Common Mistakes in Essay Writing

Essay writing can be one of the most difficult parts of school. Here are some things to avoid while writing.

More is not always better. Do not try to put in “filler” lines hoping it will improve your essay. Instead, look for relevant content to include. Essays are not judged solely on length. You want to make sure every paragraph has something to do with your main idea and the prompt. Otherwise, it just makes your essay confusing.

Do not use advanced vocabulary you cannot handle. It’s important to replace some common adjectives like “big” and “happy,” but do not go overboard. When you misuse an adjective, it makes your writing seem worse. Also, if you use a thesaurus excessively, your readers can tell. If your writing is informal and you suddenly include a very complex phrase or word, it will actually make your essay worse.

Try not to restate the prompt unless your teacher tells you to. Your teacher should be able to tell what the essay is about based on the content. Restating the prompt makes the essay awkward and is usually taken as a sign of bad writing. If your teacher instructs you to restate the prompt, do it. Otherwise, don’t worry about it. Focus more on writing on-topic.

Do not use “you” unless you have been told to do so. “You” is a second-person pronoun, and generally essays are written from a third-person perspective.

Do not end your essay without a proper conclusion. Your conclusion should build off of what you had before, but include new ideas. You do not want to simply restate your essay’s thesis, or main idea. If you are writing a research article, make a prediction for the future use of the technology you talked about. If you are writing a piece about yourself, talk about how you’ve grown in the end. Ultimately, your conclusion is more than a summary.

Always follow the structure your teacher gives you. Right now, you may be asked to write five-paragraph essays with a set number of sentences. This is simply to help you grow and improve your essay-writing skills. Yes, older students do not follow this structure, but they have had much more experience in the field and know when to stop writing.

Do not jump from topic to topic. Your essay needs to flow well to be understandable. Each paragraph should have a smooth transition, generally by referencing something in the previous paragraph and building off of it.

Writer:

Editor: