10 Mistakes to Avoid in your Essay Writing
10 Common Essay Writing Mistakes
Improve your essay writing score by avoiding these 10 mistakes.
There are a few common mistakes that you should never make in your essays. Here is a list of 10 things you should NEVER do:
1. NEVER use abbreviations
Students often make the mistake of using inappropriate texting style abbreviations in their writing. NEVER do this. Never write u instead of you or, btw instead of by the way. These SMS abbreviations are NOT suitable for academic, or test essay writing.
2. NEVER end a sentence with three dots...
When you end a sentence with three dots (...), you are telling the reader that you don't have the words and vocabulary to complete your thought. NEVER do this.
3. NEVER use slang
The essay writing tests your ability to write an academic essay, not how to use slang or local language with your friends in a social setting. Never use any words or phrases that could be considered slang: coulda, woulda, shoulda, gonna, wanna, ain’t. Slang will only lower your essay score.
4. NEVER use emoticons :-) or ^-^
Again, emoticons are social forms of writing and have NO place in an academic essay. Always avoid smileys and ALL other emoticons. :-(
5. NEVER use big words and complicated language
Many students think that their writing score will improve if they use the biggest words they can think of. If these words are NOT used correctly, you are more likely to lose essay points. Only use words that you are very familiar with. Long complicated sentences are also difficult to read and often confuse the reader. Use a variety of sentence lengths to make your writing more interesting – too many short sentences are just as bad as too many long sentences.
6. Never memorize a text
Never use text that you have memorized. All essay questions require different writing approaches.
7. Do not begin a sentence with a conjunction
A conjunction is a word that is used to connect two words, phrases, or sentences. Here are some examples: and, but, or. Only use these words for connections. NEVER begin a sentence with one of these words.
8. Do not use contractions
A contraction is the short form of two words that are combined. For example, did and not are combined to make didn’t. Although these forms are very common when speaking, they are not acceptable for academic essay writing.
9. Do not write more than 5 paragraphs
Most essays are 4 paragraphs long. An essay with 5 paragraphs is possible, but it is difficult to write within the time limit. .
10. Never leave a sentence, paragraph, or idea incomplete
Always write in complete sentences and make sure that each sentence begins and ends with the proper punctuation. Similarly, develop your paragraphs with supporting sentences. Each paragraph needs at least two or three supporting sentences after the topic sentence.
Improve your essay writing score by avoiding these 10 mistakes.
There are a few common mistakes that you should never make in your essays. Here is a list of 10 things you should NEVER do:
1. NEVER use abbreviations
Students often make the mistake of using inappropriate texting style abbreviations in their writing. NEVER do this. Never write u instead of you or, btw instead of by the way. These SMS abbreviations are NOT suitable for academic, or test essay writing.
2. NEVER end a sentence with three dots...
When you end a sentence with three dots (...), you are telling the reader that you don't have the words and vocabulary to complete your thought. NEVER do this.
3. NEVER use slang
The essay writing tests your ability to write an academic essay, not how to use slang or local language with your friends in a social setting. Never use any words or phrases that could be considered slang: coulda, woulda, shoulda, gonna, wanna, ain’t. Slang will only lower your essay score.
4. NEVER use emoticons :-) or ^-^
Again, emoticons are social forms of writing and have NO place in an academic essay. Always avoid smileys and ALL other emoticons. :-(
5. NEVER use big words and complicated language
Many students think that their writing score will improve if they use the biggest words they can think of. If these words are NOT used correctly, you are more likely to lose essay points. Only use words that you are very familiar with. Long complicated sentences are also difficult to read and often confuse the reader. Use a variety of sentence lengths to make your writing more interesting – too many short sentences are just as bad as too many long sentences.
6. Never memorize a text
Never use text that you have memorized. All essay questions require different writing approaches.
7. Do not begin a sentence with a conjunction
A conjunction is a word that is used to connect two words, phrases, or sentences. Here are some examples: and, but, or. Only use these words for connections. NEVER begin a sentence with one of these words.
8. Do not use contractions
A contraction is the short form of two words that are combined. For example, did and not are combined to make didn’t. Although these forms are very common when speaking, they are not acceptable for academic essay writing.
9. Do not write more than 5 paragraphs
Most essays are 4 paragraphs long. An essay with 5 paragraphs is possible, but it is difficult to write within the time limit. .
10. Never leave a sentence, paragraph, or idea incomplete
Always write in complete sentences and make sure that each sentence begins and ends with the proper punctuation. Similarly, develop your paragraphs with supporting sentences. Each paragraph needs at least two or three supporting sentences after the topic sentence.
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