to be content accompanying it.
- Arguments and counterarguments.
- Your thoughts about the subject.
- What are the limitations you see?
One of the biggest mistakes when writing a reflective essay is to make it bland with facts and stats. No college administrator will like that essay.
2. Too Many Big Words
Big words are the antithesis of professional writing, the most common essay mistake. Any professional writer will tell you not to use big words after every full stop because of the following reasons.
- They can decrease your readability.
- It can make the reader reach out for a dictionary or search the internet each time they find a big word. This can frustrate the reader.
- The reader can lose interest if they do not understand.
- Sometimes the terms used are not even correct. Which makes you look less smart.
Words To Avoid In An Essay
Here are words you should avoid in your essay.
- Word dumps from Thesaurus.
- Words are not used that often.
- Lengthy words.
- Casual terms like ‘things,’ ‘stuffs,’ and ‘very.’
- Too much jargon or teenage lingo.
Some essays and homework deal with serious matters, and too many filler words and hyped terms can ruin it. For example, your tone regarding the subject matters the most when it comes to accounting homework or case studies. If you are unable to master it now, you can definitely say, ‘do my accounting homework’ to these experts.
3. Long Sentences (Which Makes No Sense)
Longer sentences are a common essay mistake that many don’t even notice. However, if a reader (who is not the writer) is reading, the long sentences can spoil the mood of reading.
For example:
“It was hard for Alexander the Great to become a king because his mother was from Epirus, and he was only half Macedonian.”
Now, there is nothing wrong with this statement, but let’s rephrase it a little.
Since his mother was from Epirus, Alexander The Great was only half-Macedonian. Thus, facing difficulty in being a king.
You can see how the shorter sentences are easier to read. This is because the reader will not lose track of their thoughts, which generally happens when reading long sentences.
4. Introduction Lacking Intensity
Your Introduction is one of the most important parts of the essay, which could either hook a reader or make them totally distressed. No, it doesn’t have to do with the topic because not every historical fact is interesting.
Your Introduction has to include these three paragraphs.
- An attractive hook to lure the reader into turning the page.
- A thesis that will explain the objective of the essay. The issue you are planning to argue and agree with in the rest of the essay.
- Historical facts and data which you will be discussing to back your argument.
- A small synopsis of everything you are planning to discuss further.
5. Too Long Paragraphs
Long paragraphs are a poison to readability, aka one of the common essay mistakes. We often think that if we write more, there are more chances for us to score better. However, bigger paragraphs can make a reader lose interest quickly.
You have to see the current attention span of the human mind. In the world of fast internet connection and everything happening at lightning speed, the thought of reading a 300-word long paragraph is too much.
- You have to shorten your paragraph.
- Add more subheadings to dissect the work further.
- No paragraph should be more than five lines because the audience has lost track by the fifth line.
- Too much information under one subheading makes it too difficult to understand.
6. Not Using Credible Information
Credible information is the bread and butter of an essay. If you don’t add enough information, your essay will be about whose, who, or what they have said. No essay has ever made an impact on the reader with ‘he said, ‘she said.’ Yes, you can add a few interesting rumors with solid disclaimers, but credible information is important.
Now, if you are handwriting your essay, it won’t be to link your work to the different sources of information. This is where the efficiency of the bibliography comes in. A common essay mistake is not writing your bibliography properly.
This is where you will be adding the important and credible sources from where you got your information. Just writing ‘www.google.com’ is not enough anymore.
7. Lacking In Editing
When we start writing an essay, we are mostly concerned about finding the essay. Five thousand words are all that flashes in front of my eyes; the rest is less priority. But, is it?
When we speak about all these common essay mistakes, you are probably taking notes. Now, how will you check whether you are making these mistakes if you do not revise?
Do not take editing less seriously.
- Begin with reading the essay out loud.
- Then proofread the spelling.
- The next part is punctuation.
- Then check the extra errors exclusive to your writing.
- Finally, the formatting.
Now, your essay is ready!
Essay Mistakes< Practicing Everyday
Essays are going to be a big part of your academic life. Whether it is your final year in high school or any theoretical major, you take up. Therefore, it is important to understand the nitty-gritty of writing and prevent these common essay mistakes.
The only way you can do so is by practicing every day. Write like it’s a job, and read like your job depends on it.
